Drying The Washing In Winter

Drying the washing when it's raining and cold outside can be a challenge.  Using the dryer for everything adds huge costs to the power bill.  Here are a few simple ways to get your washing dry fairly quickly and without a dozen clothes horses hanging around.

*  Heavy jumpers and jeans can be hung on coat hangers then hung on the shower door rail  If you have a ducted heating vent in there,  close the door to keep the heat in.

*  Ducted heating vents in the floor are wonderful for drying the washing fairly quickly.  Try to hang the washing on the clothes horse so that there aren't too many gaps on the outside wrungs.  Lay a tea towel or hand towel over the top to create a hot house.  Place the washing directly over the ducted heating vent.  Another alternative  is to wrap an old flannelette sheet around the outside of the clothes horse.

*  Ducted heating vents in bathrooms are very effective.  The bathroom is small compared to the other rooms in a home and the temperature can be higher there.  Make the most of the heat and place a loaded clothes horse in the bath ( out of the way ) or over the ducted heating vent.  I've had towels dry within two hours by placing them over the vent.

*  Frequent washing throughout the week makes it easy to keep on top of the never ending clothes pile.  If you have a family to wash for,  try doing one load a day.  Dealing with one load is better than dealing with three at a time.  This will drastically deduce the urge to throw everything in the dryer.

*  When all else fails and you are desperate for space to hang the washing,  use door frames to hang coat hangers.

*  The obvious way to dry washing is to place a loaded clothes horse in front of a wall heater.  Please be cautious and leave a safe distance.

How do you dry your washing when it's cold and wet ?

Getting Rid Of Perspiration Smells

I just love the smell of freshly washed clothes.  Unfortunately perspiration smells don't always disappear no matter how good your laundry powder / liquid is.  Here is a simple and inexpensive way to help remove these odours.

Pour white vinegar into a spray bottle and spray on the offending smell as you are sorting out the washing to go into the machine.  Put the smelly clothes in last then wash as per usual.  Hanging the washing in the sun can also help to remove the odour.

If the odour is quite strong,  spray the garment 30 - 60 minutes before putting in the washing machine.  Some odours might need repeat treatments and washes.

I knew white vinegar worked well for cleaning but I was quite suprised at how good it was on smelly clothes.

NOTE -  No name ( generic ) vinegar does the job just fine at a fraction of the cost of branded vinegar.

Great Smelling Clothes

I'm sure you've all heard of drawer liners.  You know,  those pretty fragranced papers that come in a box.  They are placed in the bottom of drawers to help your clothes smell nice.

I haven't found many drawer liners that I like.  They all seem to smell the same - musty and the scent doesn't last long either.

About a year ago I was opening some Dove soaps to use in both our bathrooms.  I love the smell of Dove soap,  especially the pink one.  After I put the soaps away I was looking at the empty boxes and trying to figure out if I could use them for something else. That's when I discovered the boxes have a beautiful fragrance too.

So I cut the Dove soap boxes until they lay flat.  Then I placed them between my jumpers and tshirts in the drawers.  A couple of days later I pulled an item of clothing out to put on and it smelled lovely.

The Dove soap boxes kept my clothes smelling lovely for about 4 - 5 months.  All for free.

So the next time you open a Dove soap box ( or any soap for that matter ),  pop it in your drawers.