Blowing in the Wind

Washday blues. Now, surely that's just a phrase from the dim and distant past, where women had to rise at the crack of dawn and spend the whole day wrestling with kettles, grating soap, and getting to grips with huge tubs of water, mangles, starch, washing dollies and goodness knows what else? We have it cracked now. Bung in machine, press button, and get on with your busy life. It's so easy that we think nothing of doing a wash a day, which means we can get into the habit of wearing something just once before slinging it into the laundry basket without a mark on it.

All this washing, of course, has an environmental impact and this must be considered. In my grandparents' time, many garments simply weren't washed. Jumpers were knocked on the ‘back stones' to get the dirt out of them. At my aunt's boarding school, knickers were changed once a week, whether they needed it or not...

Now, I'm not suggesting we should stop washing our underwear, but personally I wouldn't dream of washing something until it needed washing. Mind you, I'm lazy and don't have to dress smartly for work. No one's going to notice the grass stains on the knees of my jeans or the flour on my shirt.

Of course, half the challenge for our forebears was getting the clothes dry. How did they manage to get the washing dry given the vagaries of the climate? Did they spend half their lives running backwards and forwards to the washing line as the clouds gathered and dispersed?

I don't know the answer. I confess I'm blessed with a large airing cupboard in which I can squeeze a clothes airer, and admit to being very spoilt in this respect. It's very easy for me to manage without resorting to a tumble dryer but for many of us, with our busy lives, it often seems to be the only option. However, tumble dryers use a great deal of energy: 2.5 kWh of electricity per hour. That's almost as much as a three-bar fire and far more than most household appliances. So what are the alternatives?

First, of course, you can use a washing line in the garden. There are differences however: a line dryer is far more effective than a rotary dryer, and the higher you can raise it, the more effective it will be. My good friend Danette, who barely has enough room to hang a hanky in her cottage, assures me that even ten minutes of high-altitude drying on a showery day makes a massive difference to the time it takes to finish off the washing in the tumble dryer.

There's also the good old-fashioned traditional overhead airer. These are making a comeback nowadays as people learn to appreciate the ways of their parents and grandparents and are attracted to their practicality, economy and rural charm. If you can position one where it catches an updraught of warm air from the stove (obviously ensuring that there is no possibility of garments catching fire from an unattended hob) then your washing will dry in no time. You can even dry some herbs at the same time! They may not be so practical though if you have low ceilings and tall family members.

Freestanding airers are also available in several shapes and sizes and if you're pushed for space you could find radiator airers invaluable. Also available are over-bath airers, shower-space airers, wall-mounted pull-out airers... if you still believe you don't have room to dry washing in your house, have a look at AirerShop.co.uk or Lakeland Limited. There are also heated airers which, although they do use some electricity, will speed up drying time and are a lot more economical than a tumble dryer (typical consumption is 200-300W).

There are those who don't like the idea of living in a house festooned with washing but hopefully you do have somewhere you would be able to accommodate an airer. A quick browse of the Newhouse Farm forum suggests that almost all there are happy to live with their washing hanging on airers, hangers, radiators, door frames and so on - our homes are after all for living in, they are not show houses.

Whether you can live without a tumble dryer altogether depends very much on your lifestyle: whether you work, whether you have a family, whether you have outdoors or indoors spaces you can hang washing and so on. If you have considered all the options above and still feel you need a tumble dryer, what should you look for? Here's some pointers:

• Look out for the Energy Saving Recommended Logo. This logo means that the appliance meets or exceeds government specified efficiency requirements.
• Check the energy efficiency rating. Many models are rated C, but A-rated models are now available.
• Some tumble dryers can sense moisture levels in the clothes so won't run any longer than needed. Less efficient are those with temperature sensors, but these are still more efficient than dryers that only have a timer.
• Condenser dryers are generally no more efficient than vented dryers, but have the advantage that you don't need to worry about where you position them.
• If you are on an Economy 7 electricity tariff, you may want to look for a dryer with a timer that will allow you to run the machine overnight.

Of course, how you run your machine can also make a difference:

• Spin dry clothes on the highest setting before drying.
• Even if you haven't room to hang all your washing, hanging heavier items like towels and jeans on an airer should greatly reduce drying time for the rest of the load and therefore reduce electricity consumption.
• Always run your dryer on a full load if possible, but do not overload it.
• Clean the fluff filter after every use: not doing so will prevent the hot air from circulating freely and could also cause the machine to overheat and cause a fire.
• If you will be ironing the clothes, take them out of the machine before they are completely dry.

Happy drying everyone - let's hope the tumble dryer can take the summer off this year!

Judy

Home Washing Machine and Wringer photo (c) GeekPhilosopher.com