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5 Reasons You Need a Dehumidifier For Drying Clothes in Winter

A dehumidifier is a cheaper way to dry your laundry fast – especially in colder weather when drying outside is less efficient. Or where drying outside isn’t an option. 

I decided that this year I need to get in on the act and buy one of my own!

Using a dehumidifier to dry laundry

I’ve found that our dehumidifier has sped up laundry drying from two to three days to just six hours (slightly longer for towels, I would say more like 8 to 10 hours). 

And the running cost is a fraction of what you would pay to run a tumble dryer. 

What is a dehumidifier? 

First of all, what am I talking about and how does it actually help with laundry? A dehumidifier sucks the moisture out of the air inside your home.

When used to dry laundry it helps dries the air around your drying clothes making for a less humid environment, meaning they will dry quicker. 

It can also help prevent condensation, damp and mould growth in your home. 

Why get a dehumidifier? 

Since having kids the amount of laundry to get through every week has increased, plus as they have grown so too have the size of their clothes. 

I now have less space for hanging and with after-school clubs, school uniform and mucky play dates, a lot more to hang to dry! 

We’ve never had a tumble dryer and with the cost of energy still high, I don’t want to add too much to our already high energy bills. You may like this dehumidifier vs tumble dryer comparison.

So a dehumidifier seemed a great bet, and after a few weeks of usage I can report it has been brilliant! 

Laundry is drying faster, and the dehumidifier costs money to run, but nowhere near as much as a dryer would. 

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits for getting a dehumidifier. 

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1. They speed up drying laundry in winter 

The convenience of using a dehumidifier to dry laundry is the biggest plus point for me. 

Now that colder days are here to stay my laundry was taking forever to dry. 

Drying laundry with a dehumidifier

However with the dehumidifier items are drying in a matter of hours, rather than days. 

Lighter items of clothing, like polo tops and t-shirts, can be dry in four hours. However as soon as towels and jeans are in the mix it takes a little longer. 

Our dehumidifier has a six-hour laundry setting that seems to do the trick, apart from bath towels which need a couple of additional hours drying time. 

2. Dehumidifiers are cheap to run 

The cost of running our dehumidifier is just 4p/hour – based on an energy price cap of 30p/kWh. That adds up to 24p to run for six hours. 

As an example, a 9kg vented tumble dryer would cost £1.44 per cycle (this may vary depending on the device), while a condenser tumble dryer would cost £1.40 per cycle. 

As you can see in both instances, the dehumidifier works out far cheaper to run. 

In the long run the savings are even more significant. 

Let’s say you need to run the tumble dryer or dehumidifier four times a week. 

The tumble dryer costs add up to £299.52 a year. The dehumidifier costs add up to £49.92. 

That’s a potential saving of £249.60 by using a dehumidifier. 

Definitely money worth having!

3. Dehumidifiers take up less space than a tumble dryer 

If you are tight on space then a dehumidifier is far more convenient than a tumble dryer. 

Plus a vented tumble dryer would need to have a vent fitted to an external wall, which adds to cost and further challenges of where to install one. 

Our dehumidifier is 463 x 300 x 250mm. It sits nicely in our utility room next to the laundry drying rack. 

4. They cost less than a tumble dryer 

A tumble dryer can set you back over £250 whereas a dehumidifier can cost less than £100. 

We spent £150 on our dehumidifier. 

5. Can prevent mould and damp in your home 

While we bought our dehumidifier for our laundry, you can also use it to tackle condensation and damp in your home if it is struggling with high humidity levels. 

If you want to use a dehumidifier to tackle humidity levels in your home then look for one that works best for the size of the property you own. 

We have a smaller one that works fine in smaller rooms, but wouldn’t tackle issues in a larger home. 

6. Bonus pro – it warms your home!

A dehumidifier also warms the room in which you are using it!

Although the air that comes out of the top of a dehumidifier feels cool, as the fan is pushing air out of the top, when left to run it warms a room up.

This may well help you in the winter months to avoid switching on the central heating as much.

What dehumidifier have I been using?

We have the MeacoDry ABC 10l dehumidifier

It’s one of Meaco’s smallest devices and doesn’t include the air purifying function that some of their devices can do. 

I chose this one because the brand is one of the most well reviewed for dehumidifiers and it’s the cheapest of Meaco’s dehumidifiers that can be used to dry laundry. 

I’ve been really impressed. The size is perfect as we needed something compact, it’s not too loud when running and it also works well to tackle condensation on the windows of our bedroom in the mornings. 

This Meaco is a compressor dehumidifier. The other type of dehumidifier is a desiccant.

Tips for using a dehumidifier to dry laundry 

When using my dehumidifier I do the following things to help speed up the process: 

  • Make sure the water tank in the dehumidifier is empty. 
  • Spread laundry out on an airer leaving plenty of space between items of clothing. 
  • Place in a heated room if you can (central heating speeds up drying further). 
  • Use in the smallest room you can and close windows and doors. 
  • Turn the rack halfway through drying so the other half is closest to the dehumidifier for the final drying time. 

Final thoughts

If you’re considering getting a dehumidifier to speed up laundry drying then I hope this has helped you make a decision.

A dehumidifier is a great way to dry laundry faster in winter, which is more convenient for you especially if you have a lot of laundry to get through, and cheaper than a tumble dryer.

Want more ways to save money? Check out my frugal living tips.

Great reasons to buy a dehumidifier to dry laundry