Hanging laundry outside to dry is no longer an option when the weather gets chilly and rainy, and using the dryer constantly can be expensive. Some people, especially those who live in tiny apartments, don’t even have a dryer at home.
The good news is that you can still dry your clothes with cheap and simple methods. One of the simplest is a “towel trick” that requires nothing more than a fresh towel and a place to hang your clothes afterward.
How the towel trick works
The towel trick’s basic concept is that before your clothes even begin to hang to dry, use a towel to remove the extra water, and dry the clothes faster:
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Place a fresh towel flat on a surface, like a table, bed, or a very clean floor.
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Place the wet piece of clothing over the towel.
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Roll the towel up tightly, like a burrito, with the clothing inside.
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To absorb the water from the clothing, gently press along the rolled towel.
Firm, even pressure is enough; no need to stomp on it or twist it violently. Avoid using a dark tone with very light clothing. This reduces the possibility of color transfer.
Unroll the towel and remove the clothes once you feel it has absorbed as much water as possible. It will still feel damp but not drenched. After that, you can hang it on a drying rack, an indoor hanging system, or a hanger.
Drying racks prices go from $20 to $150, but they’re often a wise purchase, comparing that many households spend more than $100 annually just on the dryer’s energy costs—and a drying rack usually lasts longer than a year. You can find them for less than $40 at major retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and Home Depot. Or even get a second hand one, and it will still do the job.
Extra tricks to speed up indoor drying
There are a few more ways to speed up the drying of your laundry inside if you want to go beyond the towel trick:
1. Use a dehumidifier (or open a window)
All of the moisture from the fabric is released into the air when drying clothes indoors. The air can become very humid if your windows or walls are already wet. Your clothes stay wet for longer when the air is too humid because water evaporates from them more slowly.
By eliminating moisture from the air in the space where you’re drying your clothes, a dehumidifier can be helpful. Opening the window, even if just a bit, can also improve ventilation and airflow if you don’t have a dehumidifier and the temperature isn’t too low.
2. Use a fan, but properly
It’s better to set up a drying “station”—like a rack or line with space between each item so air can circulate around them—instead of draping clothes directly over a radiator.
A fan placed close to your drying area can speed up the process. Even a light breeze can help remove the moist air around the clothing and favor more evaporation, so the fan doesn’t have to run at full power.
3. Give a little extra work to your washing machine
You can adjust the spin speed on most of today’s washing machines. At the end of the wash cycle, a higher spin speed gets more water out from your clothing. This means that they are already less wet when you take them out.
You can shorten the air-drying time by choosing a stronger spin that won’t harm delicate fabrics.
If you use a dryer: this reduces the amount of time it has to run, which lowers your energy consumption and expenses.