
Keep your wardrobe fresh and dapper with smart ideas for better washing and drying.
Trying to dry wet clothes when the humidity is so thick you could practically swim through the air is not a fun part of the Aussie summer.
Let’s look at the best ways to win the war on damp.
If the humid weather has plenty of sunshine and some breeze to accompany it, then hanging clothes outside on the clothesline might do the job. If you don’t have a space to hang clothes up outside on sunny days, though, you might choose to use an indoor airer.
The problem with using a drying rack is that high humidity and lack of air flow indoors can result in very slow and incomplete drying that leaves freshly washed laundry smelling musty and feeling never quite dry.
Open windows can help, but in humid environments, you're basically inviting more moisture to the party. The odds are, on hot humid days you’ll also be using some form of air conditioning or cooling inside, so you won't want to have windows open anyway.
Of course, the water from your drying laundry needs to go somewhere, and when you air dry damp clothes inside, it increases the moisture levels of the air inside your home, which can lead to mildew developing in certain areas. Without proper ventilation, you're just trading one moisture problem for another.
For reliable drying whatever the weather conditions, you can’t look past a heat pump clothes dryer. Whether you’re dealing with cold, rainy or humid conditions this type of dryer has a few advantages over not only hang-drying clothes indoors, but also older style vented tumble dryers.
1. Energy efficiency: Heat pump dryers use significantly less electricity than conventional vented dryers. Most heat pump dryers have at least seven of eight energy stars compared to the two that vented dryers usually have. With energy costs always a hot topic, this is a win for your utility bills and carbon footprint.
2. Gentle on clothes: The lower temperatures used by heat pump dryers compared with vented dryers means less wear and tear on your clothes. Your favourite t-shirts and delicates will thank you for the gentler drying process.
3. No external ventilation needed: Unlike vented dryers that require ventilation ducting to get rid of hot, moist air , heat pump dryers can be placed anywhere in your home. This is because they don’t expel humid air, instead condensing and collecting the water vapour so it ends up down the drain - or watering your plants if you like.
Heat pump dryers do have longer drying times than vented dryers, but for most people this is a worthwhile trade-off for the lower energy costs and the gentler drying process.
You can give your heat pump dryer a helping hand by:
using a higher spin cycle on your washing machine to remove excess water before moving the laundry into the dryer
not overloading the dryer, because good airflow is key to faster drying
cleaning the lint filter regularly to maintain efficiency
adding a dry towel to the load to absorb initial heavy surface moisture from other items and to assist airflow.
Line drying clothes is great if you have the time, space and fresh air to do it, but that’s not always the case. In humid climates, a clothes dryer can make your life a lot easier, and with the comparatively low energy use of modern heat pump dryers, you needn’t lose sleep over wasting energy and money.
If you're concerned about your home's humidity levels, a simple hygrometer can help you understand when conditions are most challenging for drying clothes. If high humidity is a problem, consider using a dehumidifier to extract excess moisture from the air.
If air drying clothes feels like a constant battle against moisture, check out our huge range of clothes dryers. We deliver heat pump and vented dryers, front and top load washers and the rest of our appliances to 95% of Australia’s population with Appliances Online's legendary FREE delivery - and we can usually get it to you by the next day (Mon-Fri) when it's in stock.
We even offer paid Same Day Delivery in metro NSW, Qld and Vic for in-stock items ordered by 12pm weekdays. If you need a few more tips on choosing the best dryer for your laundry room, call our friendly team 24/7 on 1300 000 500 or message us via the chat icon at the bottom of your screen.
Oli is Appliances Online's editor and blogger, with almost two decades of lifestyle-related writing and editing to his name. With a mission to help you buy better and live smarter, his brand loyalty will forever belong to the appliance manufacturer that develops a self-emptying dishwasher.