The Met Office has issued thunderstorm weather warnings across Northern England and Scotland this week as up to 60mm of downpour is expected in as little as two hours.
One common worry during a soggy summer is, “How can I keep my bedding dry in wet weather?”, with the threat of E.Coli a common issue for those not washing their sheets.
Searches for dehumidifiers are up 36% since last year, and searches for a heated clothes airer have increased 11% in just the last month, highlighting the nation’s need to find an effective way to dry our laundry indoors.
Luckily, leading sleep experts MattressNextDay have shared expert tips to help you dry your bedding, whether it’s rain or shine.
- ALWAYS use a dehumidifier to remove excess moisture
Bedding and laundry can take a long time to dry properly indoors, especially if it’s a humid environment. Warmer air holds more water vapour which slows down the evaporation process, meaning clothes stay wetter for longer. However, a dehumidifier extracts the excess moisture from the air and condenses the moisture into a cold coil, meaning the air surrounding your laundry will be less humid. This allows the mixture to evaporate from your clothes quickly.
If you leave moisture in bedding, it can lead to bacteria growth such as E.Coli that thrives in moist environments. In addition, this moisture can damage the integrity of the bedding and reduce its lifespan – hence it’s vital to use a dehumidifier when drying indoors.
- Extractor fans can also remove moisture
Alternatively, you could dry bedding in places like your kitchen, designed to cope with condensation, and with extractor fans to speed up drying. Whilst extractor fans don’t remove water vapour from the air like a dehumidifier, they do reduce the humidity, so more water evaporates from your bedding.
Extractor fans are also a wise choice for those of you looking to save some pennies. Extractor fans running for an hour a day would cost around £2.26 a year, meaning they’re £180 a year cheaper to run!
- Use a fan and a window to create your own wind
Using a fan next to your clothes airer could help speed up the drying. The fan will circulate the air around your laundry, cutting down on indoor drying time. Just ensure you have a window open to make this effective and to, in effect, create your own wind and ensure the moisture is leaving your room home to avoid the risk of damp.
Some fans use as little as 1p in energy for an hour, significantly cheaper than a tumble dryer, which costs £1.34 per cycle! Over the course of a year using a fan twice a week for an hour a day would cost just £10.40, whilst running a tumble dryer twice a week would cost around £139.
- Change over to polyester bedding
If you’re fed up with waiting for your bedding to dry, one handy tip is to purchase bedding with polyester, rather than just 100% cotton. You’ll want to look for at least 30% polyester to have some sort of quick-drying effect.
Polyester dries much quicker than cotton as it doesn’t absorb as much moisture. However, be careful if using such bedding in summer as this type of material can retain heat.
- Hang bedding on doors and curtain poles, NEVER on the radiator
Airers are perfect for drying most laundry items, however, a lot of bedding is too large to fit on normal airers. Instead, drape bedding over the stair bannister, internal doors, and even curtain poles so bedding can be evenly spread for quicker drying.
You should never dry laundry or hang any wet item on radiators. Placing wet laundry on radiators can encourage mould and bacteria growth. The heat from the radiator causes the wet washing to produce condensation which can quickly lead to mould growth. It’s also a potential fire risk.
- Don’t overuse laundry detergent
You might think using a large amount of laundry detergent will help your bedding smell fresh – as if it has been on the line outside – but, it could be making your laundry smell worse. When you use too many products, like detergents and scent boosters, they will not be washed away properly.
In turn, this can leave a residue on your bedding that could end up smelling musty. So, you’ll likely have to wash your bedding sooner than hoped.
- Use vinegar and coffee as natural deodorisers
Vinegar kills bad smells and bacteria that cause smells so it acts as a natural deodoriser, which is perfect to use in the washing machine. Simply, add a cup of white vinegar to your washing load. This should then prevent your bedding from smelling musty.
In addition, coffee granules are also a natural deodoriser and can keep storage spaces, such as airing cupboards, smelling fresh, particularly if holding a larger amount of bedding. Just place a cup in your airing cupboard and change it monthly.
- Give washing an extra spin
One simple way to get the excess moisture from your bedding is just by running the washing machine on an extra spin. Usually washing machines will spin laundry at the end of a cycle, but sometimes this isn’t enough. A separate spin cycle is often short, so won’t be using that much more energy.
