WINTER HELPER <\/span><\/p>\nI never use my dryer thanks to 50p Tesco essential which sucks up moisture<\/h3>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
They do this by creating a cold surface inside them which draws in and condenses the damp air, with the tiny molecules of liquid falling into a container at the bottom.<\/p>\n
The dried-out air is warmed back up to room temperature and then blown back into the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Test one – dehumidifier <\/h2>\n
For my first test, I set the dehumidifier to its \u201csmart laundry mode\u201d and hung out a wet load of washing around it on some airers.<\/p>\n
Normally it takes about a day for clothes to dry inside, but with a substantial dehumidifier next to it the job was done in eight hours. <\/p>\n
I was impressed. It cost me 53p, according to my smart plug.<\/p>\n
The laundry mode takes the humidity of the room to a really low level, aiming at 35 per cent RH (relative humidity).<\/p>\n
This helps to quickly draw the moisture out of the clothes, as well as having a higher fan speed to create a breeze.<\/p>\n
A normal RH level is around 50 to 55% – and that\u2019s what the dehumidifier will aim for if you have it in the standard smart humidity mode.<\/p>\n
Test two – heated airer<\/h2>\n
Next came the turn of my heated airer, a Status model currently costing \u00a349.99, from Amazon.<\/p>\n
I timed how long it would dry out a family load of washing, the same as I had done in the previous test.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I noticed that the parts of the garment that were in contact with the heated bars dried in no time but the bits that hung down from the bars weren't drying very quickly.<\/p>\n
So I was constantly fiddling with the clothes and moving them around so different areas of the garment could come into contact with the heat. <\/p>\n
Everything was dry in 10 hours but that was with me giving them a helping hand. <\/p>\n
But it's definitely faster than a normal airer which takes up to a day to get our clothes properly dry.<\/p>\n
Typical consumption is 230watts, according to the product\u2019s specification, but my smart plug found it was around 246watts, which would mean the cost is just under 7p an hour. <\/p>\n
Drying a load of washing with the airer cost me 67p.<\/p>\n
I found it\u2019s better to dry clothes by laying them across the bars, rather than hanging loads off of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But of course if like me you have loads of washing you're going to want to pile it all on at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t like the idea of using a heated airer without a dehumidifier, as I know from miserable experience that all that moisture needs to evaporate somewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If it doesn\u2019t go out of a window or into a dehumidifier, it\u2019s going to condense on the walls and turn into mould.<\/p>\n
So if I had to choose between the airer and dehumidifier, I\u2019d go for the latter, as it not only dries clothes but also deals with the mould and moisture – all for similar energy consumption, around 245 – 250watts.<\/p>\n
Of course, I could open the windows, if I didn\u2019t have a dehumidifier, but that just isn\u2019t an option with a young family to keep warm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The little-known trick to speed up the drying<\/h2>\n
However, that's not the end of the story. <\/p>\n
According to Meaco, I was missing a trick when it comes to really fast-drying washing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chris said the best way to use a dehumidifier is in combination with a fan – the same cooling one you use on hot summer days. <\/p>\n
It turns out I will need it in winter too, as Chris explained its breeze creates the perfect conditions for drying clothes.<\/p>\n
"To put it into simple terms, think about how you dry washing outside, you would look for a dry, sunny, windy day," he said.<\/p>\n
"This is what you need to recreate indoors to dry laundry."<\/p>\n
He reckons the warmth of a normal house is sufficient, and there's no need to use extra heat as this costs more money than necessary. <\/p>\n
But the wind from the fan creates perfect conditions for drying, and only costs 1p an hour to run.<\/p>\n
\u201cClothes dry faster on a windy day as the air blowing through them literally forces the moisture out," he said.<\/p>\n
"This works faster if the air around the clothes is dry (hence the need for a dehumidifier)."<\/p>\n
I gave it a go testing both the dehumidifier on laundry mode, and my old fan perched next to it, its rotating head blowing forcefully across my washing on its highest setting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The result? In just four and a half hours, everything was dry, including my daughter's thick toddler sleeping bags.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A caveat is that everyone\u2019s drying times will be different – depending on the material used in their clothes, the temperature of their house and how draughty it is. <\/p>\n
The room I used was 20C and my washing loads are a typical bundle of kids\u2019 and adult clothing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
I also tested the dehumidifier and heated airer together but after four and a half hours, there were still wet patches on the clothes where they were hanging off the airer\u2019s bars.<\/p>\n
At that point I declared the dehumidifier and fan combo the winner.<\/p>\n
They cost 35p to use per laundry load, according to the latest energy price cap – a bargain compared to typical dryer costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tumble dryers normally use 3kWh of energy per load, according to uSwitch, which would cost around 81p in total, according to current typical tariffs energy. <\/p>\n
So my method halves the cost of a tumble dryer.<\/p>\n
Other dehumidifier options<\/h2>\n
Of course, \u00a3259.99 for an Arete One is no small expense – but there are cheaper alternatives. <\/p>\n
Emily Seymour, Which? energy editor, said: \u201cUsing a dehumidifier is a great way to reduce the effects of condensation in your home. <\/p>\n
"By drawing out excess moisture from the air, dehumidifiers can also hold back mould growth and reduce damp on walls.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much you want to spend on a dehumidifier will depend on the size of your home, how many people in the household and how damp your home is."<\/p>\n
She noted the most expensive models are around \u00a3450 and will come with a larger capacity and extra features like a laundry mode.<\/p>\n
However, Which? has found "Good Value" models that do a "great job" starting at \u00a3120. <\/p>\n
Models that cost less than \u00a3150 tend to have a capacity of 10 litres or less. <\/p>\n
Cheaper dehumidifiers are also less likely to have castors, wheels or a laundry setting.<\/p>\n
It's worth looking out for a humidistat feature, which monitors moisture levels in the air and adjusts to your chosen the humidity level you\u2019ve selected, laundry mode – which whacks the fan speed up, wheels and a night mode.\u00a0<\/p>\n