Drying your clothes and saving energy
Keep wet clothes off your radiators
Moist air costs more to heat
Heat from a radiator circulates arounds a room to keep it warm. Hot air naturally rises, carrying heat away from your walls and causing it to circulate throughout your home.
Drying clothes on a radiator gets in the way of that airflow, meaning it requires more energy to heat the room. Thus puts more pressure on your boiler and increases your energy bill.
It also puts moisture into the air as it evaporates from the drying clothes. Moist air costs more to heat and can cause other problems too.
This moisture increases the chance of condensation – the water that forms on your windows and walls. Repeated condensation over time can lead to damp and mould, which may mean people in the home are more likely to have respiratory problems, respiratory infections, allergies or asthma. Damp and mould can also affect the immune system.
It isn’t good for the clothes themselves either as drying them on radiators can damage the fabric’s fibres.
We know, though, that putting washing on radiators can become a bit of a habit. Explore the alternatives and see what would work best for you.
Our Green Doctors have identified helpful impartial advice on what can really make a difference in reducing bills and saving energy.
Download our supporting home resources – our action plan, our meal and shopping planners, and our stickers – to help you make changes which stick.
Alternatives for drying clothes
According to the Energy Saving Trust, drying clothes on racks inside or outside could save up to £55 per year!* So if you don’t already have a drying rack in the house, purchasing one can pay for itself within a few months.
Rather than using a radiator to dry clothes, use alternative locations such as outdoors, or in a room where you can close the door and open a window, whilst drying the washing (ideally the bathroom).
Hanging clothes on an outdoor washing line is an excellent option, and it is free. If you’re unable to use a washing line but have access to an outdoor space, remember that a clothes horse or drying rack isn’t just for indoor use. These can also be used outside or on a sheltered balcony – even in winter.
Outdoor spaces are not possible for everyone though. When drying indoors we recommend using a clothes horse or drying rack if you’re able to find a space. There are a range of space-saving options too, including racks that hang over the bath and wall-mounted laundry ladders.
Other alternatives to drying on radiators, such as tumble dryers, are notoriously expensive to run.
Keeping clothes fresh
No one likes having their clothes smell damp and musty.
It’s one of the reasons people say they use radiators to dry clothes as quickly as possible. Rather than doing that, there are some simple cost-saving steps to follow to avoid that damp smell.
Make a plan. Stay warm. Save energy.
- Place one of our stickers on the radiator as a reminder.
- Download a free weather app to your phone. This can avoid having your outdoor drying ruined by the British weather.
*Savings based on a typical three-bedroom semi-detached gas heated house, with an 88% efficient gas boiler and average gas tariff of 6.9p/kWh and electricity tariff of 27.4p/kWh. Emission savings include all scopes and greenhouse gases expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent. Correct as of October 2023.
