This might sound like a boring post but actually has the potential to save some significant amounts of money, energy and CO2.
Conventional wisdom is that there are a few obvious options for drying clothes, washing line (weather dependent) tumble dryer (probably one of the least ‘green’ options ever invented), spin dryer (bulky and does half the job) or cramming the clothes onto 
the radiator (end up feeling like you are in a steam room and hotter than you want to be). Naturally hanging them outside is the best option but if the weather is bad or you don’t have a garden what other choice do you have?
There is one option – a dehumidifier. Mumzine energy expert Jim Watt reveals that this option is both energy and money saving.
Using a dehumidifier you hang the clothes in a small space (wardrobe or small room) and turn it on. The dehumidifier fans the air round, warms the space slightly, creates a dry climate and removes the moisture. The dehumidifier switches off when the clothes are dry.
If like me you have previously used the radiators to dry clothes in the winter there will be a lot of condensation in the house. Either that or you will have to open windows to let it out. If you unnecessarily heat the whole house at the same time then there is no contest over which is more energy efficient and expensive to run.
How much does it cost to dry your clothes?
A 20kW gas boiler would need to run for at least as long as the humidifier, say 9 hours with the boiler on 50% of the time. You would use 90 kWh of heat from the boiler at say 3.3 p/kWh and the cost would be £3 per
wash load. So compared to the radiator drying using a dehumidifier is at least 60 times cheaper and 10 times cheaper than using a tumble drier.**
If that wasn’t enough a dehumidifier takes up much less space, makes less noise and uses considerably less energy consumption than any type of tumble dryer. On top of that the running costs are less and there is much less wear on clothes. An extra bonus is that the dehumidifier produces deionised water suitable for steam ironing, steam cleaning, batteries, etc
Jim’s recommendation is the DeLonghi 
DES12 Compact Dehumidifier as it is quiet and with a low energy consumption. Price £149.99 although with some shopping around you can knock £20 off that.
For a more detailed report click here
** An efficient tumble drier would use 4 kWh which at 12 p/kWh for electricity equates to about 50p. A non condensing tumble drier is even less efficient than the condensing variety so it would cost more. A 180W
dehumidifier for 9 hours and on 25% of the time would cost under 5p.
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This is a good article, but alas I fear that the problem is far from solved. Modern condensed city accommodation renders green drying impossibility. Put simply its fiction!
As a working family of three, living in ‘custom built’ accommodation, we have limited space and a washing output of such a level that my home permanently resembles a Panto scene from Widow Twanky’s laundry; my enormous knickers double up as tapestry’s and bright children’s textiles decorate every available surface suitable for drying. The minimalist look seems far from reach for the time being.
I have employed all of the below drying devices (on occasion simultaneously), particularly in the winter, when drying clothes over the course of the weekend presents the largest problem. My home is as tropical and humid as the Amazon Basin.
Small Balcony with clothes horse
Dehumidifier (due to condensation problem)
Central Heating
Tumble Dryer (with Spiky Balls)
Electric Drying rack (costs the same as a light bulb to run)
I do however recommend the practice of soaking in advance, which allows you to wash on a lower heat and results in more effective cleaning.
This will sound odd, but the problem may be that you need a better clothes washer
The new frontloading washers spin the clothes SO FAST that they come out almost dry! Then just put those ‘almost dry’ clothes on a spacious clothes drying rack like this one. Being round it can be set up under a ceiling fan for fast drying.
Hi Nicky, thanks for the comment. We put it to energy expert Jim Watt OBE and this was his reply:
“You can never completely dry the clothes ready to wear no matter how fast the spin. Of course you should spin as fast as possible but you also need to avoid damage to certain fabrics, soft woolens for example. The machine will select the spin speed appropriate for different wash programmes. Any final drying process needs a washing line (the best), a drier or a clothes rack of some sort to allow air to circulate around the clothes to dry them. If this rack improves circulation then it will reduce drying time but won’t make much if any reduction in the energy needs for drying. The dehumidifier savings remain if compared to a tumble drier or central heating radiators.”