having a winter baby and unsure on how to manage and dry clothing etc..

[mummy1912]

seen numerous posts on what to wash baby clothes in, but how are you ladies such as december dreamers going to manage? i'm a little unsure as i don't have a dryer and it's going to be a matter of swapping and changing between airer and airing cupboard. i've just washed absolutely every piece of clothing i have and toys and muslin cloths etc.. that was yesterday and they are still a little damp, anyone else a little in dismay about this? xx

 

[lozzy21]

I got my dad to buy me a tumble for my birthday for this reason.

Have you got a free standing clothes airer or ones that hook over the radiators?

The ones that go over your radiators are good because you can dry your clothes and the heat still gets out and with it being winter they would be on a bit.

 

[sausages]

Our DD was born early January and the house looked like a laundry for ages! I just used to rotate things around radiators and on the clothes horse, but we also had a tumbler which helped a lot.

This time i've invested in a second clothes horse because we are a lot tighter for cash and i am hoping to get away from using the tumbler so much.

Just try to stay on top of it i guess. It's so easy to let it slide for a day or two, but that can take a while to recover from when you only have so much space to play with.

Also, parents etc might offer to do some washing for you - accept their offer!! They will want to help you out and this is a great way of doing that!

 

[LuckyStarr]

Wow washed all of your clothes already! So organised!

We have a dryer and an airer too, i did a load of our uniforms last night and they are still damp today though hubby is so tight he squeaks when he walks i am not allowed the heating on till the baby arrives! lol

Have u got a friend with a tumbler? Pop round for a cuppa with a load of washing too. x

 

[adamskatie]

Hiya,

You have to be really careful hanging wet washing in your house over winter, mainly because you can cause damp and condensation, but more importantly its not good for you or your family to be breathing in damp air - when I lived at home with my Dad we used to hang our wet washing all over the house to dry and he ended up with pneumonia as a result

If you do not want to go down the route of a tumble dryer you could invest in a dehumidifer:

https://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4250478/Trail/searchtext>DEHUMIDIFIER.htm

I know it seems a lot of money to fork out initially but its well worth it - if you have a room full of hanging, wet washing, all you do is plug it in and stand it in the middle of the room and it basically sucks in all the wetness from the clothes, you will be amazed at the amount of water you tip away after a few hours!

I dont know how we ever lived without one to be honest - they are alot cheaper to run than a tumble dryer

 

[gemabee]

hey hun i don't have a tumble dryer or an airing cupboard... i manage just fine.
i got 6 loads of baby clothes washed, dried nd ironed in 3 days.
u jus need a couple of airers... i also put the heatin on (turn all radiators off bar 1 in the bathroom)... nd put the airers in the bathroom... its quite small so the clothes dry quickly... i don't use that bathroom so its like a jumbo airing cupboard!
my mum is buyin me a dri-buddy for christmas.
apparently it dries clothes quick nd doesn't use much energy.
i've only ever seen them in makro... not sure if u can get them anywhere else.
xx

 

[stardust599]

Dehumidifier is a good idea.

It's been rainy/cold the past few days here and I have soooooo much washing it's unbelieveable. I have two loads waiting to get hung up and one already on the clothes horse. I also have another couple of loads waiting to go in the machine but I can't until I find somewhere to dry them! xxx

 

[Ginger1]

At the moment I just dry clothes on airers and make sure I've got the windows open on a small gap so the condensation can escape. My house is a bit of a nightmare for condensation as it's a 200 year old Welsh cottage with solid stone walls, and it rains too much here to dry things outside regularly.

We haven't got room for a tumble dryer either, so I'm hoping this will still work ok with the extra laundry demands from bubs

 

[mummy1912]

thankyou all for your comments the dri buddi and dehumidifier in particular sound great! and i guess a small investment of £60-£70 is nothing if it gets bubbas clothes nice and dry cheers again girls xx

 

[stardust599]

any other ways to remove damp air from inside apart from the dehumidifier - can't afford one just now and i have damp clothes drying all over my house!

putting the heating on and leaving one or two windows open????? xx

 

[KellyC75]

Im having this problem right now! So, its only gonna get worse

I have a tumble drier, but you shouldnt dry all cothes in that

Its a nitemare at the mo' as I dont want heating on either, it'd be too hot....

 

[chocolate]

We have a tumble dryer this time around luckily, but we used clothes horses and radiators and tried to put all the washing in one room - didnt realise about the condensation etc.

So Id say be wise about what you buy, and if something is actually dirty and really needs washing or could do one more use - things like muslins dry quickly and all in one sleepsuits and saves on socks too, so try to stick to buying and using those till the summer.
Use a muslin to put across the top of the cot/moses basket head end to catch any sick so you are not washing big sheets all the time etc. as like I say they are easy to wash and dry quickly.

 

[crazyrae]

I think it varies about condensation as I've read the opposite that central heating can dry out the air and it can help the baby's breathing by putting a bowl of water next to the radiator or taking them into a steamy bathroom, such as if they have a cold.
But yeah, after starting washing baby clothes today I've realised I need a tumble dryer! So many small bits and pieces to wash and that's just the first 2 loads of clothing (no bedding yet) and without any of our clothes!!
Have heard of those airers that heat up are meant to be good though - someone from my NCT class got hers from Lakeland

 

[Soos]

i live in a very humid climate and i ended up buying a new washing machine with dryer... it's too humid to dry anything outside as well as inside during autumn/winter/spring time