How to dry clothes in winter without mould

Why winter laundry is a mould trap

In winter you can't dry outside, so wet clothes go inside. The water has to go somewhere. Cold corners are where it ends up: condensing on glass, soaking into plasterboard, feeding mould.

Four things that actually work

1. Bathroom plus extractor fan

Hang the washing in the bathroom. Shut the door. Leave the extractor on for three or four hours. The fan vents the moisture outside instead of pushing it into the living room. Simplest fix for most flats.

2. A heated drying rack

$80 to $150 buys you a heated airer. Uses 200 to 300 watts (less than a kettle). Takes a 10kg load, dries it in four to six hours, often with a cover to trap the heat. Doesn't release moisture into the room as fast as a tumble dryer would.

3. Dehumidifier in a closed room

The professional answer. Hang the washing in a spare room. Shut the door. Run a 10 to 20 litre dehumidifier overnight. The clothes are dry by morning. Bonus: the dry air that comes out of the dehumidifier slightly warms the room. Costs about 30 to 50 cents in electricity per load.

4. A heat-pump tumble dryer

If you do three or more loads a week, this is worth it. 60% less energy than vented dryers, gentler on clothes, vents almost no moisture into the room.

What not to do

Don't hang clothes on the radiators. The steam goes straight into the wall behind. Cold walls feed mould. The radiator can't heat the room either.

Don't dry in a bedroom with the window shut. Bedroom mould is the worst kind. You breathe it for eight hours every night.

Don't tumble-dry without checking pockets. One forgotten tissue ruins a load.

Spin twice

A second spin-only cycle takes another 20 to 30% of the water out of the load before you hang it up. Cuts drying time by hours.

Why winter drying breeds mould

A single load of wet washing holds around two litres of water, and all of it has to go somewhere. Dry it indoors in a closed winter room and that two litres evaporates straight into your air, pushing humidity up, settling on cold window glass and external walls as condensation, and giving mould exactly the damp it needs. This is why so many people who never had a mould problem suddenly get black spots on the bedroom wall the first winter they start drying laundry inside.

The methods that actually work in cold weather

The best option, even in winter, is still outdoors on a dry, breezy day. Cold air is fine for drying as long as it is dry and moving; a crisp, sunny winter day with a light wind will dry clothes surprisingly well. Watch for a dry window in the forecast and grab it.

When you must dry inside, control where the moisture goes. Dry clothes in one room, keep its door closed to the rest of the house, crack a window for airflow, and run a dehumidifier or an extractor fan in that room. The combination of a closed door and active moisture removal keeps the damp contained instead of spreading it through the home. Spacing garments out so air can move between them roughly halves drying time compared with a crammed rack.

Heated airers and dehumidifiers: the cheap winter upgrade

A heated clothes airer uses about the same power as a couple of light bulbs and dries a load overnight, and pairing it with a small dehumidifier under a sheet "tent" is dramatically faster and cheaper than running a tumble dryer. The dehumidifier captures the evaporating water before it can reach your walls, solving the drying and the damp problem at once. For most homes this pairing is the single best winter laundry investment.

Frequently asked questions

Can clothes dry outside in winter?

Yes. As long as the air is dry and there is some breeze, cold air dries clothes fine, just more slowly. A sunny, low-humidity winter day can dry a load by mid-afternoon. Avoid wet or foggy days when the air is already saturated.

Is drying clothes indoors really bad for you?

It is not dangerous in a well-ventilated home, but in a sealed, poorly aired room the extra humidity encourages mould and dust mites, which matter if anyone has asthma or allergies. Ventilate the room and the risk drops sharply.

What is the cheapest way to dry clothes in winter?

Outdoors when the weather allows, costing nothing. Indoors, a heated airer paired with a dehumidifier is far cheaper to run than a tumble dryer and protects your walls from condensation at the same time.

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