Readers of this blog will know that last June, at the beginning of winter here in the southern hemisphere, I decided to turn off my clothes dryer and dry my clothes naturally. I was never a big user of the dryer but did rely on it for drying towels, sheets and underwear during the wettest coldest months. To my surprise, I didn’t find going without the dryer particularly inconvenient. The worst element was the sheets which had to be folded several times before being hung but with my central heating even the sheets dried relatively quickly. Once the experiment was over I went back to my old life - with the occasional use of the dryer.
Then at the beginning of January my dryer broke down. Normally I would call a repair person the same day, but I didn’t. I decided to see how long I could go without the dryer. Almost three months later I still don’t have a dyer and, really, I don’t care. In many ways autumn in Sydney is more difficult than winter to dry clothes. The air maybe warm but it is also humid and we have a lot of coastal rain here. Not warm enough to dry the clothes outside many days but too warm to turn on the central heating to help dry them inside so the clothes can sit for days before they are dry. An ugly look and I always imagine the clothes stewing in their juices, eeeewww.
With a small renovation to our kitchen and laundry being drawn up at the moment my thoughts have turned to what design features I should incorporate to allow me to dry clothes effectively all year ‘round in Sydney without a dryer. I have asked the architect to ensure that an outdoor clothesline is well placed to receive the most sunlight and warm breezes but I will also look at the design of the laundry carefully. Currently on wet days I hang clothes indoors on drying racks but this gives the house the look of a commercial laundry.
Then at the beginning of January my dryer broke down. Normally I would call a repair person the same day, but I didn’t. I decided to see how long I could go without the dryer. Almost three months later I still don’t have a dyer and, really, I don’t care. In many ways autumn in Sydney is more difficult than winter to dry clothes. The air maybe warm but it is also humid and we have a lot of coastal rain here. Not warm enough to dry the clothes outside many days but too warm to turn on the central heating to help dry them inside so the clothes can sit for days before they are dry. An ugly look and I always imagine the clothes stewing in their juices, eeeewww.
With a small renovation to our kitchen and laundry being drawn up at the moment my thoughts have turned to what design features I should incorporate to allow me to dry clothes effectively all year ‘round in Sydney without a dryer. I have asked the architect to ensure that an outdoor clothesline is well placed to receive the most sunlight and warm breezes but I will also look at the design of the laundry carefully. Currently on wet days I hang clothes indoors on drying racks but this gives the house the look of a commercial laundry.
So I've looked back before our time and decided that a Victorian-style ceiling –mounted drying rack would be perfect. Our house is over 90 years old and has 3.3m ceilings. My new laundry will have a drying cupboard located over a central heating vent and a ceiling mounted drying rack to catch all the warm air that rises to ceiling. An indoor drying solution that is confined to the laundry – that is sure to please everyone.
I will still install a clothes dryer but I hope I never have to turn it on.
