The benefits of using a dehumidifier to dry laundry

There are several advantages of using a dehumidifier instead of a tumble dryer to dry laundry. Perhaps the most obvious benefit is the reduced cost. A dehumidifier can cost as little as 8p an hour to run in comparison to a tumble dryer that can cost over £2 per cycle*.

Meaco dehumidifiers have a dedicated laundry mode, which switches off after six hours to help you save energy. This means that with every load you choose to air dry instead of putting in the tumble dryer, you’re saving around £1.50  on your energy bill. For a busy family drying laundry every day this could add up to a saving of £45 every month!

Drying Laundry With A Dehumidifier

Whilst the dehumidifier is drying the clothes it is also protecting the room that the clothes are in. ‘Natural’ methods of drying laundry can create additional moisture in your rooms. This turns into condensation, or forms mould patches on walls, ceilings and even soft furnishings. Mould spores are bad for respiratory health, so the whole process is potentially damaging to both your home and your family. That’s why dehumidifiers are recommended as a safer, faster and more efficient way to dry laundry over the winter.

By choosing to air dry laundry, you can help your clothes to last longer too. Garments are not exposed to the high temperatures from tumble dryers that can damage delicate fabrics. Air drying is kinder to fabrics, making your clothes feel softer.

Still Using The Tumble Drier?

Over recent years there have been numerous product recalls and high-profile safety notices relating to tumble dryers. Tumble drying can be a fire risk, and owners are always advised to run their driers when they are in the house, and to keep them clean of lint and residue.

If you’re worried about the potential safety hazard of running your tumble drier – or the energy costs they incur, you might be thinking about the alternatives. The easiest of these is to air-dry your washing by hanging it on drying racks, over radiators or across chairs. As long as you have a reliable and effective way to reduce the excess moisture from the air in your home, this is a great alternative. It saves energy and reduces the potential fire risk in your home.

Laundry drying on a rack with a dehumidifier

Using a dehumidifier to dry your laundry has a lot of benefits

What About When You Don’t Need To Dry Laundry?

While you have no clothes to dry you can put your dehumidifier to work to protect the rest of your home. There’s often excess moisture in your home – particularly during the colder months. Cooking, showering – anything that creates moisture – are all ways that you introduce more moisture into your home.

Not only does this extra moisture cause condensation and mould – it can also make it more expensive to heat your home. Cold, wet air is harder to heat than dry air, so your heating will have to work harder – even if you’ve turned down the thermostat. Investing in a dehumidifier will not just dry laundry – it will try the air. And this in turn will make it easier to heat your home – making it cheaper all round.

*Based on a dehumidifier that can extract up to 12 litres a day and runs at 0.157 kWh, and the average tumble dryer using roughly 4.5kWh per cycle. Calculations are based on the October 2022 price of 34p per kWh*.

*Accurate as of October 2022 from Energy Saving Trust

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49 responses

  1. Hi Chris

    We live in a terraced Victorian house, the temperature can vary room to room. I’m looking for a dehumidifier that we can use most likely in the kitchen (a large, open space; we’ll hang clothes on a rack) as we have a new baby and so there’s a lot of washing all the time and the tumble dryer is expensive and cumbersome to run. Pretty much sole use is for laundry. I find it difficult to decide which type of dehumidifer and which model. Are you able to advise? Many thanks

  2. I am looking for a dehumidifier primarily for drying clothes in my downstairs shower room, no damp as new house, room is just over 4sqm. Which model would suit best please.
    Thank you.

    1. Jackie,

      You are only allowed to use a compressor machine if the space is larger than 4m², so that will ne worth checking. In a space that small any dehumidifier will dry washing fine and it comes down to what you might want the dehumidifier to do apart from drying clothes? From a safety point of view don’t have the dehumidifier or an extension cable in there when the shower or wash basin is being used.

      Chris

  3. Hi Chris!

    Thanks for all the useful replies. I’m looking to buy a Meaco dehumidifier to help dry clothes indoors over winter, from your instructions in a previous post (see below), I assume adding a radiator on in the same room will further aid drying times? I’m looking to use the dehumidifier with the Meaco 1056 fan + radiator heating. I’m hoping the added circulation with heating will help with drying times. I’ll be using a bedroom as the drying room so my objective is to get the laundry dry as quickly as possible.

    Thanks,
    Pete

    To dry clothes, do the following.

    Windows closed.
    Door closed.
    Clothes on a rack, but not overcrowded.
    Small clothes on the bottom of the rack, large clothes on the top.
    Rack sideways on to the dehumidifier.
    Dehumidifier close to the rack so that the dry air from the dehumidifier hits the clothes.
    Use a fan if you have one to blow the clothes as well.
    Always have a clean dehumidifier filter.

  4. Researching which dehumidifier to buy?
    I will be using it to mainly drying clothes in a bathroom 3×3 m2 in a part of the house which is cold and damp. Either side of the bathroom are two bedrooms both different with damp issues . Total area is 60 m2.
    This area is heated once a day for two hours.
    I would like the most economical unit to buy and the quietist and possibly heat the area as well?
    Not to much to ask I know lol !
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    So far I’m edging towards either the 8 litre desiccant or the upgraded and slightly bigger Zambezi but the Zambezi does NOT have the laundry mode. Does this matter ?

    Many thanks in advance for any advice
    D

  5. Hello, would love a recommendation too please. Need dehumidifier to help dry clothes, rack kept in utility 3m x 2.5m during the day. Lots of issues with condensation in upstairs rooms also in winter months. Hoping that by using dehumidifier downstairs in utility it will reduce moisture drift upstairs.. If it can be used in adjoining living space as a heat source, thats a bonus. Main thing is I need it to be cheap to run or I imagine I’ll stop using it. Any advice appreciated.

    1. Nikki,

      Thank you for your message. Heat will always cost money, it never comes for free. A desiccant dehumidifier like Zambezi or the DD8L will give you either 330 or 650 watts of warmth whilst it dries the air, bonus heat if you like, but you are still paying for it. Arete One dehumidifiers will dry the air cheaper, but will use so little energy that you will get hardly any extra warmth.

      If you decide to carry the machine between downstairs and upstairs to dry out the bedrooms then the desiccants machines are a lot lighter to carry.

      Chris

      1. Chris, before I let you go, also any advice on how long the unit should be operational for in any given day to give good results? If laundry is washed in morning hours and hung to dry, leave it running 6 hours, more? Or until laundry is dry to touch?

  6. Hi – we are building an extension and I would like to make the utility room a drying room, it will be 4m2. Which would be the best model? Should the dehumidifier be ‘installed’ or simple put on the floor/worktop near the drying rack? Is there an option to extract the water rather than worry about the tank filling up? Thank you

    1. Laura,

      there are two types of dehumidifiers, compressor and desiccant. You are not allowed to use a compressor machine in a space smaller than 4m², so your measurements become vital, this rule applies to all manufacturers. For drying laundry to be effective you need to make sure that the air from the dehumidifier hits the washing, using a fan as well halves the drying time. Drying the washing in a small, sealed room is perfect.

      If the room is going to be unheated and the temperature is likely to be below 10°C in winter for long periods of time then it would have to be a desiccant, if the space is smaller than 4m², then it will have to be a desiccant. If it is larger and warmer then using the largest compressor machine possible will reduce running costs and will speed up drying times.

      All options can have a hose attached to run the water away downhill continuously.

      Chris

  7. Hello there, I have a MeacoDry Arete® One 25L and have put it in a small bedroom with clothes on an airer to dry the laundry. I cannot find a definitive method to best dry everything. Windows open or not? Meaco next to wall or in middle of room? Meaco facing towards or away from the laundry. Meaco close to laundry or not? Please advise.
    Thanks.

    1. Lee,

      To dry clothes, do the following.

      Windows closed.
      Door closed.
      Clothes on a rack, but not overcrowded.
      Small clothes on the bottom of the rack, large clothes on the top.
      Rack sideways on to the dehumidifier.
      Dehumidifier close to the rack so that the dry air from the dehumidifier hits the clothes.
      Use a fan if you have one to blow the clothes as well.
      Always have a clean dehumidifier filter.

      Hope this helps.

      Chris

      1. Thy helps a lot Chris. Thank you so much for your swift response.
        I have been very impressed with your products and customer support.
        Lee

  8. Hi, I’ve read so much to try and determine which one to buy and am still not confident! I want to use the dehumidifier in my 3 bedroom bungalow, but some rooms I keep at 21 degrees and then some are only 11 degrees at the moment. So it’s not clear cut weather to have compressor or desiccant. My priority is using less energy so it cost less to run. Which one would you recommend please?

      1. Hi Chris, Thanks for your reply. Is the meaco dry 25l Arete ok for me too? I’ve managed to find one in stock somewhere, they’re like gold dust at the moment!

  9. Hi good evening, I want a DEHUMIDIFIER to use in my conservatory to dry clothes. There is no heating in my conservatory, so what will be the best one in your range. I already have the 20 litre one for my house.

    Thank you.

  10. Do you offer instalments for paying for a new dehumidifier? I just bought a DD8L and I’d like another but don’t have it all upfront to pay in one payment Thanks

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