5 Laundry Tips: How to Reduce Drying Time (An Eco-Friendly Way to Save Money & Make Your Home Safer, too)

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by Robin

I wanted to save time and money by figuring out how to reduce drying time for laundry – and I did! As colder weather approaches I’m sadly aware that my favourite and cheapest way to dry clothes will no longer be as appealing to me.  I’m going to need to get my dryer working better.

Now I know that I can continue to line dry right through the winter.  We live in Old Order Mennonite country and I see their stiff clothes frozen to lines all winter long. 

But my reality is: I won’t do that.

I hate getting bundled up and shivering while I try to pin icy wet clothes on the line as my hands turn red.  Not going to happen.

So very soon I will be using our dryer regularly again.  And that electricity sucking device costs much more to run than the $0 clothesline loads.  (I almost wrote that it would cost many times more than $0 to run – but I heard my daughter scold: “Any times 0 is 0, Mom.)

How do you shorten a drying time?

We found ways to make the dryer more efficient and cut laundry drying time.  Here are our tips for you to save power and money drying clothes! Including one that will make your family safer (at the risk of sounding like ominous newscasters…)

5 Laundry Tips: How to Reduce Drying Time (An Eco-Friendly Way to Save Money)

First some easy ideas:

1) Cut your drying time by increasing your spin time.

My washing machine has a “My cycle” feature – which I’ve programmed to cut drying time.

I’ve set mine to run the clothes through an extra spin cycle to shake every possible drop out of the clothes before they make it to the dryer.  A minute extra spin time could save 10 minutes in the dryer.

2) Hang items that take a long time to dry.

We have a hanging drying rack (similar to this one) – and I swear by it! 

Along with delicate items – I’ll hang up things that take a long time to dry.  Examples include bath mats, lined jeans, coats, etc.  These super wet items can dry for free on a rack and not drag out your drying time.

If we had the space I’d add one of these folding drying racks. Between the two racks, I could likely fit a full load.

3) Add in moisture absorbers

Do dryer balls help clothes dry faster?

YES!

Throwing a couple of these in with your load will cut the drying time down by moving the clothes around to get airflow going and absorbing and spreading out the moisture.

These are about $10 and get great reviews.

4) Clean out your lint trap with every load.

I keep a small garbage pail right near the dryer and scoop out the lint in the filter after every load. 

That lint holds moisture and slows the airflow through your dryer.  A full lint trap = a slower dryer = more power use and $$$.  And, most importantly a full trap is a fire hazard.

5) Clean your dryer ducts.

The importance of this one cannot be overstated.  Full ducts mean extra long dry times, sure. But they are also a safety hazard. Dryers with full ducts are more likely to catch fire.

How do you know if your dryer ducts need cleaning?

I’ve seen recommendations of cleaning them every 6 months and every year – most commonly every year.

A good indicator is the length of time it takes for the load to dry. (I know: well, duh. Seems pretty obvious.)

But here’s the thing – the longer dry time happens very, very, very gradually. Could be a couple seconds longer per load – almost nothing really.  But it adds up.

Hopefully, you’re quicker to clue into this than me. 

It’s almost embarrassing how long it took me to realize just how full our ducts were!  I just kept running the dryer a few minutes longer – and then a few minutes more.  Somehow along the way, I forgot that it used to take so much less time!

When FINALLY my dim-witted lightbulb went off – and Ed and I cleaned out the dryer duct – my drying time had doubled.  (Yeah, I feel like a super genius.)

And it took us just 15 minutes to solve the problem. (My head hangs in shame while I type.)

Here’s a DIY, super quick way to clean out your dryer ducts (and save power and dollars!):

1) Pull out your dryer.

2) Unplug it.

3) With the right tool (usually a slotted screwdriver) take the ducts off the dryer and the wall.

4) With a powerful vacuum – we used our shop vac – suck out all the lint in the dryer and reach into the wall ducts with the hose.  Get as far into them as you can.

5) Suck the lint from the hose.  Or if it’s really bad, pick up a replacement dryer vent hose

 – usually just a few dollars. (For safety make sure you’re using rigid or flexible metal tubing.)

6) Suck out the lint from the opening outside your house – if you can safely reach it.  (Later, make sure the vent opens when your dryer is on.)

7) Reattach the hoses. Plug your dryer in again and push it back into place. Make sure the flexible tubing hasn’t gotten pinched or bound up when you pushed it back in – you want direct airflow.

8) Marvel at how fast it works now and pat yourself on the back for such an easy solve!

How about you, do you have more ideas on how to cut your clothes drying time?

Keep reading: We’ve got more ideas to save electricity right here!