Laundry Tips

What is the Best Way to Dry My Clothes?

December 16, 2019

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The process of drying your clothes affects how they look, feel, and how long your clothes will last. Many people have questions about what is the best way to dry my clothes?
While it would be so much easier if we were given a list of simple rules to remember how to dry clothes, sadly, it wasn’t made to be such an easy process. The proper drying method differs from different clothing materials, textures, colors, and weights. Below are some suggestions for how to properly dry your clothes in the dryer and when to air-dry your clothes. If you treat your clothes with care, you may be surprised by how nice they will feel and how long they will last.

Prepping Before Drying

Before washing clothes, you should sort clothing by texture, fabric, color, and soil. Doing this before washing your clothes will also help you sort clothes for drying. It is a good idea to separate clothes for drying based on weight. Drying heavier items with lighter items could bring you an outcome of some clothes being over-dried and other clothes being not dry enough.
When removing clothes from the washing machine, make sure that any stains were removed, because putting stained clothing in the dryer could cause the stain to become permanent. Also, shaking out your clothes before putting them in the dryer can help items dry faster and help reduce wrinkles.

Don’t Overload the Dryer

It’s easy to believe that you are saving time and energy by loading your dryer with as much as spaciously possible, but clothes will actually take longer to dry and will most likely come out wrinkled. Your dryer load needs to be small enough for your clothes to tumble around freely.

What Is The Best Way to Dry My Clothes?

Check the label on your clothing to make sure you are drying your clothes at the right temperature. However, if there is no care label on the clothing, here are some suggestions:

  • Consider the washing temperature when deciding on the drying temperature. Normally, if you can wash your clothes in hot water, you should be able to dry your clothes on a hot setting. For example, cotton bath towels can be dried in a regular hot setting. Six bath towels weighing 5 pounds will dry in 40-50 minutes.
  • Items that need to be washed in cool water should be dried in a permanent press setting. The “Permanent Press” option has a cool-down cycle to prevent wrinkles at the end of the heating process.
  • You should set your dryer to the delicate dryer setting if the lingerie or any other delicate items are allowed to go in the dryer. That should be listed on the care label.
  • Clothing made of nylon, lycra, acrylic, polyester, or spandex should be air-dried or can be machine-dried at a low temperature.
  • Cleaning your dryer’s lint filter after every load can increase your dryer’s ability to give you dry clothes in the best condition. Also, occasionally checking the outside vent opening to keep it clean of any outdoor debris can also help keep your dryer clean.
  • Over-drying certain clothes, like cotton clothing, can be hard on them and lead to shrinkage. Normally, the best process for washing clothes made of cotton is to hang them up while they are damp and allow them to air dry.
  • Any item that you remove from the dryer before it is dry should be allowed time to dry out completely before putting away to prevent mildew in areas, like your closet or drawers.
  • When the drying cycle is finished, you should immediately remove clothes from the dryer to help prevent wrinkles. However, if you were not able to do so, allowing the dryer to run for an extra 10-15 minutes can also help remove wrinkles.

When You Should Air-Dry Your Clothes

Air-drying has many benefits compared to using a clothes dryer:
  • Air-drying uses less energy and saves you money.
  • Air-drying prevents static cling.
  • Air-drying outside gives a fresh, clean smell.
  • Air-drying extends your clothes lifetime.
To dry your clothes indoors, you can purchase a drying rack or find surfaces to drape your clothes over, like a shower curtain. A bathroom is a great place to air-dry clothes, because of the waterproof surfaces.
The process of properly drying clothes seems like a challenging process with all of the things to consider, but once you begin to practice the proper exercises, it will get easier with time. However, if you do not want to take the extra time and research to dry your clothes, The Great American Laundromat offers a wash/dry/fold service that does all the hard work for you! You can effortlessly bring your laundry into the store and have professionals wash, dry and fold your laundry for you.

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