Proven Tips for Using A Dehumidifier to Dry Clothes

How to use a dehumidifier to dry clothes… Is this even possible?

Well, yes. It is perfectly possible to use a large unit, such as the 70-pint Frigidaire Dehumidifier, or any other large-sized one, to draw out moisture from your clothes until they are dry. Use a dehumidifier with a drain hose so that you don’t have to keep emptying the bucket. Squeeze the excess water from the laundry before hanging them to dry. Let the dehumidifier run for as long as necessary. Since it has a humidistat to sense changes in humidity levels, it will stop automatically as soon as the clothes are dry. 

But how long does it take for a dehumidifier to dry clothes? Well, it can take anywhere from 3 to 5 hours.

Another question that you could be wondering is: Are humidifiers good for drying clothes? Well, first, a dehumidifier reduces humidity in a room by removing extra moisture.

Therefore, if this appliance removes extra moisture from the air, it will also dry the wet clothes in the same way. All that you need to do when drying clothes indoors with a dehumidifier is… just turn it on.

And that is that!

How to use a dehumidifier to dry clothes

It is very simple, but you need a big dehumidifier for this job. In addition, if you can get one that has laundry modes, it will be much better for you.

For example, in Australia, they have large desiccant dehumidifiers that have turbo laundry mode.

Here is a point-by-point brief for using a dehumidifier to dry laundry:

  • If you are able, squeeze as much water as possible from the laundry
  • Hang the clothes on a rack, clothes horse or laundry line close to the dehumidifier
  • Close all windows and doors to the room
  • Turn on the dehumidifier
  • Give them up to 5 hours to dry
  • If there is need to turn them over so that both sides can dry evenly, do it

Well, even if it does not have such modes and functions, you can still use it to dry your clothes. But first, you will have to lay them on the drying rack or a clothes horse.

You can also hang the clothes on a clothesline in the laundry room. When hanging them, leave some space between your clothes—about an inch or two.

Preparing to dry laundry with a dehumidifier

Image of What is drying of clothes called

Before you crank up the dehumidifier in the laundry room, you need to close all the windows in the room.

Therefore, if you were counting on this one dehumidifier to dehumidify the rest of the house, the other rooms would have to wait until your clothes are dry.

On the same note, even if you have a whole house dehumidifier, it might not help to dry your clothes. You need a specific dehumidifier in the laundry room for drying your clothes.

Therefore, even during winter when you need to turn on a humidifier, you will still use your dehumidifier to dry your laundry.

How does a dehumidifier dry clothes indoors?

Think about it this way … when you hang wet clothes outside to dry, they will dry even without direct sunshine.

The reason for this is that when the air around the clothes is dry, the clothes are bound to lose their moisture to the dry air.

Therefore, when you have a dehumidifier in a laundry room, when you crank it up, it sucks in moist air, and then it releases dry air.

The air around the wet clothes becomes dry, and so they start losing their moisture to the surrounding air.

When you run a dehumidifier in your laundry room, you create an artificial dry environment. That way, the clothes dry in a matter of hours.

Dehumidifier vs tumble dryer electricity

Image of Dehumidifier vs tumble dryer electricity
tumble dryer

Are tumble dryers heavy on electricity, and do dehumidifiers use less electricity?

This is a very common question. Therefore, before you pick the dehumidifier or the tumble dryer to dry your clothes, you will need to know which one uses less electricity. After all, you do not want to rack up the power bill because of your clothes.

When you turn the tumble dryer on, it is going to cost you about $0.43 per hour to keep it running. Of course, this is an estimate. In some states, it can cost more than that.

On the other hand, an electric dehumidifier is going to cost you an average of $0.56 an hour. This is slightly higher than what a tumble dryer uses, but it is still within range. In addition, modern dehumidifiers are more energy-efficient than ever.

Therefore, when it comes to choosing between dehumidifier vs tumble dryer electricity usage, you can choose to use either without feeling a dent in your wallet.

Whatever you do, you should not hang wet clothes in your room. If you do, they could turn your home into one damp room and encourage the proliferation of mold and other indoor allergens.

In addition, if you have been running an ultrasonic humidifier at home, it could have left some humidifier white dust that the wet clothes can pick up.

So, turn on the tumble dryer or the dehumidifier.

How fast does dehumidifier for clothes closet work?

The correct answer is; it depends.

And that is true. It depends on many things. The first thing is the size of the laundry room. If you have a huge one, it will definitely take longer, or you could get a bigger dehumidifier with dryer.

In addition, it also depends on the amount of washing that you were doing. For instance, the washing of an average family can release up to 2 liters of water. Therefore, it can take anywhere from 3 hours to dry up.

However, the time that it takes to dry your garments also depends on the type of fabrics. For instance, heavy woolen garments will carry more water in their fibers. They’ll take longer for the dehumidifier dryer to draw out all the water.

For the best effect, you need to know where to place the dehumidifier in the closet. The best place is in the center of the room so that it can draw moisture from all the air in the room.

Benefits of using a clothes drying room dehumidifier

First, in the market, we have dehumidifier dryer types that you can buy to make drying clothes in the laundry room easier.

One such dehumidifier is the Ivation 4,500 Sq Ft Large capacity that you can buy on amazon.com.

To be able to dry clothes, you need a dehumidifier with some serious oomph! Therefore, it is best to use a large capacity one. Since the 4500-sq. ft Ivation is Energy Star rated, it has a very fair consumption of electricity.

1. You can dry clothes even in the wet seasons

Hanging clothes to dry outside in winter is not going to help because the air outside is too damp and cold.

On the other hand, hanging them to dry in the laundry room is also not going to help because they can take too long to dry.

To make your laundry easier to clean, use a dehumidifier. It will take about 5 hours and the good thing is that you can use the dehumidifier water to water the plants.

2. Clothes don’t leave excess moisture in the laundry room

This is a huge benefit of using a drying room dehumidifier. The appliance draws the damp air inside where it is cooled in the condensing coils.

The condense is then collected as water and is drained outside. In return, the fans blow out warm and dry air into the room.

However, when you air-dry your wet clothes on a clothes horse, the moisture leaves the fibers. It does not evaporate since the air around is too damp and cold. Therefore, you start to notice increased humidity in the laundry room.

3. You can dry clothes faster

Today, manufacturers make some dehumidifiers to specifically use them for drying clothes. Such appliances have settings and features that enable them to do a faster job.

For instance, you will find that when you set it on dryer mode, it will draw the damp air inside at a faster rate. On the same note, it will also pump out dry air at a fast rate.

Therefore, you need not spend more than 4 hours drying clothes. The good thing is that as soon as the clothes are dry, the level of humidity in the air drops. Therefore, the dehumidifier switches off automatically.

Check whether the dehumidifier for laundry room has turbo laundry mode. If it does, turn it on so that it can suck out the moisture in your indoor air at super speed.

4. The clothes dry up softly

You know just how stiff your clothes can dry up when you dry them in the hot sun. However, when you learn how to use a dehumidifier to dry clothes, you will find out that they dry ever so softly and naturally.

If you are drying clothes for your baby, they will dry up so softly. Therefore, they will not be too stiff for your baby to wear once they are dry.

In addition, if you used a fabric softener when washing them, you will be very pleased with the results.

5. The dehumidifier levels the moisture percentage in your home

When you use a dehumidifier in a laundry room, it not only dries your clothes, but it also does much more.

For instance, it draws moisture from the air, thereby lowering the high humidity inside the house to the recommended 30 to 50%.

On that note, using a dehumidifier to dry your clothes is like hitting two birds with one stone.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to use a dehumidifier to dry clothes, you need to know that clothes can produce a lot of moisture.

Therefore, it is best to use a bigger drying room dehumidifier and connect it to a drain pipe. A small dehumidifier with a reservoir will fill up too fast.

Lastly; is a dehumidifier better than a tumble dryer? Well, research shows that it is. It does a better job, and it leaves the clothes soft. However, you need a big dehumidifier to dry your laundry efficiently.