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When it comes to drying your bedsheets over summer, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t jump at the opportunity to hang their freshly spun laundry outside on those all-too-rare sunny days – after all, a warm day means your bedding and pillowcases will be dry in no time at all.
However, when it comes to drying your bedsheets in winter, hanging your laundry outside can become a bit of a problem. In fact, depending on the weather and temperature, you might not be able to do it at all, which leaves you with only one solution – drying your bedsheets indoors.
Now, drying your bedsheets indoors is by no means something that should be avoided at all costs, but it does mean that your sheets, duvets, and pillows are going to take a lot longer to dry than if they were hung outside on the line. Fortunately, there are also many simple and effective ways that you can speed up this drying time as well.
Read on to learn our top tips for how to dry bedsheets indoors when the cold months roll around this year, including extra insights on how to dry bedsheets quickly if you need them asap, as well as advice on drying bedsheets using a tumble dryer.
What is the best way to dry bedsheets without a dryer?
Naturally, when it comes to drying bedsheets indoors, most people’s main go-to solution might be to use a tumble dryer. Quick and efficient, this nifty appliance can have your sheets dry in under an hour.
Of course, not all of us can afford or fit a tumble dryer in our home, meaning we have to look elsewhere to speed up the drying time for our bedsheets. So, if you’re looking for the best way to dry bedsheets without a dryer, take a look at our suggestions below for a couple of alternatives:
1. Visit a laundromat
First things first, if you don’t have a tumble dryer in your home and need your bedsheets dried in a hurry, then your best option is to head to a nearby launderette and use the tumble dryer there.
Relatively affordable and quick, laundrette services can be a lifesaver for drying sheets fast over winter and save you from having to hang your sheets up in whatever limited space you have.
But, with that being said, not everyone has a laundrette nearby that they can take advantage of. However, if your parents or a friend have a tumble dryer, and they’re not too far away, then you can always ring ahead to see if you can use it, while also giving you a great excuse to swing by and have a chat over coffee.
2. Invest in a dehumidifier
Next up, if a laundrette or friend’s tumble dryer is out of the question, then your next best bet is to invest in a dehumidifier. Relatively inexpensive to buy and easy to get hold of, a dehumidifier is the essential piece of kit to have when drying your bedding indoors.
This is because dehumidifiers work by absorbing all the excess moisture present in the air, which in turn increases the evaporation rate of the water in your sheets, causing them to dry that much quicker. Best of all, a dehumidifier can even make your clothes smell better as they won’t be sat drying for hours on end.
3. Switch your desk fan on
A cheaper alternative to buying a dehumidifier, it is possible to recreate the same effect of this appliance by placing a fan by your bedding while it dries and using it to circulate fresh air past it.
By circulating fresh air around your washing, the change in humidity will encourage evaporation, albeit at a slower rate than with a dehumidifier. Please note, however, that in order for this method to be most effective, you ideally want to open a window to enable full air circulation, which is not ideal if it’s particularly cold outside.
4. Hang your washing in the bathroom
If you’re unable to use any of the above tips to speed up the drying of your bedding, then it’s time to start making use of specific rooms in your house for drying purposes. And while you could put your washing in your airing cupboard if you have one, every home at least has a bathroom, hopefully with a window or extractor fan.
While not ideal for large loads, especially if your bathroom is small, if you’re solely washing your bedsheets, then you’ll likely find you’re able to fit them in on a medium-sized drying rack. From here, all that’s left is to turn the fan on or open the window and let the drying take care of itself.
5. Try an extra spin cycle
Although many of us know how to use a washing machine, we might not fully understand the purpose of each stage of a washing cycle. For example, the spin cycle at the end of a wash is not just for getting soap out, it’s also for getting rid of any excess moisture clinging to your bedding.
So, if you want to get rid of as much water from your bedsheets as possible before hanging them up, why not give them an extra spin once the cleaning is done to ensure as little moisture as possible remains?
6. Turn up a radiator
Finally, should the worst come to worst, and you can’t do any of the above steps, then you can always hang your washing near a radiator and turn up the temperature to increase the drying rate.
Given energy costs, especially over winter, this solution is not exactly ideal, but if you need your bedding dried quickly, it’s better than nothing. Just remember to keep your sheets from touching the radiator directly to avoid damaging them.
Can you tumble dry bed sheets?
In most cases, yes, it’s absolutely possible to tumble dry bedsheets, assuming the bedsheets you’re using are tumble dryer-friendly, hence why you should check the label of your bedding before you put it in your drier.
On top of this, you want to be sure you dry your sheets at the right spin setting and temperature to avoid damaging or shrinking them. Again, all this information can be found on your sheet’s labels.
How to dry bedsheets quickly: Extra tips
Last, but not least, regardless of the size of your home and the weather outside, you can make use of all of the following extra tips below to increase the speed at which your bedsheets dry:
- Do a morning wash – for the fastest natural drying time indoors, it’s always best to wash your sheets first thing in the morning, if possible. That way, you can hang them up and leave them to dry over the course of the day, which in turn means they’ll dry faster as the house heats up.
- Don’t dry overnight – in contrast to the above point, you should avoid drying your clothes overnight whenever possible. This is because it’s usually much colder in your home at night, which will increase drying times, even with a dehumidifier.
- Dry sheets in the kitchen – if your bathroom is out of the question as a drying space, then your kitchen is the next best option, especially if you’re using your oven, as you can use the natural heat it exudes to dry your clothes faster, and your kitchen’s extractor fan to circulate in fresh air.
- Wash smaller loads – although less efficient if you have a lot of washing to do, if you have to dry sheets inside, then smaller loads are always better. The reason for this is that smaller loads are less compacted when in your washing machine, thus making your spin cycles much more efficient at getting rid of excess moisture.
- Hang sheets immediately – finally, if possible, always aim to hang your sheets up as soon as you can. The last thing you want to do is leave them sitting in the machine unable to dry.
Get fresh new bedsheets delivered tomorrow
And there you have it; those are our top tips for how to dry bedsheets indoors over winter. Hopefully, some of the advice we’ve outlined above will be feasible for you to try, taking some of the stress out of getting your bedding dry in time for use over the colder months of the year.
Of course, if you’ve found that your current bedding simply isn’t doing its job anymore, or you’re thinking of replacing your mattress and bed for a new model, then look no further than our range of fresh, breathable bedding. With Free Next Day Delivery, you might even decide it's easier to order new sheets rather than try to get them clean and dry during the winter!
