“I dry wet clothes for pennies on rainy days without using the tumble dryer”

The first half of the year has been incredibly wet and it’s starting to wear on me. The constant heavy rain not only restricts outdoor activities, but also presents a frustrating problem – drying clothes.

Usually, as spring brings warmer weather, we hang our laundry outside and let nature take its course. However, I’ve become exasperated with nearly dry clothes getting soaked by unexpected rain showers, or having to rush outside to gather laundry as storm clouds roll in, resetting the whole process.

During last year’s Black Friday sales we made several purchases, but one item has proven its worth time and time again, especially in recent weeks – the Russell Hobbs 10L Dehumidifier (£129 on Amazon and Dunelm). . While dehumidifiers are usually associated with the colder months when mold and condensation are prevalent, we’ve found ours to be excellent at drying clothes and more importantly, reducing our reliance on expensive tumble dryers.

The Russell Hobbs device has been invaluable for any task involving moisture removal and is relatively inexpensive to use. My house has a conservatory that tends to get warm this season and I’ve found that placing wet laundry on a clothes horse in there, along with the dehumidifier, provides the perfect solution for rainy days.

Although it’s not a quick process and requires a little patience, especially for thicker items like towels and sweaters, after a few hours it gets the job done. Dehumidifiers also help reduce the level of humidity in your home, which is especially beneficial if you have an area prone to dampness or mold, the Express reports.

The downside?

They are not cheap and this particular dehumidifier is somewhat noisy. It has a “silent” button that reduces noise, but calling it “silent” seems a bit misleading because it’s far from silent.

A more accurate label might be “quiet” because it reduces the noise but doesn’t completely silence it.

Personally, I’m not too bothered by the noise. I sleep with the fan on in the summer and don’t mind the white noise so it’s not much different.

However, if you want to use it to reduce condensation in a bedroom and a hum would disturb your sleep, then this is not for you.

There are cheaper options available, but many have smaller water tanks, meaning you’ll need to empty them more often. This won’t be a problem if you plan to use it in a small room or if you can empty the tank every few hours.

This Pro Breeze dehumidifier is priced at £34.99 on Amazon, but only has a 0.5L capacity. It’s lightweight and portable, making it ideal for households that want to move it around throughout the day.

Note that 12% of reviewers only rated this product one star out of five, with some saying it broke after just a few weeks. However, more than half gave it five stars, indicating a significant number of satisfied customers.