As households across the country begin to feel the pinch of the cost of living crisis, many people will be looking for ways to save some of their hard-earned money.
With energy bills being one of the biggest causes for concern, it's understandable why households are beginning to turn down the heating and cut back on energy usage.
And as the cost of running a tumble dryer according to The Energy Saving Trust last year was around 20.33p per pence/kWh of electricity an hour, it will be even higher this year.
So, of course, some of us might consider air drying our clothes in-doors. Which, while it may be good for your bills, it can be damaging to your health due to the possibility of mould and damp growing in your home.
Hull Live spoke to air quality experts for advice on how to best combat the fungal spores that can develop in your home as a result of poor ventilation and humidity caused by drying your clothes in-doors.
If left untreated, mould can pose a serious health risk to children and babies, as well as anyone with respiratory and skin conditions.
Jenny Turner, Property Manager at Insulation Express warned that when drying wet clothes in the house moisture from the clean washing evaporates and settle onto ceilings and walls, making existing mould problems worse.
She added: "To minimise the risk of mould developing when drying wet clothes at home, always keep a window open in the room to allow excess moisture in the air to escape. As mould and mildew can quickly build-up on walls and ceilings, a further way to prevent this happening when skipping the tumble drier is to opt for a dehumidifier. An average sized residential humidifier can effectively remove the moisture from the air in your home and collect up to 7 litres of water over a day in a damp environment."
Electric dehumidifers suck in the air, extract excess moisture which is collected in a water tank and then release the air back into the atmosphere. While it might seem a bit counter-intuitive to buy and run an electric item to improve your air quality and save money on drying, in the longer term it offers savings on needing to tackle mould. The Duux Bora smart dehumidifier is app controlled and can hold up to 20 litres of moisture. It has a night mode and auto timeout, costs 13.2p per hour to run and is currently reduced by 25% on Amazon.
But if you'd rather go lower tech there are simpler and cheaper, albeit less long-lasting, options. Dehumidifying pots are available in supermarkets and retailers like B&M and The Range, which sells one for just 79p. Alternatively you can buy a pack of five on Amazon for £7.49, although typically these kind of pots only absorb three times their weight in water, so if you're having to dry clothes indoors regularly with the windows shut you're going to need to replace them regularly.
Jenny added: "For a dehumidifying effect without the use of electricity, try a combination of open windows and plastic window dehumidifier pots which can trap and collect moisture in the air. These inexpensive plastic pots can help to eliminate the risk of condensation on windows which can occur from drying wet clothes inside, adding to the damp atmosphere. Another cheap trick to draw moisture away from walls and windows is to place bowls of rock salt on the window sill when drying clothes, as this will help to absorb excess moisture in the air."
If you've already got mould, Mrs Hinch devotees on Facebook recommend HG Mould Spray as the best way to tackle what's there. It's usually £4.99 a bottle, but is available at 25% off on Amazon currently with subscribe and save orders. It has an average of 4.6 stars out of five out of 23,686 positive reviews.
Francesca Brady, CEO and Co-founder of AirRated warns that people discovering mould in their homes is part of a wider debate about buildings. She said: "It's important that this is covered in the media, everyone needs a basic level of understanding of what sort of environments are unhealthy spaces for us to live and work in. That being said, there is a much larger issue surrounding building stock that is not-fit-for-purpose, where it will take more than changing behaviours to improve these settings."
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