Home & Cleaning

The cheapest way to dry clothes indoors in the UK: every method costed

An ordinary airer is free but slow and steams up the house. Here's what every indoor drying method costs per load at the October 2026 price cap, with the sums shown, and the cheap setup that dries washing without causing condensation.

Ad Contains affiliate links · Updated 29 October 2026 · 6 handy products · By James Mackie

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Drying washing indoors is a winter fact of life in most UK homes. The question is how to do it cheaply without wet windows, musty rooms and black mould. A full load of washing holds litres of water, and every drop ends up in the air of your home unless something removes it.

The short answer: an ordinary airer is free to run but it's the method most likely to cause damp. A compressor dehumidifier next to an airer is usually the cheapest way to get washing properly dry indoors, at roughly 20–25p for a six-hour session at the price cap, and it takes the water out of the room instead of putting it on your windows. A heated clothes airer costs a little more per load and still adds moisture to the room. A heat pump tumble dryer is cheap per load too, but it costs far more to buy.

Below we compare every method with the working shown, explain when each one makes sense, and cover the setup tips that cut drying time. If you already know you want a dehumidifier for laundry, go straight to our best dehumidifier for drying clothes guide.

The cheapest ways to dry clothes indoors, ranked

Here's what each method costs per load at Ofgem's October to December 2026 cap of 26.32p per kWh. The sum is always watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × 26.32p. Your own tariff may differ, so swap in your rate from your bill.

The tumble dryer figures are the per-load costs from the energy labels in our tumble dryer guide (for example, the Hoover heat pump model at about 42p and the Candy vented model at about 141p a full load). Dehumidifier and airer times are examples: real drying times depend on the load, the room temperature and how well the washing was spun.

Which?'s own tests point the same way: it found heated airers average about 7p an hour to run and take four to five hours for a small cotton load, and that a dehumidifier is the method that also lowers the risk of damp and mould. See Which?'s guide to the cheapest way to dry clothes indoors.

What it adds up to over a winter

If you dry three loads a week (156 a year), the gap between methods grows quickly. Using the examples above:

• Airer + Arete Two 10L for 6 hours: 21.48p × 156 = about £34 a year.
• Heated airer for 6 hours: 47.38p × 156 = about £74 a year.
• Heat pump tumble dryer at 42p a load: 42p × 156 = about £66 a year.
• Vented tumble dryer at 141p a load: 141p × 156 = about £220 a year.

These are running costs only. A heated airer costs much less to buy than a dehumidifier, and a heat pump tumble dryer costs far more than either, so if you only dry the odd load, a heated airer can still be the cheaper buy overall. If you dry most days, or the house is already damp, a dehumidifier usually wins on both cost and damp.

Heated airer vs dehumidifier: which should you buy?

This is the most common question, and the honest answer is that they do different jobs:

• A heated airer warms the washing so the water evaporates faster. All of that water goes into the room. It's cheap to buy, simple and quiet.
• A dehumidifier pulls water out of the air and into a tank, so the washing dries faster and the room stays dry. It costs more to buy but less to run, and it helps with condensation and mould every day, not just on washing days.

If you can only have one and your home gets condensation, choose the dehumidifier. If your home is dry and you mainly want faster drying in a ventilated room, a heated airer is fine. Many people end up with both: the airer under a cover with a dehumidifier in the same small room is the fastest setup, though it costs more per load than a dehumidifier and plain airer.

Is it OK to dry clothes on radiators?

It feels free, because the heating is on anyway, but it isn't really. Clothes draped over a radiator stop the heat getting into the room, and all the water still ends up in the air. Notting Hill Genesis's damp and mould advice says to try not to use radiators to dry clothes because it stops them working properly, and Shelter's advice is to dry outside or in a tumble dryer where you can.

If the radiator is your only option, dry a few small items at a time, keep the room's door shut and open the window a little, or run a dehumidifier in the same room. Never drape washing over an electric heater, storage heater or fan heater: covering a heater is a fire risk.

How to dry washing indoors without causing damp

1. Spin it harder first. An extra spin cycle at the washing machine's top speed takes out water for a fraction of the cost of drying it out of the air.
2. Dry in one small room with the door shut. Spreading wet washing around the house spreads the moisture too.
3. Run a dehumidifier in that room, on its laundry mode if it has one, with the window shut. Or, without a dehumidifier, open the window a little and keep the door closed.
4. Add a fan. Moving air speeds drying a lot. A desk fan rated around 40W (check yours) costs 0.04 × 6 = 0.24kWh, or about 6p, for six hours.
5. Space items out in single layers with gaps between them. Hang shirts on hangers.
6. Don't dry in the bedroom, especially overnight. See our guide to stopping condensation in a bedroom.
7. Clear any condensation on the windows afterwards with a window vac rather than a cloth you then dry on the radiator.

Shelter's guidance for renters is the same: dry outside or in a tumble dryer if you can, and if you have to dry inside, open windows or use a dehumidifier in the room. If you rent and have nowhere else to dry washing, tell your landlord in writing, especially if damp or mould is appearing.

Does drying clothes indoors cause mould?

It can. GOV.UK's damp and mould guidance lists drying laundry alongside showering and cooking as everyday activities that build up moisture in a home if it can't escape. Over time that moisture condenses on cold walls and windows, and mould grows where it sits. The fix isn't to stop drying washing; it's to remove the moisture as you go with ventilation or a dehumidifier.

If mould has already appeared, clean it with a mould and mildew product and deal with the cause. Our black mould guide explains how, and our condensation guide has 12 fixes for wet windows.

If something has already gone mouldy, our guide to getting mould off clothes and out of a washing machine seal covers rescuing it.

Handy kit for drying washing indoors

Drying kit compared

Specs are from manufacturer listings as of 29 October 2026; claimed figures (running costs, runtimes) are the maker’s, not ours. Check the retailer’s page for the current price and exact variant before you buy.

FAQs

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