natjtan I discovered this amazing trick watching Chriselle Lim’s 5 Fashion Food Hacks (video at end!). Drying hand washed clothes in a salad spinner!
Years ago my mum gave me an old electric spin dryer for my hand washing. It was as noisy as hell, stunk if I hadn’t used it for a while, but it did the job wringing out water so that air drying didn’t take as long. In Europe we tend not to use tumble dryers, instead rely on air drying. In the summer it’s great. Clothes dry in a day outside on the balcony. In the winter, I leave them out on a stand during the day, take the stand in at night to dry. Otherwise, they take longer to dry thanks to the dampness, humidity and cold during the night. Hand washing however can take up to 2 days to dry.
I’ll admit I didn’t initially think of it for delicates, I was thinking more bikini season. Even in the summer, if you don’t wring out enough water rinsing swimsuits after a dip, they can still be damp in the mornings. Rather than use the kitchen OXO one, I went out a got a cheaper one. In hindsight, an OXO one would have been better, it doesn’t move when spinning, but it isn’t big enough for tops. The cheap one works fine, I just have to hold onto it while it spins as it likes to travel across the floor.
Before spinning
After. Washing machine dry
And of course Mr D has to get his face in it, fascinated by the spinning. I can’t do anything without him sticking his face in it!
Verdict? Why didn’t I think of it! Items are as ‘dry’ as they come out the washing machine, reducing drying time. The amount of water spun out, surprised me. It’s lot, even a bra spins out considerable amount of water! And what should you hand wash? Delicates! Bras, (they last longer hand washed and no wires have adventures in the washing machine), sports bras, silk, chiffon, viscose and rayon items if advised, wool jumpers, items you’re unsure of in the washing machine, fabrics prone to shrinkage, if the care label advises to!
What’s one of your make life easier household/laundry tips? Please comment below!
[…] I had how to hand wash down. Nope. You need buckets. A few buckets. I already had a bucket and salad spinner for help drying my bras (trust me. It’s a game changer!) but soon realised I need another. Thankfully my local big […]