Dry your clothes the natural way

Drying clothes where there is no outdoor space or when it's raining has always been troublesome. However, as we are all realising the environmental impact of using a tumble dryer, there has been resurgence in old-fashioned methods such as the clothes airer or clotheshorse.

Whilst there are always going to be some who love the ease of the modern household whitegoods such as the electricity hungry tumble dryer and the labour saving washer/dryer, there are those of us that simply wish to return to a more natural way of life and make less of an environmental impact.

Figures from the EU state that if you dry your clothes naturally, such as using a clothes airier instead of a tumble dryer, you can save about 280 kg of CO2 per year.

However, drying clothes doesn't mean we have to clutter our homes with damp washing. Nostalgic in their appearance eco clothes airers are not merely a better looking alternative to the standard clotheshorse that is resident in most households - they dry your washing faster and don't take up any floor space.

Ceiling mounted eco clothes airers use the rising heat in our home to dry clothes and placing them nearer a heat source will dry washing even faster.

There are a more advantages too:

They are ideal for those who prefer to keep their washing out of the sight of nosey neighbours.

Good for people with a disability that prevents them from going outside laden down with washing.

* No need to run outside when black clouds are looming

* Put your washing out before you go to work without worrying what the weather will do

* Silent clothes drying, no clanking and rattling of a noisy tumble dryer,

* Free up your floor space

* Leave the radiators to heat the room, not your washing

* Dry clothes faster than a conventional clotheshorse

* No need to maintain, or even buy an expensive tumble dryer

* Make huge savings on your electricity bill

There are various designs of eco clothes airers on the market, most of them sticking to the traditional style with 6 shaped and smoothed laths, some with quality cast iron ends and pulleys can hold up to 30kg (66Ib) of wet washing so can easily accommodate the weekly output of a large family wash with ease.

So instead of wasting all that heat 'trapped' against your ceiling, make use of this free energy, save money and make another step towards your greener home and use an eco clothes airer.