BLOW OVER
TV weather expert reveals major error Scots make in the home that’s costing them thousands
" Once a breeze reaches around 15 mph, we start seeing the prime conditions for outdoor drying."
STV weather guru Jo Farrow says Scots are wasting thousands of pounds – by not drying their clothes outside all year round.
Across the UK it’s estimated that people spend £1bn using tumble dryers every year.
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But, despite our often chilly climate, Jo insists we should be hanging washing in the garden no matter the season.
She spoke out as a new online ‘daily drying forecast’ tool was launched, allowing people to pop in their address for an hour-by-hour guide to getting the laundry out.
Meteorologist Jo said: “I think as a nation we’ve slipped into being over reliant on tumble dryers and it’s not kind to our pockets.
“During the winter months, it’s very easy to get out of the habit of hanging your washing out on the line.
“Scotland can feel like it’s too wet or too windy for a large part of the year, but there is plenty of opportunity for us to dry our laundry outdoors all year round.
“In fact, because the country can be windy, we often have the ideal conditions to ditch the tumble dryer and get our laundry outside.
“It’s actually wind speed, not temperature, that we should be thinking of when deciding whether or not to dry outside in the cooler months.
“Assuming it’s not raining or foggy, once a breeze reaches around 15 mph, we start seeing the prime conditions for outdoor drying.”
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More than half the UK uses a tumble dryer and have it running for an average of four hours and 12 minutes per week, according to research carried out on behalf of homeware firm .
While convenient, tumble dryers are one of the most energy-hungry home appliances to run, costing upwards of 30p an hour to power.
Calculations using typical running costs suggest dryers cost users £65 a year – or an eye-watering £1bn annually across the nation.
And Jo’s own research suggests it’s worth putting washing out from as low as 5C on some days, so long as there is enough wind to blow away moisture from fabrics.
The weather expert, a mum to teenage kids, said: “People in snow covered countries like Iceland still bother to put their laundry out in winter with low temperatures, if it’s windy.”
Meanwhile, Twan Verdonck, from Brabantia said: “Our research suggests that more than one in every 10 people in the UK spend more than 10 hours a week doing the laundry, so it’s not an insignificant aspect of people’s lives.
“We also estimate UK bill payers are spending around £1bn a year just on drying their laundry.
“That’s a huge amount of money and in many instances, it’s not well spent; especially as the UK is home to plenty of wonderful wind that can do the job for you.
“As a bonus: Gravity will help you to de-wrinkle your clothes and Mother Nature will make them smell fresh, for free.”
The new online tool, created by NetWeather, allows UK users to enter their postcode and see how suitable the weather conditions are for outdoor drying in their area.
For example, in Glasgow today 4pm is the ideal time to get clean clothes on the line while it’s 12pm in Edinburgh and further north in Aberdeen, drying conditions between 12pm and 2pm are ranked as ‘superb’ with a good combination of higher wind speeds and temperatures beginning to warm up.
To get ready for a drying day, Jo gave her top tips for a laundry day in our Scottish climate.
She said: “The wind is your best friend, as long as there’s no rain, or dampness in the air, with a breeze your washing will dry.
“Warm air is a bonus - don’t be put off if it’s cold outside. You may not want to put your washing out when it’s freezing but if temperatures rise over just 5C it is worth hanging it out.
“Different fabrics vary in how they hang onto water molecules after washing.
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“Cotton is really absorbent, as are towels, but synthetics, like polyester, will dry really quickly.
“ So organise that you put in the heaviest items into the washing machine first then they will have the longest time out on the line.”
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