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Martin Lewis shares trick for drying clothes without turning heating on – and it costs as little as 6p per hour to run
MARTIN Lewis has shared a trick to help you dry your clothes without turning the heating on - which could save 6p an hour.
On a new episode of BBC5 Live, The Martin Lewis Podcast, the consumer expert shared a tip that could hugely save on your energy bills.
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As the cost of living rockets this winter, households are searching for ways to keep costs at bay.
But Martin Lewis claims dehumidifiers could help do exactly that when it comes to drying your clothes.
Dehumidifiers are typically used to help get rid of damp in homes.
People normally use them to keep their homes damp-free while drying their clothes inside on a clothes horse.
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But Martin Lewis said that it could actually save you money if you use dehumidifiers to dry your clothes instead of a horse: "Many people are starting to use dehumidifiers to dry their laundry inside their house at the moment.
"Dehumidifiers take water out of the air rather than using the heating - and they're much, much lower wattage appliances than standard heating."
According to experts at Uswitch, dehumidifiers normally use 185W - so they usually cost about 6p an hour to run.
That means it would cost £4.20 a week if you used it for one hour every week.
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Then for a month, it would add up to £16.40.
Of course, how much an appliance charges you depends on how often you use it and which model you have, but this is just an estimate.
Martin continued: "If a dehumidifier does work for you, it will definitely have lower electricity bills, but, of course, you do have the initial capital outlay of buying a dehumidifier and see how that works for you."
For example, the ones we found cost £120 from B&Q, £130 from Argos and £150 from Currys - but these might have different wattages.
If you do want to buy a dehumidifier, it's best to use comparison sites like Google Shopping or the Latest Deals app to compare prices between retailers.
How much do other household appliances cost to run?
The price of running your dishwasher will cost 27p per cycle under the current Energy Price Guarantee.
That means it will cost £98.55 a year if you use it once every day all year.
How much it costs to run your TV will vary depending on the model - but it can cost up to £36.25 a year.
Microwaves cost up to £17.16 a year if you're using it for one hour a week for a year.
It costs 24p to run an electric blanket for one hour a day for seven days.
If you used it for one hour a day for a year, you'd be spending £12.48 on your electricity.
But using an electric blanket instead of turning the heating up could still save you cash off your bill.
You can read a full list of appliance costs here.
Help with energy bills
If you turn your thermostat down by one notch, it can help lower your bills by a whopping £80 a year.
And keeping it at a steady temperature will save even more.
You should also make sure you turn household appliances off and not leave them on standby as doing this could needlessly add as much as £35 onto your bill.
There are also grants and schemes you could be eligible for, like the Warm Home Discount, for example.
Those on Universal Credit and older legacy benefits could get over £3,000 in bill support.
There are plenty of energy grants and schemes open to help you out if you're struggling - as your supplier to check.
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For example, British Gas has recently confirmed that it'll pay its most vulnerable customers grants worth £750 to help with sky-high bills.
There's also a one-off fuel voucher from your energy supplier if you're on a prepayment metre.
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