Ever shrunk your favourite sweater in the wash or accidentally turned your whites to pinks, thanks to a forgotten red sock in the machine? Turns out these might not be your worst laundry nightmares.
Research indicates that drying laundry indoors can increase the moisture level in your home by at least a third. High levels of humidity become an ideal breeding ground for mold spores and dust mites. This can lead to, and aggravate, health issues such as asthma, eczema etc. and even cause lung damage. Using fabric softeners means your household air is further polluted with hazardous carcinogenic chemicals, increasing the risk to you and your family’s health.
These issues can of course simply be avoided by hanging your clothes outside. Except in the U.A.E (Dubai or Abu Dhabi), you can be fined for hanging laundry on balconies (along with installing dish antennas or putting any other junk).
So what should you do?
Make Practical Laundry Decisions
On wash day, make sure you get up as early a start as possible. This will give your clothes plenty of time to dry off. Try to put your clothes out to dry (no pun intended) in a separate room if possible, and spread them out as much as you can; maybe even use clothing racks or airers.
Hang your best clothes on hangers, which also ensures minimal creases (and minimal ironing!). Open as many windows as you can and allow for complete ventilation of the area. And just in case that day the weather looks unreliable, postpone the washing unless absolutely necessary.
Invest in a Tumble Dryer
Using tumble dryers can help you minimise the risks involved with indoor laundry drying. However, they also come with their own set of problems, as they might be costly, and use a lot of energy. So when you head out to buy one, do thorough research and select a model which fits your needs best and is energy efficient. Also, most designer clothes are not designed to withstand the heat of a dryer – even of the lowest settings.
Always keep the dryer in a properly ventilated room to avoid overheating it. Clean the filters regularly. Moreover, untangle your clothes before you put them in. This makes it easier and quicker to dry them. These little things would go a long way in reducing the health hazards of indoor drying, as well as the energy cost of tumble drying.
