Ditch the tumble dryer - my alternative is easy, breezy, and super cheap

If you’ve ever draped damp jeans over radiators, shuffled airers around the house, or woken up to that unmistakable musty smell, you’re in good company. I’ve tested dozens of laundry appliances over the years, and drying clothes indoors has always felt like one of those chores we just muddle through, especially over the cold UK winters. Outside, on a hot breezy day, laundry dries quickly and smells amazing. But right now, indoors? Not so much.

While re-evaluating the best dehumidifiers and heated airers for drying laundry, I stumbled across an unusual, but effective way of drying clothes at home. In an seemingly contradictory twist, this special method recommends using a cooling fan. You don't need a heater, a tumble dryer or anything elaborate and you can be packing t-shirts into a cupboard in one and a half hours. And it'll cost you pennies rather than pounds.

It sounds too good to be true, which is why I put it to the test for myself. What I learned completely changed how I do laundry. Not only did my clothes dry in a fraction of the time, but my home felt warmer, fresher, and noticeably less damp. This is very much a “learn from my mistakes” moment, so let me walk you through exactly what I did, why it works, and how you can do the same.

Meaco's expert method for drying clothes quickly indoors

Whilst the method that I'll explain might sound unusual, it was actually developed by air care experts Meaco. The dehumidifier brand, ran a series of controlled experiments in a real utility room. Their founder, Chris Michael, explained the thinking behind it to me, saying “people are being told to dry clothes indoors in all sorts of ways, but very few sources explain what actually speeds things up. Our aim was to show how airflow and humidity really behave in a normal home so households can save both time and money.”

Here’s the exact setup I copied at home, and what I recommend you do too:

Hang your laundry normally
I used a standard airer and spaced clothes out properly. This matters more than you might think, because bunched-up fabric traps moisture and will slow down the process.

Switch on a dehumidifier
I placed an energy-efficient compressor dehumidifier near the airer. In Meaco's tests they used the Meaco DD8L Dehumidifier and I actually did too. This is my favourite dehumidifier for drying clothes, especially with its dedicated laundry mode, but you might already have a favourite model for your room size and home. Using one that you're confident in is key. The dehumidifier works to pull moisture out of the air, which helps wet clothes release water more quickly and prevents damp building up in the room.

Add a cooling fan
Plenty of people already use dehumidifers to dry their clothes, so this is where Meaco's special technique comes into its own. You need a cooling fan, positioned just so.

I put my pedestal fan about 30cm away from the clothes, pointing directly at them. Meaco’s team explains it beautifully. They say that “clothes retain water when surrounded by still air. Outdoors, wind removes this boundary layer and drying speeds up. Indoors, a fan performs the same job.”

Together, the dehumidifier and fan recreate the conditions of an outdoor drying day: dry air plus airflow. Warmth helps too, but airflow is what really accelerates drying.

I've been following this method since I first read about it and have been blown away (pardon the pun), by how effective it is. My partner and I call it 'the technique' and we get more excited than we should each time that we come back to a rack of cupboard-ready clothes two hours after hanging them up.

Credit where it’s due: this method is entirely based on Meaco’s testing and expertise. I simply followed it to the letter and saw the same results that their formal tests produced. In their controlled experiments, Meaco found this combination, drying time dropped from around 20 hours to just two, at a running cost of roughly 14p per cycle. That’s less than leaving a lightbulb on, and dramatically cheaper than a tumble dryer, which can cost over £1 per load.

My takeaways (and what I wish I’d known sooner)

After using this method consistently, a few things really stood out to me.

A fan matters more than I ever realised
I used to think dehumidifiers did all the heavy lifting. They’re essential, yes, but airflow is what stops moisture clinging to fabric. Adding a fan felt almost too simple, but the difference was immediate.

Heated airers aren’t a magic fix
I’ve tested plenty, and Meaco’s findings matched my experience. Used alone, they dump moisture straight into the room. As Meaco puts it, they’re “often promoted as a quick solution,” but without a dehumidifier, humidity rises, drying slows, and condensation becomes a problem. If you use a heated airer, always pair it with a dehumidifier.

‘Free’ natural drying isn’t really free
Meaco calls this the “hidden cost of natural drying,” and I completely agree. In their tests, humidity climbed above 68 percent, which is where mould risk increases. Damp air is also harder and more expensive to heat, so your heating bills creep up too. Slow drying often leads to rewashing, which costs even more energy in the long run.

A dehumidifier earns its keep
Beyond laundry, I noticed fewer damp smells, less condensation on windows, and a generally warmer-feeling home. If you’re choosing between the best dehumidifier for a bedroom or bathroom, laundry performance is a brilliant bonus benefit.

Product recommendations for efficiently drying clothes

FAQs

How do heated airers fit into Meaco's clothes drying method?

You might be wondering where heated airers fit into all this. Meaco describes them as “often promoted as a quick solution... but they release all the moisture into the air. Without a dehumidifier, the humidity build-up mirrors natural drying and can lead to damp, condensation and mould.”

As someone who’s tested dozens of laundry appliances and knows a thing or two about expert tips for drying bedsheets indoors, I can confirm that a heated airer used alone often leaves rooms humid and prone to damp odours. I now always pair mine with a dehumidifier. And thanks to this research, a fan may soon join the line-up.

How does natural drying fit into Meaco's clothes drying method?

If you prefer the idea of air-drying your laundry indoors without running appliances, you may be surprised by Meaco’s findings. They describe a “hidden cost of natural drying,” explaining:

“Natural drying may appear free, but the rising humidity tells a different story. During the tests, humidity climbed above 68 percent, the point at which the risk of mould increases. Clothes can take so long to dry at these levels that musty smells become a risk, which often leads to rewashing and increased energy costs. In addition, higher moisture levels increase heating costs because damp air is more expensive to warm.”

Understanding how dehumidifiers work helps explain why: they strip moisture out of the air, reduce condensation, and keep your home feeling warmer. This makes them invaluable for anyone wondering how to prevent condensation, how to use a dehumidifier in winter, or simply how to keep your home warmer in winter without turning up the thermostat.

Would it work just as well to use a dehumidifier without a fan?

Based on Meaco’s research, and the hundreds of products I’ve tested, a dehumidifier is an essential for drying clothes indoors. A good dehumidifier speeds up drying, prevents musty smells, reduces condensation, lowers mould risk, and contributes to a warmer, healthier, more comfortable home. For many households, choosing the best dehumidifier for a bedroom or the best dehumidifier for a bathroom can make a huge difference too, as bathrooms and bedrooms often suffer from stubborn humidity.

You can rely on a dehumidifier and, actually, many of Meaco's models have special laundry modes that incorporate a fan function to move air. However, to get the full effect of speedily and cheaply drying clothes, understanding how much it costs to run a dehumidifier is also key.

Modern models, particularly compressor dehumidifiers, are designed to be extremely efficient, but if you can move more air, and therefore more moisture, over them, you'll get impressive results. When used intelligently, part of a wider approach to expert tips for saving energy in the home, they can be one of the most cost-effective appliances you own.

What were the findings in the Meaco tests?

To find the most effective strategy for how to dry clothes indoors without a dryer, Meaco ran a series of controlled laundry-drying tests in a real utility room setting. They used the same 13 adult-sized t-shirts, washed and spun on the same Samsung washing machine cycle, and hung them in the same positions each time. Temperature and humidity were tracked using a professional thermohygrometer and then the clothes were weighed after drying to make sure that they were cupboard-ready.

The team compared four typical environments:

• Natural drying, with no appliances
• Drying with an energy-efficient 20L compressor dehumidifier
• Drying with the same dehumidifier plus a pedestal fan positioned 30cm from the clothes
• A second natural drying test, this time with the higher humidity created by the first natural cycle to show how conditions worsen with repeated loads

After running repeated, controlled tests, Meaco found some key insights that they wanted to share. The addition of a dehumidifier reduced drying time from 20 hours to under 5. However, adding in the fan brought total drying time down to just 1 hours, with a running cost of only 14p. Comparatively, a tumble dryer would cost £1.21 per cycle, so, with 350 loads per year, you could be saving £374.20.

If you dry clothes indoors regularly, this is the most efficient, affordable method I’ve found. A dehumidifier plus a simple cooling fan dries clothes faster, costs pennies to run, and is far kinder to your home than leaving moisture hanging around all day. It’s one of those “why didn’t I do this sooner?” setups, and once you try it, I promise you won’t go back.