Add a Large Dry Towel to Dryer Load

By

JustPlainJo

Just had to add an update. I tried this when I did a full load of laundry this week. Worked like a charm! Only two items weren't 100% dry in one cycle, and those were 95% there and could be hung on the shower rod to finish.
A load this size usually would require two full cycles, which wouldn't do any better than your method. This is my new S. O. P. for drying my clothes. Thanks!

By

Clerigirl23

I think everyone should give it a try rather than questioning the scientific aspects, etc. If it saves you money then do it. I have a load of laundry in the wash and I will be throwing it in the dryer in a few minutes, with a dry towel. I have an older dryer so it takes an hour or so for everything to completely dry (that's without overloading). I will let you know the results :)

By

lyonpridej

It does work,I've done it for 25 years. Not for every load, but when I'm in a hurry to get a load dry I'll throw a towel in & it really cuts the time. Also, if I have clean,dry clothes that are wrinkled, I'll throw them in with the wet clothes & they also cut the drying time,plus removes the wrinkles.

It's not illogical at all. Try taking 2 washcloths, get one soaking wet & wring it out, get the other slightly damp-then hang them up & see if they both take the same amount of time to dry(no,the least wet one will dry first). Same premise with thetowel in the dryer,it removes some of the "wet" from the clothes,allowing them to dry faster!

By

JustPlainJo

Interesting, regardless of how illogical it sounds, I'm going to try it.

By

chretienne

I'm curious about this, too. I don't see how adding an extra towel to the dryer removes the water from the load any faster. The towel would soak up some of the water from the clothing, but then the dryer just has to dry the towel, too. So this tip seems to defy the law of conservation of matter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_mass). What am I missing?

Editor's Note: This is a commonly suggested tip for reducing dry times and energy use. I couldn't find anything definitive online but I believe it works because it more evenly distributes the wetness, allowing the wettest clothes to get dry faster, which increases the dryer's effectiveness.

By

ILuvDobes

Did you mean $30-40 dollars a year? Please explain.

By

Katie A.

I'm not trying to be snarky, but how can that be? How does it save on your electricity bill? How can it save you $30-40/mo for two people? Even if you lived in an area with high electricity rates, you'd have to be drying more than a load a day to even SPEND $30-40/mo., let alone REDUCE your rates by that much.

Please help me understand your tip.

By

ms444125

Just curious, how does that work?