How To Dry Your Clothes Faster Without Using More Energy

Dryers are a great and convenient piece of technology that allows you to quickly dry your laundry instead of waiting hours, even days, to line or rack dry. However, they're not always the most reliable and are certainly not the cheapest to run. According to Arcadia, running your dryer daily can cost as much as $100 a year, assuming it's on a 45-minute cycle.

That steep cost doesn't even begin to account for heavier loads, like duvets or comforters. Older dryers may also have difficulty getting everything completely dry in one load, requiring you to run two dryer cycles or put it on a heavier, more energy-consuming setting. While the simplest solution would be to line or rack dry your clothes, it's far from convenient. Luckily, there are a few simple hacks and tips to get your clothes to dry quickly without costing you a cent more on your energy bill.

There are few things more disheartening than opening your dryer after a long cycle only to find your clothes damp or, even worse, just plain wet. Despite your best efforts — cleaning the lint trap, choosing the right dryer setting, running smaller loads — your dryer may not be pulling its weight in adequately drying your clothes.

There's a straightforward way to fix this, though. According to Dan Marc Appliance, bath towels are a great tool to speed up the drying process. All you'll need for this quick hack is one single, clean and dry bath towel. Toss the bath towel with your freshly washed clothes in the dryer and run it as usual. The towel will absorb all the moisture from the clothes, leaving them to dry much more quickly. Ideally, your towel will also dry during the cycle, but it may be a bit damp when it comes out. Still, it's much easier to dry one towel than an entire load of laundry.

While the bath towel hack is super easy and convenient, there are other ways to help your clothes dry faster and more evenly. Dryer balls, for example, are a super affordable and simple way to help dry your clothes quicker and knock out wrinkles and static. As Maytag explains, dryer balls are either made out of wool or plastic, which knock your clothes around in the dryer and help aerate and separate them. They're also a more eco-friendly option to reduce static as opposed to dryer sheets.

There are a few simple fixes that may be preventing your dryer from working as powerfully as possible, too. According to Dan Marc Appliances, something as simple as having your dryer too close to the wall can reduce the effectiveness of your dryer by restricting the duct's airflow and trapping moist air inside the dryer. You can also try adding an extra spin cycle on your washer before transferring your clothes to the dryer.