The final step in the washing machine involves the spinning cycle. During this cycle, the washing machine air dries the washed clothes by having air circulation within itself.
But how is it possible to air dry within the washing machine? And how exactly are the clothes air-dried in the washing machine? I know many questions like these might be tumbling your head.
But don’t worry; this blog will answer all of your questions regarding air drying your clothes in the washing machine.
What Is Air Dry in Washing Machines and How Does it Help?
All the washing machines, whether top load or front load, have a common feature called “air dry” or “no heat dry”. Using this feature, the washing machine spins the washed clothes to air dry them. So, your clothes get dried up without having exposure to heat.
Of course, there are many kinds of cloth dryers available in the market. But, all these dryers need a considerable amount of heat energy to dry the clothes.
And, because of this, they will take up most of your electric power, which will result in high electricity bills. And nobody can afford a simple cloth drying process would result in high electricity bills.
Moreover, air drying remains gentle on your clothes, unlike harsh dryers. So, it will increase the longevity of your clothes, and they will always look like they were recently bought.
So, if the longevity of your clothes matters to you, then do consider having a washing machine with an air drying feature in it.
1. Reduces Static Cling
Whenever clothes are exposed to heat, static electric charge is formed on the clothes. Due to this charge, the clothes cling to our body whenever they are worn. Moreover, the quality of the clothes is also ruined due to the heat drying.
To avoid this issue, modern washing machines come with a built-in feature of air drying. Using this, our clothes are air dried, which eliminates the possibility of static charge formation in our clothes. And, so our clothes will no longer cling to our bodies. Isn’t it amazing?
Now, there is a possibility that older washing machines might not have such air-dry features. But I have a solution. You can use a fabric softener prior to the drying process. And this would save your clothes from getting clingy. Also fabric softener can also be useful for those living in the dry regions.
2. Eliminates Wrinkles
The traditional dryers use heat and the tumbling process for drying the clothes. Due to this, our clothes accumulate with lots of wrinkles after getting dried.
Now, imagine you have to attend a meeting, but you want to wear the shirt that you dropped in the washing machine on the same day of the meeting. Of course, the dryer will dry it up. But what about its wrinkles?
But, thanks to the air drying feature. As the clothes are spun naturally through air circulation, the chances of building up wrinkles on our clothes just become minimal.
3. Eliminates Lint
Many clothes shed off their fibres while getting washed. These small fibres are called Lint. This Lint can get attached to the other clothes, and also they can get accumulated into the lint filter.
And, when we are using traditional dryers, a lot of Lint is produced. This, in turn, will fill the lint filter frequently, and it might also get loaded.
But, if we talk about the air drying process, it produces a minimum amount of Lint. So, our lint filter will not get filled up frequently.
This is because the air drying process spins the clothes smoothly, unlike the dryers. And that’s why the chances of clothes shedding fibres become minimal.
4. Removes Pet Hair
Many of us might have pets in our homes. We all know that while playing with pets, especially dogs, a lot of fur gets stuck in our clothes. Now, when our clothes land in the washing machine, the same pet hair gets accumulated in other clothes as well.
While drying with traditional dryers, the pet hair is difficult to remove. Moreover, due to the heating effect, the pet hair will stick to the cloth fibres deeply.
But, if the same clothes are spun using the air-dry feature, the pet hair will lose its control over the fibres and will get removed from the clothes.
Thinking how? Well, during the spinning process, air will circulate through the clothes. This will blow away the pet hair and fur from the clothes. Simple.
But, one thing you need to take care of is the sir dryer feature will not be able to remove the pet hair completely. Some sort of stubborn hair particles will still remain there. But, if you apply rubber pet hair remover on your clothes before starting the wash cycle, the pet hair will get removed completely.
5. Speeds up Drying Time
Washing machines air dry our clothes faster than traditional dryers. Thinking how? Well, let me tell you.
The spinners in the washing machines circulate hot air into the drum for drying the clothes. This hot air circulation captures the entire drum faster, due to which the clothes get dried faster.
Moreover, some washing machines contain vents which have higher evaporation rates, thus drying up clothes faster. At the same time, some washing machines are embedded with some technologies that measure the moisture level in each piece of cloth and adjust itself accordingly to dry them up.
6. It saves you on the electricity bills
Dryers use hot water for drying the clothes. Moreover, it takes a lot of electric power and time to dry your clothes. But, the air drying feature in the washing machine does the same task of drying clothes in less time.
Also, it dries up the clothes by circulating hot air within the washing machine premises. So it will not require hot water. So, it is surely going to save a lot of your electric power.
Moreover, air drying in the washing machine is an eco-friendly way. So, by drying clothes in the washing machine, we are making a small contribution to saving our environment.
So, you can think how air drying can help us in getting low electricity bills in an eco-friendly way.
7. Air drying is gentler on clothes than traditional dryers
The traditional dryers use a lot of heat on our clothes in drying them. But, by too much heat exposure, our clothes will get damaged. And, so the use of traditional dryers is not suggested for the new clothes.
But, the air dryer feature in the washing machine does the opposite. As it circulates hot air with limited intensity, it works gently on our clothes.
So, it eliminates the possibility of our clothes getting damaged due to continuous heat exposure. Moreover, our clothes will always remain like the new ones due to the gentle washing and spinning process. Isn’t it great?
8. It extends the life of your clothes
Whenever we buy new clothes, we are always concerned about their washing. A harsh wash will always decrease the longevity of our clothes. Moreover, it will also damage the quality of our clothes.
But what about giving a gentle touch to our clothes through washing? Everybody will agree with this. Also gentle wash will also reduce static cling and lint buildup in our clothes.
And, overall, it will definitely increase the longevity of our clothes. But, how can we do it? Well, the air dryer feature in our washing machine can do it.
This feature will gently spin the clothes to air dry them. Thus, our clothes will dry faster and will always look younger. Wow.
9. It is more environmentally friendly than using a traditional dryer.
The traditional dryers, without any doubt, are surely going to consume a lot of electric energy for drying our clothes. But, tell me one thing.
Is it good to waste this much electric energy just drying our clothes? Definitely not. Today, our environment is degrading. So, we are always putting efforts into saving our environment.
So, I would always suggest you use the air drying feature in our washing machine to dry out clothes. It will not only save our time but will also consume less electric energy, which in turn will prove to be an eco-friendly way.
10. Air drying is useful for clothes that are prone to shrinkage
Some fabrics, like synthetic, shrink easily. And, that also if we tumble dry, such clothes, chances of getting shrink are more. Shrinkage will always affect the clothes’ appearance. And nobody likes to wear such clothes.
But, instead of tumble drying, if we air dry the clothes in the washing machine itself, then the chances of shrinkage become minimal. Moreover, less shrinkage means our clothes will need less ironing time. So, you can think how just a small air dry feature saves a lot of time.
Also, the clothes building less shrink stay longer and healthy. So, to maintain the good health of your clothes, you should always air dry them in the washing machine.
Which Fabrics Shouldn’t Be Air-Dried in a Washing Machine?
The air dry feature in the washing machine works gently on the clothes. Moreover, it is time-saving as well as energy-saving. But, can all the different types of clothes be air dried in the washing machine?
Actually, my answer is no. Every cloth material is different, and all need different sorts of care. So, I’ll inform you about some fabrics which shouldn’t be air drying.
- Materials like silk, chiffon, and lace are gentle. Spinning such material would stretch them and would also disturb their look and feel. So, it’s better not to air dry such fabrics.
- Woollen materials are prone to shrinkage. So, they need to be washed and dried with subtle care. Also, if woollen fabric is air-dried, it might disturb its shape and size. So, woollen materials should not be air-dried.
- Synthetic materials like nylon, acrylic, and polyester are very delicate, and they easily lose their shape. So, it might happen that the spinning cycle might affect their shape. So, it would be better not to air dry them.
- Spandex and lycra are elastic in nature. So, they shouldn’t be air dried as it might disturb their shape and size.
- Materials like denim and canvas are somewhat heavy. So, they shouldn’t be air dried as they might take more time in getting dry up.
- Materials like leather and suede are stiff in nature. So, it would be good not to air dry them as they might become stiffer or damage their look.
- Materials that are embroidered, beaded, or sequinned shouldn’t be air dried as it might damage their decoration.
One best thing you can do is, before putting any new clothes in the washing machine, you can check their label for knowing the washing instructions. This will let you know whether you should be air drying them in the washing machine or outdoor air drying.