Drying laundry in the home poses a health risk to those prone to asthma, hay fever and other allergies, according to new research.
A study carried out by the Mackintosh School of Architecture found that many homes had too much moisture indoors.
Up to a third of this moisture was attributed to drying laundry.
The researchers have called on housebuilders to build dedicated drying areas into new housing to address the health concerns.
A study of 100 homes by the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit in Glasgow found 87% dried their washing indoors in colder weather.
Dust mites
Researcher Rosalie Menon said people were not aware how much moisture this added to the air.
She said: "Going into people's homes, we found they were drying washing in their living rooms, in their bedrooms.
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It's very much going back to the airing cupboards we saw in more historical types of housing”
Rosalie Menon
Mackintosh School of Architecture
"Some were literally decorating the house with it, but from just one load of washing two litres of water will be emitted."
A total of 75% of households, which were of mixed styles, had moisture levels which could lead to dust mite growth.
There was also a strong association between drying laundry and mould spores.
A particular mould spore known to cause lung infections in people with weakened immune systems was found in 25% of the homes sampled.
The research, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, was the first to track the implications of drying laundry passively inside the home.
All of the types of housing surveyed had a lack of suitable spaces for drying clothes.
The researchers want to see dedicated drying areas incorporated into new housing.
Ms Menon said: "These spaces should be independently heated and ventilated. It's very much going back to the airing cupboards we saw in more historical types of housing."
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Its a pity there is not more information on this study, ie 'were any of the homes centrally heated', 'how was the home heated', 'was all the washing spun dried before hanging', 'was the home ever ventilated', 'how many of these homes were hanging washing in their bedroom and living room', 'how many days a week was the wet drying inside'.
However worth watching the video for tips on where to dry the laundry.
Below is a story that mentions Edinburgh council gives planning permission to build flats without a communal drying greens or internal bathrooms !! I wonder if the survey was involving just these types of flats......
Surely its not a good thing to live with wet washing drying in the home day after day, summer and winter.
Good Morning
I saw this on BBC Breakfast - although drying of washing was discussed quite a lot, it was also pointed out that moisture from cooking and bathing accounts for most of the excess moisture in the home. The over riding issue is that homes are not ventilated well enough to let the moisture escape.
We noticed that we got condensation on windows that were double glazed, telling us that the upstairs in particular was too damp. We've put in a dehumidifier which is at the top of the stairs to catch mainly the steam from the bathroom when we shower or whatever.
We do dry clothing in the house, over the bannister upstairs or on an airer in the back bedroom. Both of these locations are near the dehumidifier too as we realised that the water had to go somewhere.
Even in the kitchen, when we've washed the pots the tea-towel is placed on a rail on the front of the oven to dry out, whether the oven has been on or not. Coats are often put over the back of a dining chair if someone comes in wet.
Airing cupboards are mentioned, we have one, over the top of the immersion heater tank, but it's full of bedding and towels that had been dried already, we never put anything damp in there.
I don't see what else we can do in bad weather, we have a tumble drier but it costs a fortune to dry everything in there.
An interesting study, the findings do not surprise me. But what are the alternatives when you live in poorly designed/ventilated housing. I have my windows open every day, one of the lucky ones who can still just about afford to use my central heating and yet my home is plagued by condensation. We have damp in the bedroom, which we regularly wash off with a bleach solution, it has got into the sealant of my windows, in bedroom, bathroom and living room. The bathroom has to be decorated every year, and walls treated with a bleach solution on a regular basis and I have been in this ground floor flat for 10 years and my not so wonderful bathroom has had 5 new floors because of damp. The housing association has sent in specialists who say I am doing all the right things and because of the type of building I live in, the problem isn't going to get better. I live in a concrete prefab Cornish Style Flat which was put up in 1952 to try and cope with the chronic housing shortage after the 2nd world war, the property by rights should have come down in the sixties but with 5000 plus people on the waiting list for housing in my area that ain't going to happen.
What the government needs to do is tackle the types of housing going up, stop the as much as you can squeeze onto one site to make money and design housing to improve living standards. There was mass clearance of tenement housing once, and as far as I can see all we have done is create yet more low standard housing on estates. Room sizes in new build properties are generally very small, storage space is usually nil, and gardens are postage stamp size. With all that going on is it any wonder that many properties have condensation problems.
If I were you Daxiemad, I would be trying my hardest to move to a home that is warmer and dryer, without mould or damp. My lungs would not be able to tolerate living in the conditions you are tolerating. Nor cleaning with bleach!
Something that may be a helpful read, A pdf documents on Care and Repair about;
Making your home a better place to live with chronic, obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and other respiratory diseases. Click link below:
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