Irish households struggling to cope with soaring energy bills will no doubt be looking for any way to cut back on costs as the winter months approach.
One household chore that can amount to a great deal of energy consumption is laundry, and with Ireland expected to be wet and cold for the foreseeable future, many will be wondering how they can wash and dry their clothes without being left with empty pockets.
The tumble dryer is one of the most expensive utilities in the home, costing, on average, €2.30 an hour to use.
These costs will add up over the winter and inflate your energy bills.
However, with the help of one gadget, you could slash the cost of your drying to just 20c an hour.
Tina Foster, 48, said she is swapping to using an electric drying rack to dry her clothes as it is over 80 per cent cheaper than the tumble dryer, reports Express.
She said: "The tumble would cost an average of £1.99 (€2.28) per use (hour) the heated airer is less than 20p (23c) per use (hour), so we will make our money back within months.
"I think we will save an incredible amount not using the tumble dryer, which is the only other way to dry washing if the radiators aren't on."
Tina explained cutting costs is paramount for her as he wages are low.
In fact, she is having to go without this year due to the cost of living crisis.
She said: "As a carer, I receive the lowest pay. We have had to cancel luxuries such as Netflix, using Spotify etc, so we can save towards the rising costs,"
"We live in an old cottage which is cold! We had to use the only bit of savings we had which wasn't a lot at all, to buy 12 rolls of insulation."
The drying rack is an excellent money saver for Tina, as she said: "It's amazing, I can leave it on for about five hours, and it won't cost a bomb."
The hack comes after another homeowner shared how to dry clothes without a tumble dryer.
TikTok user Ann Russell, who has amassed a following of 2.1m, shared a simple yet effective way to dry your clothes while saving money.
She explained that all you need is "a fan" and a regular drying rack.
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