Add this one item to your clothes dryer to cut drying time and your energy bill

When it comes to doing the laundry, especially in the cooler months, it can be a challenge. Even if you use one of the best clothes dryers, it can seem that you’re in an endless cycle of washing and drying your items, only to then start over again.

And while running a clothes dryer can quickly increase your energy bill, you need to make sure that your laundry is completely dry. Otherwise, you could be faced with musty-smelling clothes that are far from fresh.

However, there is one hack that can help reduce your clothes-drying time — and it’s easier than you think.

Add a dry towel to your load

According to Debbie Sandler, cleaning and organizing expert at @alifebetterorganized, all you need is another laundry item. Here, she shares her surprising tip on how to reduce the time it takes to dry your laundry in a clothes dryer.

In her Instagram post, she says, “A dry towel will help absorb moisture from wet clothes while the wet and dry items mix. This reduces the humidity in the dryer, thus allowing the clothes to dry quicker.”

And she adds, “For best results, only leave in for 5-10 minutes, depending on your load. You just want to disperse some of the initial moisture, not give the machine an extra wet thing to dry.”

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How does adding a towel speed up clothes drying?

So how exactly does this hack work? The dry towel effectively removes moisture from the wet clothes acting as a moisture magnet. By drawing water from the wet clothes it effectively increases the evaporation surface area, while also improving air circulation within the appliance.

The benefit? It reduces the drying time and your energy bill — especially since a clothes dryer is an energy-hungry appliance.

That said, while this hack is clever, you might be thinking: the towel will have absorbed moisture and will also need drying. True — but it’s far simpler to hang a towel to dry than an entire load of wet laundry.

While Sandler recommends leaving the dry towel in your drier for 5-10 minutes before removing it, some Reddit users suggest leaving it in for 15 minutes before taking it out. If you leave it in for much longer, however, it will add to the problem by contributing more moisture to the appliance.

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