You’ve been using your tumble dryer all wrong and an easy hack could slash your bills by two thirds

MILLIONS are tackling rising bills as we head deeper into the winter months.

So families will be looking for ways to cut back on using energy-guzzling appliances like tumble dryers.

Consumers across the UK are having to find clever ways to make their household budgets stretch further amidst the cost of living crisis.

And one social media user explained on the Reduce your Supermarket Spends Facebook group how you can cut down on your energy usage by using your tumble dryer for less time – but not how you think.

The savvy saver said: “Once you have done your wash in the washing machine – I use the quick wash – put the dial to spin and drain.

“It takes around 12 minutes and leaves your clothes almost dry.

“And because they’re almost dry, it can cut the drying time down in your tumble dryer afterwards by two thirds, saving you electricity and money.”

The hack comes following energy bill rises for millions of households on dual-fuel tariffs after the Energy Price Guarantee came into effect on October 1.

The average households bills will go up to £2,500 from £1,971 following the government’s announcement.

But the £2,500 figure is just an estimation, as the Energy Price Guarantee just caps what providers can charge customers for their energy, not on their total bill.

So if you use more energy than the average household, your bills will be more than £2,500.

And the energy price cap is set to rise to £3,000 come April thanks to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement.

Households will also start getting the first instalment of their £400 energy rebate from this month.

The discount is being applied to customers’ energy bills and will be paid in six monthly instalments between October and March 2023.

Will Owen, energy expert at Uswitch.com, told The Sun: “Tumble dryers are one of the most energy-guzzling devices in the home.

“They can be used more efficiently if you only run them when they are full, or by making use of your appliance’s eco mode, if it has one.”

Based on the savvy consumer’s tip on the Reduce Your Supermarket Spends Facebook group, we worked out how much you could save.

A typical tumble dryer uses 1.14Wh per cycle.

Under the Energy Price Guarantee, one spin costs you 38p.

So if you use the dryer once a day every day of the year you’ll end up forking out £138.70.

If you can reduce the time you use the dryer by two thirds, you’ll save £91.54 – bringing your annual cost down to £47.16.

Owen said: “The longer your tumble dryer’s cycle, the more money it will cost you.

“If your clothes are dripping wet, it will have to run much longer to get them dry, increasing your energy bill dramatically.“

How else can I save on my bills?

On top of the energy-saving hack offered by the Facebook user on the Reduce Your Supermarket Spends group, there are other ways to cut back on your energy bills as winter draws in.

Ben from Uswitch said: “Heated clothes airers are a great alternative to tumble dryers.

“Using a 230W clothes airer for an hour a day would cost almost 55p a week under the new Energy Price Guarantee.”

That works out as just over £200 a year, almost £800 cheaper than using a tumble dryer every day for a year.

That’s not all. Buying insulation will prevent heat from escaping through your loft, and it could save you hundreds on your bills.

You should insulate your loft hatch as well – that will prevent further heat from escaping.

In addition, closing your curtains in the evening when temperatures drop naturally drop will keep the heat in.

Opening them up in the morning to let the sun in will warm you up.

And lastly, keeping your fridge full will ensure the appliance runs more efficiently.

Experts advise that keeping the fridge around 75% full is the optimum level.

That’s because too empty and it’s a waste of cool air and too full and it will be working overtime.

For the the full list, you can read our guide on the 30 top ways to save on your energy bills this winter.

That’s not all – we previously revealed two tricks that could cut your energy bill by £300.

And if you want to slash your bills even further, we listed off four ways to stop costs from spiralling.