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Drying room

Housekeeping and Maintenance

hungrycouple started this discussion 15 years 7 months ago

Hi,

We have a drying room at our hostel in the Scottish Highlands. But we are not really happy with it so far. Maybe you have some experiences or suggestions on how to improve it.

Currently it is basically a shed with two heaters, a dehumidifier and a little fan. The whole thing operates on a timer, but to make it work it needs to be on too long.

With the wet climate it seems really difficult to save energy, but we are anxious to know how others deal with that problem.

Cheers

Tobi

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Scotch Argus

15 years

I think an efficient drying room is essential if you're running a hostel in the Highlands, especially if you are in an area that is popular with walkers and climbers.

Our drying room is a small room within the hostel main building, which is on the main central heating, so it is warmed whenever the central heating is on. It also has a dehumidifier (totally essential). For it to work effectively the temperature has to be at least 20 degrees, or moisture doesn't evaporate off the clothes at a fast enough rate.

I can't comment on your individual circumstances, but often outdoor buildings aren't well insulated enough to get warm enough - too much of the heat is lost through drafts and lack of insulation. I'd imagine it's not practical to move it into a smaller room in the hostel. The only thing I could suggest would be putting insulation in the existing drying room and also making it smaller so there is less volume to heat.

Ours is about 3mx2m, so not a big room, but enough on most days, and we cater for lots of walkers who are often wet. I'd say a small sized room that gets warm enough is better than a large room that is too cold. We also have a clothes dryer people can use, but obviously this is no good for outdoor jackets and boots. The only time we have real problems is when we haev canoeists in, but that's almost impossible.

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aboriginalhostel

15 years

This thread made me excited... We spend annual 2000EUR extra on electricity because the use of tumble dryer! :eek:

(Due our location we are unable to dry the clothes outdoors.)

How long does it take for the drying process? Can you make any photos/drafts available?

Any info would be appreciated and please, keep me updated! Thanks!

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Scotch Argus

15 years

I'm afraid the drying room we're talking about is really just a place to dry wet outdoor clothes - jackets, boots etc. We still have to spend on gas for the dryer to dry all our sheets. Are you talking about sheet drying you spend the money on, or do you let the customers use the dryer for free? Either way, our drying room wouldn't really cope with being filled with wet clothes out of a washer. Its intended purpose is for wet outdoor clothes that usually dry quite quickly.

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aboriginalhostel

15 years

Alright... I thought I've heard something new. Thanks for the clarification!

We have an electric dryer which runs almost 24/7, breaks down every few months and takes 75% of our electricity bill. I guess it's a collateral damage for our running costs but if there's any new technique which would make the process more efficient, I wouldn't object against it... :rolleyes:

We don't let our guests use the laundry at all... we rather do the laundry for them as it's another service and then they won't have a chance to break the facility!
This is due previous "accidents" like when we found detergent in the dryer, or when the heavily overloaded laundry got the washing machine stucked! :cool:

Once we found a whole Milka chocolate among the washed clothes... :confused: Any of you have some stories about laundry?

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Scotch Argus

15 years

The one I always hate is people who put their walking boots in the dryer - you're sitting at reception and you hear this terrible banging sound. Unbelievable.

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saoghalbeag

15 years

The one I always hate is people who put their walking boots in the dryer - you're sitting at reception and you hear this terrible banging sound. Unbelievable.

wow the memories are flooding back - the thump thump thump and the awful smell!!! we tried to create a drying room but the only space we had was a building off the side of the hostel - and the drafts and lack of insulation made it impossible, so we often ended up with rooms draped with peoples' laundry (despite having half 3 industrial dryers available on-site...) We used to get locals coming down to put dog and horse blankets through our machines which used to drive us mad - pet fur all over the sleep sheets :mad:

When I was travelling I usually couldn't bring myself to waste 2 or 3 that could've gone towards drinking on drying, so loved drying rooms. The best one I found was at the 'old' Glasgow YHA. I recall finding a LOT of spare change in the washing machines and drying room there...

When I worked at Aviemore YHA the drying room there was huge (as far as drying rooms go) worked pretty well but the smell still haunts me. This room doubled as a storage room, but don't know if OP would consider that as an option to bring the drying room inside?

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saoghalbeag

15 years

I also recall people putting shoes and boots in our ovens to try and get them dry...a particularly stinky pair sent such a foul smell around the place that i think one of the staff threw them out the kitchen window in a rage...it'd be similarly annoying when a whole crowd would come in and line their filthy boots up in the lounge/reception/front room area...but damn owner wouldn't fork out for proper insulation for drying room so ppl didn't have much choice...

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Scotch Argus

15 years

I also recall people putting shoes and boots in our ovens to try and get them dry...a particularly stinky pair sent such a foul smell around the place that i think one of the staff threw them out the kitchen window in a rage...

That could start a whole thread about hygiene - or lack of it. I remember catching a guy washing his blood soaked socks in the kitchen sink. I mean surely washing stinking bloodied socks in a sink used for washing dishes etc would strike most people as unhygienic - I hope it would, anyway.

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jonL

15 years

I know this post is over a year old, but just in case people were still interested,
you can install items akin to drying equipment in ski lodges.

They have boot driers (basically plastic tubes pumping hot air, which also circulates throughout the room which has metal racks and hangers to dry outerwear.

Such rooms however do need dehumidifiers for best results and good heat insulation to save energy and money costs.

Hope this helps.

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