AN EVERYDAY household item you can buy for as little as £3 could help slash your energy bills.
The average dual fuel energy bill rose to £2,500 a year on October 1, putting pressure on household budgets.
While millions of bill payers will get a £400 discount on bills this winter, many are still looking for ways to cut back on costs.
There are dozens of gadgets such smart plugs that can help you cut costs – but using a simple bedsheet to help dry your clothes could also save you money.
TikTok user wizzabeff shared a video on the social media platform of her clothes airer covered with a bedsheet and tucked over the radiator.
In a caption alongside the video, she wrote: "Hang a duvet over an airier and tuck it into your radiator… dry clothes baby.!"
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It works by creating a warm, pocket of air for your clothes to dry in.
Using this method as an alternative to running a tumble dryer could help to save you money.
Using a tumble dryer costs around 85p per hour of use.
As ever, it will depend on the exact device you have, how often you use it and for how long, but this estimate is based on one using 2,500w.
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Experts at Shell Energy say you could save a small fortune by no longer running it three times a week.
Elvin Nagamootoo, Shell Energy's head of energy product: "If you have an energy efficient heat pump tumble dryer, not using it could save you £70 a year, but if you have a power hungry condenser or vented tumble dryer then you could save three times as much.
If you already have the heating on this winter, using a bed sheet won't cost you a penny extra – other than the cost of buying a clothes horse and a bed sheet.
We found a bedsheet on sale at Asda for £3 and B&M sell sheets in a range of colours for £4.
Clothes airers range in price depending on their size, for example we found a three-tier airer for £17.99 at The Range.
We also found a very similar appliance on sale at Argos for £15.
But if you don't fancy using a bed sheet for this method, you could try using a heated, electric airer.
With prices starting from less than £40, a freestanding airer can pay for itself in no time.
A plug-in rack costing 10p an hour to run will add up to £52 a year if you use it for ten hours every week.
How else can I slash my energy bills?
The most obvious way to save money is to opt hanging out your laundry on a clothes horse – or outside – to let them dry naturally instead.
It won't cost you a penny, but with temperatures dipping as autumn hits, keep in mind that getting your load dry could take longer.
You could also save money on washing your clothes too.
Which? has worked out that the average washing machine costs about £38 a year to run four washes a week.
If you reduced the temperature to 30°C then it would only cost £25, saving £13, and lowering it to 20°C will make it roughly £14 to run, saving £24.
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