zlacker

>>taraka+(OP)
For the entirety of my life, we've hung or clothes to dry inside. No dryer. No, they don't smell bad. Yes, even with small kids in the household. No, there is no problem with mold. No, it doesn't take forever, I'd estimate twelve hours most of the year, depending on how fast you spun them (typically 1200+ rpm).

Yes, the evaporating cools down the room, though I can't say I ever noticed it. In terms of energy efficiency compared to a dryer, it's much better in summer, and not much better in winter, though you get a humidifier as a freeby.

Yes, it's a chore, a full load takes about ten minutes to hang, and it's real boring work.

>>morsch+13
This very much depends on your local climate and the building itself.

Definitely not possible in the flat we live in during the winter unless we run a dehumidifier.

>>double+T3
Where do you live? Winter is when people traditionally use humidifiers because the air inside tends to be dry. (Cold air outside has a low absolute humidity, so relative humidity will be low when you heat it up inside.)

>>buzzde+O4
A lot of EU heats by steam/water radiators. These don't dry the air the same way forced air heating does.

You are right about absolute/relative humidity, but our basement feels damper in winter than summer.

>>mellav+r5
Forced air and radiators dry the air equally. Steam radiators sometimes can add humidity to the air it is limited and only when they are initially heating up before the valve closes. What causes dry air in the winter is the act of heating air up. Relative humidity is based on the temperature of the air, so if there is a fixed amount of water in the air, as you heat it the relative humidity goes down. So in the winter cold air slowly comes into the house via air leakage. This air is heated up which drops its relative humidity down. I have lived in houses with baseboard heat and with forced air, and recently converted my house from baseboard heat to forced air. There is no real difference in the relative humidity in the house.

>>sbradf+68
Forced Air generally increase the exchange of new air from outside. Individual rooms will tend to be above or below ambient pressure which causes an exchange of air with the outside. Carefully balanced systems can minimize the effect, but homes are rarely built with this in mind.

You can get a related effect with thermostats which raise and lower the house’s temperature over the day as air expands with increased temperature.

>>Retric+ea
That is definitely an issue that is out there. Sadly cheap builders try and get away with a single return per floor in a house which is simply not enough. My point is mostly that forced air versus hydronic isn't what causes a difference in dryness of air. It largely comes down to the quality of the install of each and the tightness of the home. Hydronic is typically more expensive and tends to be found it better built homes. My house is an exception to that rule though, I am still working on sealing up air leaks from where all the pipes ran for our baseboard heat.