It's the season of low temperatures and high power bills where damp dominates dry and your clothing choices are at the mercy of mother nature.

Airing your clean laundry requires more thought in winter.

Should you brave the elements? Clog the hallways? Will a dehumidifier do the job over a dryer?

And what's the most efficient way to dry your washing when the weather won't play ball?

Paul Smith from Consumer NZ was tasked with answering these questions and told Seven Sharp the dryer was the most efficient option.

"While a drying rack cost me nothing, it took all day [to dry] and only removed about 50% of the water [from the clothes]," he said.

"The dryer was my best choice. It cost about 50c to dry a load, which is far less than I expected, and it did it in an hour. All the moisture got sucked outside. If I was to do it again, I would use the dryer.

"If I had a combination of time and money I would hang the clothes out on a decent day to get as much moisture out of them as I could and then put it in the dryer to finish off. But to be honest, hanging them out is only going to save me a few cents."

For more tips, watch the Seven Sharp video above.