This time of year is always a tricky time for household finances, with the cost of Christmas and expensive heating bills to contend with.

Homes across the UK have already seen their energy bills go up from October thanks to the new Ofgem price cap, which will add an extra £149 a year to bills on average - or £12 per month. And while the typical energy bill is forecast to drop slightly come January, it pays to make small savings wherever you can.

One easy way to help cut energy costs this winter is by using a clothes drying method that will only cost you 7p an hour.

Drying clothes in winter is always a time-consuming and expensive process, and households face forking out eye-watering sums by resorting to a tumble dryer to get the job done quicker.

If you’re keen to avoid such a power-hungry appliance, you can opt for a much cheaper option that one savvy Reddit user says will get your clothes dry ‘for just 7p an hour’ - and all it requires is a simple setting on your washing machine.

The Reddit user says they started doing an extra spin and drain cycle on their washing, which helps to remove any excess moisture from clothes before hanging it out to dry.

Once the cycle is finished, the user recommends leaving it to dry on an airer with a dehumidifier in the room, and then pointing an oscillating fan at it on the lowest speed to get clothes dry even quicker.

The handy advice was shared on the UKPersonalFinance subreddit after the user said they “couldn't see the tip around” and so decided to share it with others.

Explaining how it works, the user said: "Fundamentally, water is removed from clothes due to evaporation of water molecules held on clothes.

"Heat will increase the rate at which this happens, but it's the hardest and most expensive way to do this at present.

"What I've started doing is to do an extra spin and drain cycle on my laundry, meaning there's less water to remove from my clothes. I then set up my airer with a dehumidifier in the room PLUS, this is the key bit, pointing my oscillating fan at the laundry at the lowest fan speed.