I live in Edinburgh in a modern flat with no room for a pulley for drying clothes. We used to do fine with a clothes horse, but since having a baby (and so having more laundry) we just can't get the clothes dry before they get that nasty smell of clothes that have dried too slowly. It is worse in summer, because we don't have the heating on – things take three days to dry. I see four options: which is the most environmentally friendly, or is there another option?

We could buy a brand new A-rated tumble dryer; we could buy a second-hand tumble dryer (probably not A-rated); we could get a dehumidifier; we could do what we have been resorting too lately – put the gas central heating on, drape the clothes over the radiators, and open the windows.

Elinor, by email

A fantastic response to what would appear to be a near-universal problem – how best to dry your clothes indoors. My initial reaction reading through the varied comments was that if this simply came down to a show of hands then it would be between the dehumidifier and a well-ventilated clothes horse. But there was plenty of subtlety in the range of proposed solutions that suggests we might never reach a consensus view on this troublesome issue.

BarryPinches, emmymancs and others were avowed supporters of the "dehumidifier under clothes horse" technique. Whereas leadballoon (thanks for putting in the time and effort to crunch the numbers) and budlia in Northern Australian concluded that using a fan to move the air around a clothes horse was a more efficient method.

There was a surprising amount of support, too, for the electric clothes horse, an innovation I must confess I knew nothing of. Gingercake, TheMumster, Campbelina and jmh51 all sang its praises.

The tumble drier clearly won the vote of the "life's too short" brigade, but Kezia10 perhaps put the best case forward for why our questioner Elinor should choose this route:

I understand this problem completely. Having lived for 2 years in a flat that was so poorly ventilated that one boiling kettle steamed up every window, and where in summer – with windows open – washing took a minimum of 3 days to dry, I sympathise! Ignore the unhelpful comments about opening windows or buying another clothes horse. It's not healthy for you or your baby to live in that atmosphere – I developed asthma as a result of our problem – so get a tumble drier!

There was wide agreement that Elinor was certainly considerably hampered by her circumstances without any facility to outdoor drying, or even a clothes horse on a pulley that can be lifted up into the otherwise unused room space near the ceiling. (MelonCauli also mentioned those cables you sometimes see stretching across baths in European hotels as an alternative drying option.)

There were surprisingly few spin enthusiasts populating the comments, I thought. Wingsonmyheels and stillstayingcool both argued that an extra spin cycle can reduce the drying time considerably by squeezing out an extra few drops of water from your washing. "Our chosen wash programme only spins at 1,100, so after it's done I spin again at 1,500," said wingsonmyheels. "Saves about 15 mins drying time in the tumble drier."

The most leftfield (but compellingly sensible) suggestion came from CJon who argued that we should rethink the entire clothing/laundry paradigm in which we currently exist:

Buy loads of pants, socks and tea shirts/vests- so that you can always have a clean supply, yet hoard the dirty ones until the weather is good to hang them out on the line. I have 40 pairs of socks, 50 pairs of pants and 14 white T shirts - and I find this more than enough to last two weeks (changing every day) which allows me to time the washing of dirty ones with the weather. Also since the clothes are only used once a day – they don't get too dirty and hence only need a slight wash, and I always have a full load which again saves money, water, detergent etc

It certainly beats samiyad's suggestion that we should wash our clothes less. Yes, this is certainly a sensible idea: there's no doubt that a cultural norm has developed (in the UK at least) that we must wash our clothes after just one day's use, but samiyad takes this a tad too far by admitting to having pairs of jeans "that go years between washes".

Moving beyond the specifics of Elinor's opening question, I was drawn to the eminently sensible points made by AnneDon, sparclear and RonanPt who all argued that Elinor's washing woes were not of her own making, but rather the result of some highly questionable building and planning practices. As AnneDon, a fellow Edinburgh resident, said:

I can't believe Edinburgh council gives planning permission for flats with no drying greens, internal bathrooms, and all the outdoor space given over to parking cars, then heckles us all about recycling! My flat is six years old, but is less eco-friendly than the old tenement I lived in before!

RonanPt suggested that urban dwellers "lobby for civic launderettes". As I was wandering around the remains of the Housesteads Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland the other day, I found myself wondering how the Romans might have laundered their clothes. I wasn't surprised to learn that they most likely relied on a civic launderette known as a fullonica. As ever, history invariably provides ample solutions to the problems we encounter today.

Finally, I sought the views of the Energy Saving Trust to see if it could provide an answer to Elinor's laundry headaches. Here's how it responded:

A tricky question, as we have no definitive answers, but here are some tips: Invest in a high-rated tumble dryer – C, B or A and make sure it has an automatic drying sensor function so it doesn't over-dry clothes, but switches off when it senses the moisture level is low. All Energy Saving Trust Recommended tumble dryers meet these criteria. Invest in a gas tumble dryer – they will require a registered Gas Safe installer to fit but will have a lower impact on the environment than an electric tumble dryer. Or a heat pump tumble dryer can use around 25% less energy than a standard dryer. As much as possible, try using drying racks in sunny rooms so the tumble dryer doesn't have to be used. Use a high spin setting on the washing machine to get rid of as much water as possible before it comes out – the increased energy used to spin is nothing compared to the energy needed to dry clothes in a tumble dryer so there will be a benefit.

On 22 July, Leo originally wrote:

I suspect that this is a question that has troubled the majority of readers at one time or other. I know that I have been round the houses myself a few times with this one and am still unsure if there is a definitively correct answer.

Given the possible variables at play - climate, size of room, internal humidity levels, type of heating system, access to outside space etc - what are your own experiences? I'll return soon to join the debate.

• Please send your own environment question to ask.leo.and.lucy@guardian.co.uk