Brits warned about 'demon appliance' that adds hundreds to your bills

Amid the country's currently bleak economic state - and with the cost of living crisis continuing to keep Brits trapped in a chokehold - it's no surprise that we're all looking for easy means of saving money.

Whilst some of us are batch cooking meals to avoid using the oven, others are paying close attention to which devices they switch to standby in the hope of holding onto those extra pennies and pounds.

Speaking of devices, however, money-saving expert Martin Lewis has recently launched an expose of one if the most frequently used household objects which he says is secretly costing UK citizens a fortune.

For those unfamiliar with the on-screen helping hand, Mr Lewis has made a name for himself for letting Brits in on all the ways they can save money.

Last month, the much-loved TV presenter hit the headlines for his stark warning to pet owners about a new law which has been introduced that could result in you receiving a huge fine.

And weeks earlier, Martin received praise from fans for sharing a niche hack for slashing a staggering £40 off your phone bill each month.

Like I say, he's good at what he does.

This week, however, as mentioned, the budgeting guru has turned his attention to saving Brits money on their household appliances, suggested that some are more trouble than they're worth, including one particularly costly one which uses so much power.

Your tumble dryer could be swallowing all your money. (HUIZENG HU/Getty)

This power-guzzling demon Lewis speaks of is none other than the humble tumble dryer, with him saying it's a device 'you really don't want to use because it's really expensive'.

He explained that it costs about a quid to tumble dry a load of washing and if you just tumble dry every load of washing as a matter of routine, that soon adds up to a very big pile of money over a year.

On top of that, the tumble dryer really is one of those appliances you can do without in many cases as there are plenty of other ways to dry your clothes.

The tumble dryer might get the job done quickest of the lot but there's a plethora of other ways to tackle the problem.

The simplest and cheapest way is to simply hang them up and let time dry your clothes for you but there are some other ways to do it.

One mum put up a plastic greenhouse just to dry clothes in as it meant the weather wouldn't re-dampen anything while the house wasn't clogged up with drying racks.

Martin Lewis is famed for his money-saving advice. (ITV)

Another suggested people get a dehumidifier and put it under the drying clothes as they are much cheaper to run than a tumble dryer.

Drying clothes in direct sunlight helps speed things up, so doing a load of washing at the start of the day is a decent idea if you've got the time.

Lewis has also warned people that there are three hours in the day when you probably shouldn't stick your washing machine on.

Peak energy usage in the UK is between 4pm and 7pm, so try to avoid those times if at all possible.

He's also been warning co-habiting couples who weren't married that they might want to find some kind of legal agreement as there could be hidden costs sneaking up on them.