A method for drying laundry placed in a rotating drum of a household drying appliance, said drum comprising: i) a front part that faces a door of the household appliance, when said door is set in a closed position; ii) a base opposite said front part; iii) a side wall that encloses an axis of rotation of the drum; wherein said method comprises the stage of carrying out a first drying process for drying the laundry until a first predetermined operational condition is reached and, upon reaching the first operational condition, said method envisages the stage of carrying out a second drying process for drying the laundry, said second drying process implementing a repeated process and, in turn, comprising the stages of: - directing a flow of air inside the drum through an opening in the drum, said opening being located in said front part or in said base of the drum; - rotating said drum at a first speed of rotation so as to push the laundry items towards the side wall of the drum and facilitate entry of the air into a central zone of the drum; - rotating said drum at a second speed of rotation that is higher than the first speed of rotation, so as to push the laundry items towards the side wall of the drum more energetically than in the stage of rotating the drum at the first speed of rotation, this making it possible to improve the entry of the air in the central zone of the drum; - rotating said drum at a third speed of rotation, said third speed of rotation being lower than the first speed of rotation, so as to make it possible to dry the laundry items located at said opening in the drum; the stage of directing a flow of air inside the drum takes place, at least in part, at the same time as the stage of rotating said drum at the first, the second and the third speed of rotation; characterized in that in each repetition of the cycle of said procedure, the stage of rotating said drum at the first speed of rotation takes place prior to the stage of rotating said drum at the second speed of rotation, which, in turn, takes place prior to the stage of rotating said drum at the third speed of rotation, wherein the stages of rotating the drum at the first, the second and the third speed of rotation envisage rotating the drum always in the same direction of rotation. i) a front part that faces a door of the household appliance, when said door is set in a closed position; ii) a base opposite said front part; iii) a side wall that encloses an axis of rotation of the drum; - directing a flow of air inside the drum through an opening in the drum, said opening being located in said front part or in said base of the drum; - rotating said drum at a first speed of rotation so as to push the laundry items towards the side wall of the drum and facilitate entry of the air into a central zone of the drum; - rotating said drum at a second speed of rotation that is higher than the first speed of rotation, so as to push the laundry items towards the side wall of the drum more energetically than in the stage of rotating the drum at the first speed of rotation, this making it possible to improve the entry of the air in the central zone of the drum; - rotating said drum at a third speed of rotation, said third speed of rotation being lower than the first speed of rotation, so as to make it possible to dry the laundry items located at said opening in the drum;