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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters dry their clothes on lines instead of in dryers, each year we'll save up to a combined $1,350,000.
COCKTAIL FACT
A study published in the medical journal The Archives of Neurology found that male brains shrink faster than female brains in old age.
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home › tip library › Clotheslines
Turned off by shrinkage?
The Bite
When you're talking laundry, it's usually the dryer, not the water that does it. Keep your clothes their optimal size and shape by line-drying, since dryers shrink the lifespan of your clothes and use a whole lotta energy.The Benefits
- Less damage to the goods. Repeated drying at high-temps can reduce fabric strength by 25% or more, and the tumbling action of the dryer (not the heat, believe it or not) causes shrinkage.
- Enlarging your bank account. You can save up to $135 per year on electricity bills by forgoing the machine. (And if you don't have your own dryer, you'll spend a lot less time searching under couch cushions for quarters.)
- It's softer on the earth. Except for fridges and washing machines, dryers use more energy annually than other major household appliances. (And summer sun-drying gets it done in a jif.)
- Less shocking. Line-drying clothes means less static cling.
Personally Speaking
During the hot, dry summer Jenifer spent in Poland, it took just 10 minutes for most of her clothes to dry on the line...too bad the average washing cycle ran for over an hour.Wanna Try?
- Abundant Earth Drying Racks - five indoor drying rack options made with sustainably harvested wood or wood scraps ($30 and up).
- Whitney Design Retractable Dryer - 8-foot indoor/outdoor clothesline that easily retracts ($10).
- Your local hardware or bed-and-bath store should have plenty of options too.
Jun 10,2008
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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
Love Line
I currently line-dry about half of my clothing. I have a drying rack inside my apartment, but we also have several lines inside our communal laundry room downstairs. I prefer using the latter, as I've found that the slow, methodical process of arranging clothes and clipping them to the lines really relaxes me. I turn on the radio and just kind of zone out for awhile. During our research for today's tip, we ran across a book that digs into the culture of clotheslines (yes, culture), in part how the ritual of hanging clothes in olde tymes actually brought people together. It also contains recipes for herbal ironing water, linen care and storage tips, and other interesting tidbits. (BTW, anyone know where to find great eco-friendly clothespins?)
If none of that appeals to you, you might be the perfect candidate for the thoroughly automated, anything-but-nostalgic Cord-O-Clip contraption.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to hang three sheets in the wind...
Biter Comments...
I'm also into the zen of line drying, and there ain't nothin' like that line-dried smell. Just hoping the heating element doesn't give out...
one other advantage of line-drying: almost no ironing! if you give your clothes a good flap before you hang them straight, you eliminate almost all of the wrinkles.
clothes drying racks are great!
try as they might, there is NO dryer sheet ever made that will compare to the smell of laundry that has been hanging outside and drying in the sun! I LOVE THAT SMELL!!!! Fresh air dried laundry is the BEST! I grew up in a household that only had a washing machine and now that I am an adult we only use our dryer when absolutely necessary, which if you manage to plan well enough with kids is hardly ever!
I know that you can get recycled clothes pins from:
www.clotheslineshop.com
They are a bit pricy (as tend to be a few recycled items) but they are plastic and seem to be holding up better than my wooden ones did in the extreme sun. They also have a wide mouth so they will accomidate heavy fabrics like blankets and towels with no problem. So, in my opinion they have been well worth the investment.
A note about the business - they ship internationally (great for me, and they were reasonable with the international shipping) and they are a small family run business which is always great to support I think, Like I said, a bit pricy tp start maybe, but this time I think it was worth the price. I use them almost daily.
We find it very relaxing too. Also, we have a gas dryer, and in one month (the month I started line drying) our gas bill dropped from $75 to $16. Talk about an incentive!
Too bad I live in an area where this would be practical in about 3 months out of the year. I've always wanted to do more line-drying, but even the few things I hang up in my apartment to dry take over a day and a half to stop being wet...
You may or may not know that there are millions of Americans not allowed to hang their clothes. That is why Project Laundry List (www.laundrylist.org) has become a beacon of hope for clothesline enthusiasts around the world.
Millions have bought into the post-1945 GE myth that we would be liberated from the drudgery of housework if we only sat behind a desk to earn utility bill, maintainence, and capital investment money to keep our dryers running, despite the fact that they obsolesce every twelve to eighteen years and cost hundreds of dollars to replace.
(Sorry if this is a double post!)
I tried line drying, but my clothes came out all stiff and feeling rough, but they're soft and supple coming out of the dryer. Is there something I'm missing? I used a fabric softener in the wash (though now I just use vinegar).
I would love to hang my clothes outside but have steered away from this to my allergies. I always read that if you have allergies you shouldn't do this as the pollen will attach to your clothes - increasing your exposure and then spreading the pollen indoors; in addition exposing items like your sheets that wouldn't normally be exposed to pollen. Does anyone know if this is in fact true or perhaps have other suggestions? I suppose I could hang-dry indoors but space contraints and lack of the zen-feel are deterrents.
(only somewhat tongue-in-cheek) I like the existence of no-outside-drying
bans: they're an instant tip-off to the fact that people who'd live in those places don't get it about global warming, the environment, and/or real community. If they won't let you hang laundry, there are probably a lot of other beneficial things they also won't let you do!
Jenny - Take them off the line before they're totally try - a bit damp will translate into perfect, soft clothes later. I even spray my clothes with water if I accidentally leave them to dry too long.
I live in a TEENY apartment and find a way to line dry - anyone can do it!
We moved into a new place almost 3 months ago and went from gas everything to electric everything - so now we're hang drying our clothes. Another little plus with drying your clothes in the sun - no more bleach! Actually we put some lemon juice in the Downey Ball (since it opens in the rinse cycle) instead of using bleach. Even the tomato sauce stain came out nice and white!
We're using white vinegar (also in the Downey Ball) on everything but the bedding. We're still using the lavendar fabric softener for that. Anyone with a good recipe for Lavendar Linen Water??
I LOVE my just from outside sheets when I line dry. My mom and dad have always dried clothes outside, and now I do the same, but I tend to put my nicer clothes inside.
Mr. Stephenson writes, "If they won’t let you hang laundry, there are probably a lot of other beneficial things they also won’t let you do!" See an article from AlterNet by Stan Cox, called "The Property Cops" for an expose of the things that they won't let you do. You can find it at http://www.laundrylist.org.
I have been line drying clothes for years. In the winter months, I hang our clothes on lines in the basement. I also have a drying rack. As soon as the weather warms up, I am outside using my two retractable clothes lines that go from my house to nearby trees. When my sons went to college, I bought drying racks for them.
Added benefits: Whiter whites! Line drying naturally bleaches whites. Also adds an inch of length to jeans that may be a bit too floodsy for you. Does anyone know if it's more environmentally friendly to use a dryer or to line dry & iron?
Oh, I forgot to mention that drying indoors can save your life. Many, many years ago, my toddler sister was going down the basement stairs, lost her balance, and fell off the stairs: right into the basket of laundry my mother was putting on the in-door line...
My daughter loves the smell of "just off the line" clothes so much- "So fresh! and so Clean, Clean!" that it gets my housework-adverse child to actually hang the laundry for me...when she is home! She is spending this summer in Chicago. Hope you find a line, Bean.
Great tip! I don't own either an electric or gas dryer, so I ALWAYS air dry my laundry. Maybe I should look in to getting a drying rack for winter drying. That Whitney retractable clotheline sounds good, too, and it's VERY reasonably priced! As many posters have stated in this thread, NOTHING beats the smell of clothes that have been dried outside on the line. At any rate, I've said that if they ever come out with an electric dryer that makes clothes smell as good as they do when they're dried outside on the line, MAYBE then I'll get one.
Rucifey, you do need to be careful with the sun. While it bleaches whites, it can also cause colors to fade. The sun is an indiscriminate bleaching agent.
Jenny, you want soft clothes? Use a fabric softener! I would never even THINK of doing laundry without it. If any fabric is going to come in contact with MY skin for any length of time, it absolutely MUST be SOFT!
Hmmm, Ashley. I'm VERY skeptical about softening your clothes with just water. I don't see how just plain water can accomplish any kind of softening. Besides, water doesn't smell as good as Downy or some other commercial fabric softener.
Another option you did not mention is using a GAS dryer instead of an electric dryer.
I got my first gas dryer about 15 years ago. My current gas dryer is one of the energy efficient Whirlpool Duet's. Most dryers come with a gas powered alternative if you ask. Using natural gas is very inexpensive compared to an electric dryer, and I've found my clothes dry a lot faster.
We use a clothes line in the summer for some things, but with each of us working plus living on a 30 acre homestead with lots of animals and agriculture to care for, using the clothesline is often creating much more work than necessary.
Thanks =) HG
@Ashley - Won't the clothes get that mildew smell if you don't dry them completely?
@Linda - Yeah, I always use fabric softener, but it didn't seem to help when I was line drying indoors. We're not allowed to line dry outdoors in the complex where I live.
Hippie Gal, I personally would NEVER use natural gas-powered ANYTHING, at least not voluntarily. I'm scared to DEATH of natural gas! You've never heard of an ELECTRIC explosion, have you? Natural gas may be cheaper (at least that USED to be true, but I guess that depends on what part of the country you live in), but I'm a firm believer in safety, first. I wouldn't put my house at risk just to save a few bucks.
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Meredith Esham | June 10, 2008 at 06:03 AM