Questions about line drying

[aggieamy]

I've been reading the "Things that have saved you money" thread and am very interested in this line drying. I will start off by saying that laundry is not my favorite chore and there are times when I really struggle with getting it done. That being said, how much more work is line drying then using a dryer? I'd love to cut our gas bill down and I've already implemented a few things in the house that cuts down on laundry. (No putting towels that have been used once in the laundry!) Do you have to use a line or could you use drying racks in your basement? We've all got allergies and I worry about things like PJ's getting pollen all over them. Tell me experiences with line drying - good and bad, please.

[gaillardia]

The one bad I've noticed about line drying the past few years: laundry smelling like a dirty wet dog.

I just assume it's because of where we live, although it doesn't smell like dirty wet dogs here and we don't have a dog.:confused:

Many years ago when I used line drying, I didn't use liquid fabric softener and clothing and towels would be rather stiff.

I loved the way the sheets smelled and felt after drying out on the line.:001_smile:

[Carol in Cal.]

It's great for towels and sheets--they dry a little crisper than in the drier, and towels dry much faster because they are a single layer in the breeze.

 

You have to be careful about fading, especially for t-shirts or anything with natural dyes.

 

It's certainly labor intensive. It can limit how many loads per day you can complete.

 

I have never had much luck drying jeans outside except on the hottest days, and I hang them upside down with the legs spread even then.

 

Great for women's underwear; not so great for men's.

[Peela]

Until this house we always line dried- now we dry on racks because birds can sit above the line here which is not a good thing :)

The laundry is big and has the hot water system in it, so the room heats up a little. We have 4 racks, each of which can hold a load of washing. It generally takes 12 hours to dry in summer and a good 24, even 36, in winter.

We don't own a dryer- it would be too convenient. In winter if there is something we particularly want dried we put it in front of the heater in the dining room.

We have never had a smell issue- fresh washing smells like fresh washing here. If you forget to take it out of the machine for a day, it can smell a bit!

We open up the laundry most of the time to allow air circulation- and shut it down at night time so that the water heater warms the room.

[Aggie]

I've been line drying for years.

 

Some loads are more of a hassle than others. Whites take forever to hang up so I delegate that load to the teens. :001_smile:

 

Our regular clothes (we don't have many that qualify as 'dress') we throw in the dryer for a few minutes to get the wrinkles out, then hang on hangers. On nice days, the hangers go on the line. On cold days, we hang the clothes on the shower rod.

 

4/5 of us have pollen allergies. Line drying isn't any worse for us than being outside, really. And we all spend copious amounts of time in the great outdoors.

 

If I try, I can hang towels out on windy days and they're not as stiff. The wind here does wonders for wrinkley jeans, too.:001_smile:

 

I enjoy hanging clothes outside. It gives me a small break in my day to be out by myself where no one even tries to find me.:D

 

I'd love to know what it costs to run a dryer for 30 min. Someone once told me it was less than $.50 a load.