Tracy in Ky Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 A good friend of mine told me today that she saved $50 on her electric bill by hardly using her dryer in the last month. Instead, she hung and draped the laundry around inside the house. So now I have a whole load of towels and, ahem, under garments draped in the basement and storage room (i.e. dh’s workshop). They’re on the shelves, the furniture dolly, the cooler–you name it. It’s a bit disheveled(did I spell that right? looking down there, but hey--every dollar counts! Have any of you noticed a drop in your electric bill from not using the dryer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 YES!! I stopped using our dryer. It had never really worked right, but when it started taking 3 turns just to dry one small load, I started hanging stuff inside. I bought 2 $10 laundry racks at WM. I have 2 over the door towel racks on my laundry room door. And I have a bar where I hang stuff. Big things like sheets and comforters I hang over the shower bar. I can hang 3 loads up usually and they take a day to dry. My bill has definitely gone down and we are using much less power. One bill last fall we had used 1/3 less power over the same month the year before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmgirlinwv Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Well, I hang out practically all laundry all spring/summer into fall. We did not have a decrease in $$. Compared to previous years, about the same. I don't know why. As a matter of fact the dryer was broken for 3 months. No change at all. IDK why. We weren't on a budget w/ power company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Yes, a definite difference. I now have laundry day and I hang the bulk of it to dry. As I do each load I throw the stuff I am using the dryer for in but don't run it until all the loads are done. That way I only run it once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
always cookin' Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 My kids can't stand that. I don't use fabric softener. Does that help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita in NC Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I haven't quit using the dryer yet but we did change our thermostat from 68 to 62 and I noticed a drop in electric use and saved about $40 off the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 My kids can't stand that. I don't use fabric softener. Does that help? Place them in the dryer for just a few minutes, and then dry them the rest of the way hanging up. They will be soft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Things hung inside don't get as stiff as things hung outside. I can't stand hanging things outside for many reasons, so hanging inside works for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I save 1$ per load. And electricity is cheap here. We do use it in the winter time though, although I should install something in the basement for hanging clothes, so we can recycle that humidity. It's dry during the winter months, with heating! During the summer, clothes are outside. When they're dried, I give them a 2 minutes run in the dryer to get rid of the stiffiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiebug_1976 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 With our house being so small, I didn't think of hanging clothes up inside. As soon as the weather gets nice, we stop using the dryer altogether, but mabye I should find the space to put come clothes racks inside during the not-so-nice weather. I can't tell you the exact savings (my husband usually pays the bills), but our electric bill does go down in the summer, and it's not because we are not using the heater anymore. We have wood heat. So I'm all for the laundry lin, inside or out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I'm exploring this idea, but my laundry room is tiny. The winter drying here would have to be inside, and I'm considering a line in the basement. I'd love one of the up and down pulley-style racks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Well, I hang out practically all laundry all spring/summer into fall. We did not have a decrease in $$. Compared to previous years, about the same. I don't know why. As a matter of fact the dryer was broken for 3 months. No change at all. IDK why. We weren't on a budget w/ power company. Gas dryer? ;) I have a gas dryer, but I hang dry about 1/3 of the laundry, mainly to help my clothes last longer. In addition to nice clothing and any synthetics, I hang dry jeans and sometimes towels, and just put them in the dryer for 10 minutes so they're not stiff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I have to be the odd one out. All last summer our dryer was broken. I line dried everything for three months. I never noticed a drop in the electric bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 My sister doesn't use her dryer much. Their clothes are stiff. I wouldn't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 When we first moved here I hung out most of our wash, only drying undergarments. When cold weather hit I used the dryer. We noticed no real difference in our electric bill. I think we would save somewhere between $10 to $15 a month. That is not enough for me to hang out all of our clothes. That savings might even be less now since we have a front loader and the clothes come out damp instead of soaked. It takes a lot of time to hang out all of the wash for a family of 7. Maybe if there were less of us, I would do it. :001_smile: I actually enjoy hanging out wash, I find it relaxing. But these days I don't have the time to spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoraida Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 With a large family, I wash and dry at least one load of laundry a day. Back during the fall on Good Morning America, their was a going green segment. The lady was telling about how much money you could save by hanging clothes, unpluging items not in use, ect. I decided to see how much money we could save if I hung up laundry instead of using our dryer. I started to notice a 50 to 70 dollar decrease in my electric bill. Even though the savings was great, I finally went back to using my dryer. I was hanging clothes up in the basement and going up and down the stairs twice a day was starting to get annoying. I wish I could hang clothes outside, but our home owners association won't allow clothes lines in the neighborhood. The home owners association members say that clothes lines are an eye sore to the neighborhood. Blessings Zoraida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteB Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Electric rates have gone up here, so line drying laundry last summer just held our bill steady at the previous year's cost. Indoors isn't an option here...too much humidity already. We also toss the jeans and towels into the dryer for a few minutes to soften after they are dry. Even if the savings isn't huge it does give our poor dryer a summer vacation and I get to relive memories of hanging out the wash with my late Grandma :) I don't think she EVER had a dryer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Family of 7 here. Yes, we notice a difference. I too hate line-dried clothes. i don't like the outdoorsy smell, the time involved, or the stiffness of jeans and towels. However, i do know that the fewer electrical appliances we use, the less they charge us ;) Another vote for putting clothes in the dryer w/ a dryer sheet for about 5 -10 minutes then hanging them up. In NY, dh set up a series of clothesline indoors, mounted to the studs in the wall. screw some hooks into the STUDS in the walls, then string up your clothesline. take it down when you need the room. We had one in the livingroom and hung up clothes in there overnight. God help the burglar trying to break in ;) another option is to purchase/ find some wooden/ plastic/ metal rods and set them over a couple chairs. clothespin socks/ underwear to hangars and hang them on the bathtub shower rod. or along that clothesline you set up to maximize efficiency. :D good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 another option is to purchase/ find some wooden/ plastic/ metal rods and set them over a couple chairs. good luck! Aha--this is the tip I needed. Perfect. Thank you! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Aha--this is the tip I needed. Perfect. Thank you! :) don't forget that many times mops and brooms have removable heads --sweep by day, hang clothes by night ;) i have found curtain rods cheap at the thrift stores too. you can also tie a clothesline from one chair to another if the chair is designed to allow for such [not a solid back]. You need to weigh down the chair w/ a shelf-full of books or the unabridged dictionary, but it works almost as well as stringing clothesline from wall to wall ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
langfam Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Years ago, I hung clothes in the house to dry, but over the months mold started to develop in the house because of increased humidity. I then considered hanging the clothes on a clothes line outside, but a friend who is allergist advised me against it, because he said pollens and pollution gets trapped in the fibers of the clothing/sheets/etc. Some other thoughts: Using the dryer too can kill bacteria left on laundry. I've read that underwear (especially kids) usually have fecal matter that doesn't get completely washed away...yew!:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 so hanging out your clothes is not an option for me...LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Years ago, I hung clothes in the house to dry, but over the months mold started to develop in the house because of increased humidity. I then considered hanging the clothes on a clothes line outside, but a friend who is allergist advised me against it, because he said pollens and pollution gets trapped in the fibers of the clothing/sheets/etc. Some other thoughts: Using the dryer too can kill bacteria left on laundry. I've read that underwear (especially kids) usually have fecal matter that doesn't get completely washed away...yew!:tongue_smilie: yeah. In NY we had a dehumidifier running all the time anyway in the basement. You'd have to do an analysis of whether a dehumidifier would use more/ less energy than a dryer. Pollens aren't an issue for us. and all our underwear gets BLEACHED!!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamagina7 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I am feeling encouraged to not use the dryer because of you! Our electric and gas bill are crazy high this winter...my husband would love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 My sister doesn't use her dryer much. Their clothes are stiff. I wouldn't do it. If you put the clothes in the dryer for 5-10 minutes after they have air dried, they will be just as soft as if you dried them all the way in the dryer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 If you put the clothes in the dryer for 5-10 minutes after they have air dried, they will be just as soft as if you dried them all the way in the dryer. I did this; after they were pretty much dry, I put them in on fluff/air dry. I think it worked pretty well. I bleach our underwear, towels, and socks. Also, I wash pretty much everything in cold water--except underwear and towels; I wash those in warm or hot water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Some other thoughts: Using the dryer too can kill bacteria left on laundry. I thought the sun was a natural way to kill bacteria in clothes, no? That's one of the reasons I like clothes drying outside. HTH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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