Comments on: Save Energy and Save Money by Line Drying Your Clothing

By: Nancy Schimmel

Nancy Schimmel — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

We had an umbrella line when I was a kid and a neighbor taught me to put the undies in the center and hide them with other clothes around them. Now I just let it all hang out.
Yes, check if clotheslines are allowed, but if not, change the regulation!

By: Mary Brien

Mary Brien — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I hang my clothes on a rotary (umbrella type) clothes line outside but we also invested in a retractable one for our enclosed patio. Clothes dry wonderfully in the sun, heat and breeze. One way to avoid wrinkles is togive a good shake before they are hung out and another before you fold. I often simply pop mine in the dryer for about 5 minutes to take out any remaining wrinkles or finishing the drying. I find that even jeans and heavy bath sheets dry in very little time. No it isn’t a 2 day affair getting several loads dry. First ones go out seperated over the entire space. By the time the second load is done I can remove some of the lightest and redistribute the rest. Just requires a bit of thinking. Long live the right to dry!

By: Alison

Alison — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

We dry our clothes on a large wire rack from Ikea, indoors in the winter (adding much needed moisture to our dry air) and outside on our enclosed porch in the summer. Guests coming over? Rack goes out on the porch in winter (still works but takes longer to dry) or into our bedroom, out of sight, in the summer. I also have a removable line kitty-corner across the porch for larger items. Wrinkles? Throw them into the dryer at low heat for maybe 5 minutes. DONE!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I live in the city and use retractable lines and the clothes smell just fine. If you snap them before hanging they end up with fewer wrinkles then if they were in the dryer. You can hang clothes out in the winter as long as it’s over 20*. They may take a bit longer but it’s not like you have watch them dry. Hang them and forget them.

By: PT

PT — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for your comments, everyone. All good tips and opinions. Mrs. PT and I line dry a few things inside using a drying rack. It would be nice to have one of those retractable clotheslines for a larger room in the house though.

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Funny, this morning I heard the exact same thing on the radio and I thought… are they crazy? Isn’t that why we have dryers! LOL. I agree that it’s not practical, though if I lived out in the country or anywhere with less smog it’d probably make the clothes smell good! I did have to do it in Spain, but the lady I was living with didn’t tell me that when she first did laundry, I woke up to find all my unmentionables hanging out the window! Can you say embarassed

By: Tax Guy

Tax Guy — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

We line dry in the summer, but right now … our clothes would freeze! When we started, we found that our electrical bills were a fair bit lower (we have 5 people in th family and the dryer runs constantly).

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

It may save money but is not practical. If you are doing multiple loads of wash, it usually takes a good 2 days to have them dry, then you need to iron. If you don’t have that time or space it’s not worth it.

By: Beth

Beth — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I have a deck with a railing around the edge and a few Adirondeck chairs. I just throw my laundry across the railing and chairs. It’s the easiest thing, and then you don’t have to worry about buying clothespins or a line, or about picking up and taking down something unsightly.