Comments on: How Much Do You Really Save By Air-Drying Your Clothes?

By: NCN

NCN — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:57:49 +0000

I have recently started to hang up about 85% of our laundry. I actually like the way that line-dried clothing and towels feel. Also, in a pinch, I’ll line-dry until almost done, and then toss in the dryer for a quick 5 minute spin. Softens things up and saves money. Rock on! -NCN

By: Nic

Nic — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:39:34 +0000

I like to hang dry most of the larger items, when I can, because when a sheet-quilt-or even towels is put in the dryer (gas is what we have now) they ball up & just spin their circle clumped up without the middle ever getting air. I tend to always hang dry (outside when I’m able, inside when the weather is not favorable) any of my cd’s & covers, that have PUL in them, but will put the all cotton flats-prefolds-& stuffers in the high heat dryer, if it is not sunny &/or windy out. I do not have a line, but have this long rack with plastic hangers(clippy pants kind & regular shirt type) & a t-rack from an old thrift store, plus I have a hundred++ feet of porch railing off my back deck, where I sling the larger items over, like towels, sheets, quilts & heavy jeans. On average I wash 3 loads a day, then every other day another cd load, & twice, or more, each week a load of towels & linens & sometimes blankets & quilts. Even if I saved .50cents per load, to me, it’s worth it, because that’d be $2.+- per day savings & for my family of 9, that will add up!

By: Sandy

Sandy — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:38:04 +0000

I used to think line drying clothing was awful when I was growing up. My mother would hang items on the clothesline, most of the time. In the winter months she would bring in an apartment dryer put a stocking over the round tube vent and use it to dry and heat the house up when the weather got cold. Now that I have gotten older I find myself wanting to do the same thing. Its funny how life works. I find myself becomming more and more like my mother everyday.

By: Xieli

Xieli — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:12:50 +0000

I really enjoyed reading this. We currently live in China and it is very common to use clothes lines indoors to dry clothes. I have a folding rack that I use and all my clothes dry in a couple of hours. The only real drawback is things don’t “shrink” back into shape like they do in a dryer (such as bluejeans, underwear) They seem to just get bigger! LOL! When we return to the states I will definitely use the clothesline more!

By: Charity

Charity — Thu, 13 May 2010 16:12:00 +0000

@#62 Tall Bill

We live in the NW and don’t use a drier. I hang everything down in our garage which isn’t air tight like the rest of the house. The garage is unheated and everything still dries within 24 hours max, and this is in winter. There are no issues of moisture in my home. Thing is… people I think personally look for excuses NOT to line dry because they simply just don’t like to do it. If your house is insulated too tight, yeah I can see humidity maybe being a problem but in general no. Try the garage, and you won’t have an issue with too much humidity in the winter months.

We haven’t had a drier in over 2 years. I only line dry in the winter and the rest of the year they go out on a parallel umbrella line in the back yard. To be perfectly honest, It takes me no more time to line dry than use a dryer. I can do several loads in a row in which my washer if faster than a drier. So, I hang them all out and go about my day and I am not a slave to the dryer with switching loads. I can hang a large load of laundry in less than 5 minutes flat. Once you get in practice, the work of hanging goes quickly.

By: aj

aj — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:34:54 +0000

I guarantee you that I save more than $10 a month during the spring summer & fall hanging our clothes up to dry. We are a family of 5 so there is alot of clothes to wash… I like to hang everything but socks, towels, and jeans.

I have a retractable clothes line with 3 or 4 strands on it we got from Home Depot. It stretches nicely from one side of my laundry room to the other. I keep it up all the time. My laundry room is small, with one window. But things will dry very nicely in one day. I simply take my clothes straight from the washer and hang up to dry…the shirts I put right on plastic hangers so when they are dry they are ready to go straight into the closet. This takes no longer than drying in the dryer then folding/hanging.
The plus side in the Summer is the heat from the running dryer isn’t heating up my home making it harder to keep cool. (But I do use my dryer during the winter) I was very diligent about this last year and I am sure I saved atleast $25 a month off of our electric bill. That is an easy choice for me! Plus my clothes will look better, and last longer!

I too use vinegar in the rinse, and I really haven’t noticed any of our clothes being stiff. It really depends on the type of fabric I guess.

By: angela

angela — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:30:53 +0000

Hi, I feel you left a few figures out. I live in the South. I can line dry about 9 months a year. My dryer will thus live 4 times as long. Also the heat produced by a dryer will raise my AC cost in the summer. Thanks, Angela

By: Teenie

Teenie — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:57:54 +0000

I hang my clothes on clothes racks over my shower curtain rod. In the winter when the heat is on they’re dry overnight. They also dry overnight on hot summer days if they air is not on super cold. When they are dry I just hang them in the closet. I only use the dryer for linens and undies to soften them after they have air dried a bit. As for wrinkes, I haven’t ironed in 10 years. I try to select fabrics that don’t wrinkle. As for jeans, while they are air drying I shake them out a couple of times. I usually do this when I use the bathroom. This takes little time. It’s worth it when I see my $39 summer/$150 Winter electric bill for a 3 bedroom 2 bath house.

By: AnnJo

AnnJo — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:04:46 +0000

Anyone who plans to hand clothes to dry indoors should invest in a humidity monitor. Some versions of atomic clocks include that. All the water that leaves the clothes as they dry is going into the air in the home. If there is not enough air circulation to the outside, or if the weather is already humid, the risk of mold and mildew damage to the home is considerable, and will cost a lot more to repair than will be saved in energy costs.

I have a dehumidifier in my basement that I use during the summers to keep moisture under control. Within 24 hours, that little sucker will pull a gallon of water out of the air in a 400 square foot basement! And then do it again day after day sometimes.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:12:23 +0000

The other benefit to hanging items outside is that sunlight disinfects. We use the dryer fairly often, but I try to hang towels & sheets out on the outdoor clothesline whenever I can.

By: Lesley

Lesley — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:46:18 +0000

Wow, I’m really surprised by the comments here. I don’t know a single person who line-dries their clothing – not one!

I live in a nice neighborhood where outside drying of clothes is not allowed – period. And frankly, I like it that way. I have no desire to look at clothes people have failed to bring in day after day.

Also, I don’t like the stiffness of clothes when they aren’t at least partially dried.

I have a wonderfully energy-efficient dryer. To keep clothes from shrinking and wearing out, I dry them partially, then hang them up on an extra rod in my closet.

But I also wonder how commenters here have so much time to hang laundry. I have a couple of kids, so hanging clothes, sheets, etc. for 4 seems like a huge waste of my time.

By: gail

gail — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:11:51 +0000

Does anyone have a solution for those of us with environmental allergies? I would love to hang my clothes up outside or inside, but I read that the dryer kills dust mites and rids of pollen and dander. Any suggestions would be welcome!

By: AmyG

AmyG — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 16:29:14 +0000

If you asked me to stand at a sink and wash dishes for 10 minutes or go outside and hang laundry, you wouldn’t have to ask me twice for the basket of wet laundry. I love being outdoors since I work inside at my computer all day. Laundry time is a welcome diversion from the home office. Plus it does give you a nice mental break where you can think about anything you want and appreciate the flowers, trees and fresh air. Sure my time is worth more than the money I save, but there are so many other things like the environmental savings and a bit of mental and physical exercise that make it one chore I don’t mind doing.

By: Kirstie

Kirstie — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:23:54 +0000

I agree with other posters that a breeze isn’t necessary to dry clothes.

It is slightly more time consuming to hang out clothes, but it gets you outside, the children usually follow you into the garden and play, you start doing some pottering gardening tasks like dead heading and watering. You listen to the birds. It’s not a bad way to spend 10 minutes.

By: SLCCOM

SLCCOM — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:12:08 +0000

#40, Cynthia: when you renovate YOU may not want a dryer, but in all likelihood your buyer will. Be sure you have the outlet and space available or it will be very difficult to sell your house.

By: Tall Bill

Tall Bill — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 19:18:11 +0000

WOW! Going back to basics: Planting gardens as led by the White House & talking to neighbors and finding common solutions in order to strive for modest living in this new area. Here in the Northwest Rainforest around the Seattle area,there is report after report of mold in homes from too much moisture. Air drying indoors while closing things down in inclimate weather leads to big problems in a few years. Remember the fresh air folks & while some areas of the country may not have this problem, it’s certainly a concern here…

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 19:15:15 +0000

I’ve read that the dryer is one of the most energy sucking appliances we have in the modern world. I’m a member of the clothesline brigade, and really enjoy the fact that I’m not giving my $$ away to an electric company whose electricity is about 75% coal generated.
I own 2 racks (one a tall, which holds 2 loads of clothes…check out IKEA for this kind)and a smaller one. I also have my washer in the basement, where there are 2 clotheslines permanantly installed. I hang 5-6 loads per week, and do the majority on Monday and Tuesday and fold everything on Wednesday, and the drying racks get folded and put away. As we have an all electric house, this gives us humidity in the winter, and for that fresh sheet smell, I take a rack outside on sunny days and hang my sheets on the rack..they seem to dry w/in a couple of hours.
I’m pretty sure I calculated out saving about $150-$200 per year once, but the real savings is to the environment, I think. Huge amounts of carbon footprint per load, I’ve read.

By: lvngwell

lvngwell — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:07:29 +0000

I think the important thing to remember about hanging out laundry or even washing out zip top bags is that it puts us in a frugal mindset. You may not get a larger return for performing one of these frugal activities but when applied over a variety of tasks the cumulative effect can be very substantial.

It also gets you thinking in the directing of reducing your energy and product consumption. Who knows, just being in this particular mind set may lead you to thinking of an idea that could save you a major amount of money in the long run. Say for instance someone who uses a good amount of pricey hair care products who decides to go “no-poo” and discovers they love the results! This reaps them a huge savings in their particular situation.

It is just like the kid sitting in calculous class who thinks “I will never use this stuff.” Classes like that taught us so much more than just how to do calculus. They taught us how to learn difficult tasks, how to persevere, how to approach a problem logically, and many other skills. You may never have used the calculus but you have used all the other skills you learned every day!

It is the same with any minor way you choose to reduce your expenses every day. You won’t get rich on any one activity but the trickle effect can turn into a snowball that can net you a tidy sum eventually. Even if you never realize the monetary rewards you were shooting for the other skills you learn during the exercise will be things you will use every day of your life!

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 15:50:06 +0000

I definitely hang my clothes. I have 3 drying racks and set them up for this purpose. When I quit using my dryer the electric bill in my 1 bedroom apartment was cut in half! (My heat was on a separate bill.) After seeing those savings, and the obvious environmental benefits, I’ll never go back to the dryer!

By: SZCZEBRZESZYN

SZCZEBRZESZYN — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 15:00:33 +0000

Some years ago I took a long road trip to southern Mexico. When I stopped for the night I would hand wash three or four items of clothing (in the morning) and lay them flat in the back window of the car on the back shelf. That place is amazingly hot in the Mexican sun, so very shortly that day’s laundry would be dry.