Sing the chorus Andrwe. Exactly how I feel. Can anyone imagine the line space I'd need when id id my marathon BobLoad laundry? I don't think so.
A Line on Saving Energy
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brisnat81
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We have the best of both worlds
A clothesline in the garage and one outside.
When it's dry, I hang the washing outside and even during the hot humid summers stuff still dries in 5 hours or so.
If its wet, We have a line in the garage and I hang them in there. With the heat from the car, they usually dry over night, or within 24 hours.
If I'm lazy, or I need to de-dog hair, I can use the dryer.
We have 35 meters of line and that fits 2 sets of queen sheets, 8 Pillow cases, 4 towels, 2 bathmats, 1 handtowel, 14 teatowels, 10 pairs of underpants, 10 business shirts, 8 T shirts, 3 pairs of shorts and 40 hankies without any issue.
We live in a townhouse with a courtyard and a double garage. You dont need a big block to use a line.
It probably takes 10 minutes for a full load of smalls to be hung out, and I can fold as I take it off the line. Most of our T shirts are pure cotton and need ironing regardless of whether they're tumbled or hung out.
It all boils down to what we're used to, most Aussies treat the dryer as a terrifyingly expensive thing to use and line drying either inside or out is the norm. When I was sick and using the dryer for every load, we experienced a $60 per quarter jump in our power bill. Now I hang it on the line, its dropped down again.
A clothesline in the garage and one outside.
When it's dry, I hang the washing outside and even during the hot humid summers stuff still dries in 5 hours or so.
If its wet, We have a line in the garage and I hang them in there. With the heat from the car, they usually dry over night, or within 24 hours.
If I'm lazy, or I need to de-dog hair, I can use the dryer.
We have 35 meters of line and that fits 2 sets of queen sheets, 8 Pillow cases, 4 towels, 2 bathmats, 1 handtowel, 14 teatowels, 10 pairs of underpants, 10 business shirts, 8 T shirts, 3 pairs of shorts and 40 hankies without any issue.
We live in a townhouse with a courtyard and a double garage. You dont need a big block to use a line.
It probably takes 10 minutes for a full load of smalls to be hung out, and I can fold as I take it off the line. Most of our T shirts are pure cotton and need ironing regardless of whether they're tumbled or hung out.
It all boils down to what we're used to, most Aussies treat the dryer as a terrifyingly expensive thing to use and line drying either inside or out is the norm. When I was sick and using the dryer for every load, we experienced a $60 per quarter jump in our power bill. Now I hang it on the line, its dropped down again.
andrewinorlando
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Really, there are some pretty lame excuses on this thread.
That's a pretty judgemental statement, don't you think??
I just don't like the way clothes feel coming off a line, period. They're scratchy, stiff and rough. They also don't smell so great to me, and they generally need ironing. So why would I want to lug heavy baskets of wet clothes outside and spend time hanging and removing clothes from a line, when I can throw them in the dryer in 10 seconds and be done, with far superior results? I used to hang dry my cotton shirts, until I discovered the XLOW heat setting on the Kenmore, which produces soft, wrinkle free, great smelling shirts with no shrinkage. And if I choose to leave the clothes in the dryer and go do something else, the Wrinkle Guard takes care of them for me. No ironing needed. I don't have to worry about weather, time, etc. And that's the way I want it. In a machine with the capacity of the Calypso, one would need an entire yard full of lines to accomodate the clothes that machine can wash in a single night. And did I say I refuse to lug baskets of wet clothes outside to dry them??
It's a matter of personal choice, and what suits your needs and lifestyle. Appliances are designed for convenience, and that's what it's all about for me. And with a natural gas dryer like mine, there is no particulate matter or sulphur dioxide produced in the combustion process. And the cost is negligible....at $23 per month for the gas dryer, range and water heater, to me, it's a bargain.
When it comes to laundry, I just want it done fast and right, folded/hung and put away. And a clothesline does not provide that for me. For those who can take advantage of line drying, great...do it. It's certainly a worthy option. For those who don't choose to, well, that's their choice based on their needs. As strange as it may seem to some of us here, not everyone LIKES doing laundry. I'm one of those folks!
That's a pretty judgemental statement, don't you think??
I just don't like the way clothes feel coming off a line, period. They're scratchy, stiff and rough. They also don't smell so great to me, and they generally need ironing. So why would I want to lug heavy baskets of wet clothes outside and spend time hanging and removing clothes from a line, when I can throw them in the dryer in 10 seconds and be done, with far superior results? I used to hang dry my cotton shirts, until I discovered the XLOW heat setting on the Kenmore, which produces soft, wrinkle free, great smelling shirts with no shrinkage. And if I choose to leave the clothes in the dryer and go do something else, the Wrinkle Guard takes care of them for me. No ironing needed. I don't have to worry about weather, time, etc. And that's the way I want it. In a machine with the capacity of the Calypso, one would need an entire yard full of lines to accomodate the clothes that machine can wash in a single night. And did I say I refuse to lug baskets of wet clothes outside to dry them??
It's a matter of personal choice, and what suits your needs and lifestyle. Appliances are designed for convenience, and that's what it's all about for me. And with a natural gas dryer like mine, there is no particulate matter or sulphur dioxide produced in the combustion process. And the cost is negligible....at $23 per month for the gas dryer, range and water heater, to me, it's a bargain.
When it comes to laundry, I just want it done fast and right, folded/hung and put away. And a clothesline does not provide that for me. For those who can take advantage of line drying, great...do it. It's certainly a worthy option. For those who don't choose to, well, that's their choice based on their needs. As strange as it may seem to some of us here, not everyone LIKES doing laundry. I'm one of those folks!
vintagesearch
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linedryin....
I HATE IT i do understand the energy conservation that takes place but if you have to hang clothes out as often as i do then you understand my pain! we have NO dryer i keep going back and forth that we should get one i want one, my parents NO! its a nice choice but i much prefer tumble dry it fold and put away although none of my clothes come off the line scratchy ( no i do not use alot of fabric softener either) i want to dump it in the dryer and keep walking! not pick up and place and pin, screw it! some things i dont mind linedrying like undergarments socks white t's everything else except also for the "hang dry" garments DRYER!
LOL today i had to hang some laundry and the rain kept coming out and stop back and forth with those damn racks! with a dryer that wouldnt make any difference! so now my clothes had to be put in my room on the drying racks with both fans on. They got dried but what a hassle! and i have 2 more days to do this crap!
*rant over*
muaxz
I HATE IT i do understand the energy conservation that takes place but if you have to hang clothes out as often as i do then you understand my pain! we have NO dryer i keep going back and forth that we should get one i want one, my parents NO! its a nice choice but i much prefer tumble dry it fold and put away although none of my clothes come off the line scratchy ( no i do not use alot of fabric softener either) i want to dump it in the dryer and keep walking! not pick up and place and pin, screw it! some things i dont mind linedrying like undergarments socks white t's everything else except also for the "hang dry" garments DRYER!
LOL today i had to hang some laundry and the rain kept coming out and stop back and forth with those damn racks! with a dryer that wouldnt make any difference! so now my clothes had to be put in my room on the drying racks with both fans on. They got dried but what a hassle! and i have 2 more days to do this crap!
*rant over*
muaxz
<blockquote>Toggleswitch2 said:<blockquote>eyes roll...........
~How would an acquaintance, someone you meet at the mall or a dinner gathering, etc., know that you hang-dry your laundry?
LOL when they wake up and get breakfast as well. Or perhaps the sandpaper towels!</blockquote></blockquote>
Ah, so! Thanks for the explanation. I hadn't considered that scenario, as it is, unfortunately, outside my experience.
As for hang-drying laundry, I have a large back yard with no trees, but no clothesline. I could hang over the hurricane fence at the east side, but the fence and the dogs on the other side would tear everything to shreds. Or I could hang things over the wooden fence at the back, but it's a rough finish and the black paint may stain. I have on occasion hanger-dried cotton shirts spread throughout the house.
As for machine-drying laundry, I have six dryers and can run two simultaneously.
~How would an acquaintance, someone you meet at the mall or a dinner gathering, etc., know that you hang-dry your laundry?
LOL when they wake up and get breakfast as well. Or perhaps the sandpaper towels!</blockquote></blockquote>
Ah, so! Thanks for the explanation. I hadn't considered that scenario, as it is, unfortunately, outside my experience.
As for hang-drying laundry, I have a large back yard with no trees, but no clothesline. I could hang over the hurricane fence at the east side, but the fence and the dogs on the other side would tear everything to shreds. Or I could hang things over the wooden fence at the back, but it's a rough finish and the black paint may stain. I have on occasion hanger-dried cotton shirts spread throughout the house.
As for machine-drying laundry, I have six dryers and can run two simultaneously.
conflation of "saving time" and inefficiency
For a very long time, the US did lead the world in efficiency and productivity.
That all changed years ago, but it wasn't until the internet made intercultural exchange possible that most Americans could see just how far the rest of us have progressed.
It's sometimes hard not to burst out laughing when in the 'States you get a lecture on efficiency and saving time through the American way, but, of course, we all tend to forget who saved our asses from the Nazis and the communists...
America is changing, and will quickly catch up to the rest of us. If we are honest, 99.99% of the conditions which made us develop a more technologically advanced culture no longer apply in Europe today...we just like to think they do.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/b...15489600&en=42e2b3ac232d00f7&ei=5070&emc=eta1
For a very long time, the US did lead the world in efficiency and productivity.
That all changed years ago, but it wasn't until the internet made intercultural exchange possible that most Americans could see just how far the rest of us have progressed.
It's sometimes hard not to burst out laughing when in the 'States you get a lecture on efficiency and saving time through the American way, but, of course, we all tend to forget who saved our asses from the Nazis and the communists...
America is changing, and will quickly catch up to the rest of us. If we are honest, 99.99% of the conditions which made us develop a more technologically advanced culture no longer apply in Europe today...we just like to think they do.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/b...15489600&en=42e2b3ac232d00f7&ei=5070&emc=eta1
andrewinorlando
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Kev -
What's so progressive about line drying??? Isn't that how the cavemen did it? So I think we've past the rest of the world with our use of automatic dryers!!
What's so progressive about line drying??? Isn't that how the cavemen did it? So I think we've past the rest of the world with our use of automatic dryers!!
andrewinorlando
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Keven - you have absolutely no sense of humor. Don't be so serious all the time. I wasn't making a point, I was making a joke.
And I still hate line dried clothes and still refuse to hang clothes up on a line.
And I still hate line dried clothes and still refuse to hang clothes up on a line.
Well,
Andrew - I bought it cheap, "as is" second hand, army surplus and there seem to be a few screws lose somewhere. When I took it in for repairs, the guy said it was a "slipped gear" problem, whatever that is...
Andrew - I bought it cheap, "as is" second hand, army surplus and there seem to be a few screws lose somewhere. When I took it in for repairs, the guy said it was a "slipped gear" problem, whatever that is...
gyrafoam
Well-known member
Oooooh---I know that's right. (Eyes to ceiling).
Andrew, I feel just like you do, HOWEVER--- now that I moved from the big-city and all that air pollution I am thinking I might start hanging out clothes----it's fresh mountain air after all. And I can always throw them in the dryer to air-fluff and de-lint for 10 minutes. But it IS a hassle.
Years ago in Florida I used to hang stuff out---but one had to be carefull------in Tampa, there used to be horrific thunderstorms every late afternoon during the depths of the summer. But it got so hot, I found that if I were to hang the clothes out by 10AM---even Jeans were dry by noon. Not bad.
Now, Miami was a different story-----in a typical tropical weather-pattern---storms drifted in from the ocean all the damned time---sometimes two or so an hour------they didn't last long but were a problem especially in the (long) summer season. If you could just get a couple of hours of sun, though, everything would dry fast.
Anyway, I too, enjoy the speed and convenience of a dryer, however I think I'm going to try hanging my wash out for a while and see if I can make an adjustment to the cost-savings.
Couldn't hurt.
Andrew, I feel just like you do, HOWEVER--- now that I moved from the big-city and all that air pollution I am thinking I might start hanging out clothes----it's fresh mountain air after all. And I can always throw them in the dryer to air-fluff and de-lint for 10 minutes. But it IS a hassle.
Years ago in Florida I used to hang stuff out---but one had to be carefull------in Tampa, there used to be horrific thunderstorms every late afternoon during the depths of the summer. But it got so hot, I found that if I were to hang the clothes out by 10AM---even Jeans were dry by noon. Not bad.
Now, Miami was a different story-----in a typical tropical weather-pattern---storms drifted in from the ocean all the damned time---sometimes two or so an hour------they didn't last long but were a problem especially in the (long) summer season. If you could just get a couple of hours of sun, though, everything would dry fast.
Anyway, I too, enjoy the speed and convenience of a dryer, however I think I'm going to try hanging my wash out for a while and see if I can make an adjustment to the cost-savings.
Couldn't hurt.
pturo
New member
Vera Donovan had another way of being a bitch..
"Now everyone knows, a sheet smells better dried outside than baked in a Maytag. She had a dryer, too. A nice big one. But, we were forbidden to use it unless there was 6 days a rain in the fo'cast, even in the winter. Miss kiss my hind cheeks needed her sheets line dried with 6 pins, not five, year round. By the time January ended, your fingers were cracked and bleeding with her at the window watching. Use six pins, Dolores, not five-you know how I like them."
I think people in the Northeast should get special dispensation on energy saving things. People in Miami and Phoenix can hang thier clothes out year round and also drive golf carts instead of SUV's with 4 wheel drive, which are a necessity in upstate NY. Gasoline, Electricity and Natural gas should be much more expensive in areas of the country that have practical alternatives that use much less energy.
"Now everyone knows, a sheet smells better dried outside than baked in a Maytag. She had a dryer, too. A nice big one. But, we were forbidden to use it unless there was 6 days a rain in the fo'cast, even in the winter. Miss kiss my hind cheeks needed her sheets line dried with 6 pins, not five, year round. By the time January ended, your fingers were cracked and bleeding with her at the window watching. Use six pins, Dolores, not five-you know how I like them."
I think people in the Northeast should get special dispensation on energy saving things. People in Miami and Phoenix can hang thier clothes out year round and also drive golf carts instead of SUV's with 4 wheel drive, which are a necessity in upstate NY. Gasoline, Electricity and Natural gas should be much more expensive in areas of the country that have practical alternatives that use much less energy.
maytagbear
Well-known member
Again,
What is appropriate for one person is not always appropriate for all.
It is important, I think, to make the best decisions for your life, your region.
Lawrence/Maytagbear
What is appropriate for one person is not always appropriate for all.
It is important, I think, to make the best decisions for your life, your region.
Lawrence/Maytagbear
andrewinorlando
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See Keven, you can do it!! I knew you had it in you!! LOL....
Now if I lived in the mountains and had some leisure time, I might actually give it a try.
Now if I lived in the mountains and had some leisure time, I might actually give it a try.
Good,
Now that I've proved I have one, can I put it away again?
I grew up in Colorado. When it is hot - and it often gets very hot indeed, it is seldom humid. Ninety degrees Fahrenheit at 20% humidity is pleasant. Ninety degrees at 95% humidity is not.
It wasn't until I spent a summer in Dixie when I was 18 that I understood the difference. Yikes! Never, ever again criticized air conditioning.
Unfortunately, when it comes to applying the natural sciences to the problems facing us, the ongoing culture wars in the US have left the country in a bad position.
Politicians in the European Union are pretty much all on the same level as the dim-bulbs running FEMA in the US. At best. But they are grounded in the hard sciences and are open to ideas newer than the late middle ages.
Solar energy is not only price competitive over here, it makes a genuine profit in the capitalist sense of the word. Same for wind and wave energy in the North Atlantic. The Norwegians are sitting on more oil than the could use in a billion trillion years...yet they are at the forefront of creating jobs and making people wealthy with new energy technologies. In the US, current assessments of "proved" oil reserves are being repressed until after the elections...
Well, that is too close to politics and I did promise, so enough of that. You don't need a clothes dryer in the Arizona dessert, but I'd love to see some of the folks who are most critical of Texans' energy wasting ways survive a Galveston summer without air conditioning.
Now that I've proved I have one, can I put it away again?
I grew up in Colorado. When it is hot - and it often gets very hot indeed, it is seldom humid. Ninety degrees Fahrenheit at 20% humidity is pleasant. Ninety degrees at 95% humidity is not.
It wasn't until I spent a summer in Dixie when I was 18 that I understood the difference. Yikes! Never, ever again criticized air conditioning.
Unfortunately, when it comes to applying the natural sciences to the problems facing us, the ongoing culture wars in the US have left the country in a bad position.
Politicians in the European Union are pretty much all on the same level as the dim-bulbs running FEMA in the US. At best. But they are grounded in the hard sciences and are open to ideas newer than the late middle ages.
Solar energy is not only price competitive over here, it makes a genuine profit in the capitalist sense of the word. Same for wind and wave energy in the North Atlantic. The Norwegians are sitting on more oil than the could use in a billion trillion years...yet they are at the forefront of creating jobs and making people wealthy with new energy technologies. In the US, current assessments of "proved" oil reserves are being repressed until after the elections...
Well, that is too close to politics and I did promise, so enough of that. You don't need a clothes dryer in the Arizona dessert, but I'd love to see some of the folks who are most critical of Texans' energy wasting ways survive a Galveston summer without air conditioning.
andrewinorlando
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I think you should take it back out....
7080swashertalk
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I hang dry 1/2 the time already.
I have the same wooden, foldable hanging rack I bought in 1988?
Wow, 20 years....
shirts hung on hangers straight from the dryer (and spaced at least a couple of inches apart) dry overnight and the weight of the wet cloth tends to have them dry without wrinkles.
I have to admit, there is something quint about a dryer. I don't know what it is. Maybe it is the warmth. maybe the simplicity. ...hmm.
screw it.
Those of you hanging your clothes, good for you. But...
I am throwing my clothes in the dryer and am busily writing to my congress person about the urgent need to build more power plants.
I GOTS CLOTHES TA DRY, DAMNIT!
I have the same wooden, foldable hanging rack I bought in 1988?
Wow, 20 years....
shirts hung on hangers straight from the dryer (and spaced at least a couple of inches apart) dry overnight and the weight of the wet cloth tends to have them dry without wrinkles.
I have to admit, there is something quint about a dryer. I don't know what it is. Maybe it is the warmth. maybe the simplicity. ...hmm.
screw it.
Those of you hanging your clothes, good for you. But...
I am throwing my clothes in the dryer and am busily writing to my congress person about the urgent need to build more power plants.
I GOTS CLOTHES TA DRY, DAMNIT!
whirlcool
Well-known member
After we received our latest electric bill, we decided to hang a clothes line in the yard.
We went to Wal-Mart (2 of them) out of stock on clothesline and clothespins. Went to Target, same thing.. Hmm.. Went to Lowes, no luck, out of stock. Went to a Dollar store, all sold out.
FINALLY went to an ACE Hardware, and they had a few lines left and a few bags of clothespins. The salesguy there said that people have been buying them up lately. I noticed around our subdivision today that a lot of people have clothes hanging out.
So we did some sheets and t-shirts and hung them outside. My goodness, I forgot how wonderful clothes smell after being hung outside in the sun!
We went to Wal-Mart (2 of them) out of stock on clothesline and clothespins. Went to Target, same thing.. Hmm.. Went to Lowes, no luck, out of stock. Went to a Dollar store, all sold out.
FINALLY went to an ACE Hardware, and they had a few lines left and a few bags of clothespins. The salesguy there said that people have been buying them up lately. I noticed around our subdivision today that a lot of people have clothes hanging out.
So we did some sheets and t-shirts and hung them outside. My goodness, I forgot how wonderful clothes smell after being hung outside in the sun!
oldhouseman
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To each his own
As said earlier, what works for some may not for others.
I love my dryer but there are times when line dried clothes are great. There is a certain scent of sunshine to line dried sheets.
I plan on putting a clothes line up in my backyard. I have one over my garden tub and I have the dryer. Some things are quick and easy to wash out by hand and hang up to dry overnight over the tub. I plan on keeping options open to different areas.
As said earlier, what works for some may not for others.
I love my dryer but there are times when line dried clothes are great. There is a certain scent of sunshine to line dried sheets.
I plan on putting a clothes line up in my backyard. I have one over my garden tub and I have the dryer. Some things are quick and easy to wash out by hand and hang up to dry overnight over the tub. I plan on keeping options open to different areas.
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