How to make clothesline clothes softer

[norgechef]

Its that time of year again, I can finally hang the clothes on the line again!!! but I hate how line drying leaves the towels and jeans so crusty, i cant stand it! so i guess what i really need to know is what softener (That can be bought in the US Or Canada) works the best at softening, unless somebody knows of something better i can do to make line dried clothes feel like they came out of the dryer when i bring them in?

 

[gansky1]

Use almost no softener in wash...

Put them in the dryer, exactly what Tumble Fluff cycle was made for.  I have a couple of quilts-coverlet blankets that are too stiff right in from the line so I give them 10 or so minutes tumbling with no heat to soften them up.  They're softer and lose the harshness without losing the wonderful scents of the season.  The climate here has it's drawbacks as they all do, but we have nice, fresh air scrubbed clean by the Rockies.  I just love opening the linen closet door and greeted by the fresh scent.  I tumble quite a lot of loads, even for a few minutes helps a lot - the best of both worlds.   

 

[abcomatic]

clothesline drying

HI Norgechef, I hang my clothes outside all of the time except for permapress things and in the Maytag dryer they go. Here is what I do for towels on the line. I do nothing at all, I wash them in the Easy spindrier, or the Speed Queen Wringer, the Maytag wringer or the ABC wringer, rinse them and out they go.
Yes, they are rough when you bring them in and put them into the bathroom to use. I find that after I have showered, I use the rough towel and after I use it once, then it is soft and ready to go for another time. I don't shower and then use a different towel for the next time; I use a towel for a week and then change it. After all, the way I look at is you are clean, why do you need a fresh towel each time? If you use fabric softner on them, then they are not very absorbant and take much longer to dry off. Happy washing. Gary

 

[washerlover]

Crusty clothes

I learned after living in Phoenix Arizona for three years that the degree of "crustiness" seemed be from the degree of heat outside. In Phoenix, temps climb to well over 100 degrees from May thru October, and the intense heat seemed to dry the clothes too fast, resulting in crusty clothes. Shady, warm, breezy conditions seem to have a much better effect on clothes on the line. Now I live in beautiful northwestern California that has annual temps in the 50-70 degree range with a gentle breeze which makes for optimum clothesline conditions!

 

[yogitunes]

Now I do the opposite to you guys.....still no softener

before hanging on the line, the clothes go in the dryer first to heat up, about 10/15 minutes, and then hung to dry.......but not in the shade, that will cause them to stiffen, they have to go in direct sunlight for perfect results everytime.....

some argue that the sun can fade, or even bleach the whites, never seen either one...

I learned from an Aunt not to just pull them out of the dryer into the basket, but to seperate, and line up or fold in half, ready out of the basket to hang....also socks matched up.....and never worry of dropping clothes on the ground...

 

[suds14]

I use fabric softner and then I put the clothes in the dryer for 5-10 minutes then hang. I usually let the jeans in the dryer about 15 min. Everything come off the line soft and smelling great. Already have the clothes sorted and the white soaked for tommorow, susposed to be nice until late evening, I be hanging out all day.

David

 

[wayupnorth]

I still use a little Downy in the dispenser of the Maytag year round. Finally it is somewhat warm enough to hang outside and not use electricity to dry. I usually put the towel I am showering with in the dryer and turn it on (heat in colder weather) while showering. Washer and Dryer are right there in my bathroom. That little bit of tumbling does seem to soften them up. My well water is extremely hard so fabric softner is a must.

 

[mikeklondon]

Spinning

I use a spin dryer when they come out of the washer, then line dry when i can the spin takes out the last of the hard water and any soap that makes the fabric stiffen. Never use FS on bed linen or towels

 

[henrypeter21]

My favourite

Softner for me, mine just has to be one of the following...

Lenor Spring awakening
Lenor Summer Breeze
Comfort sunshiny days
Comfort Bright colours
Asda Sapphire Blue (UK ONLY I Think)

And my favourite washing powder is persil, or surf.

 

[bosch2460]

I am with everyone else that tumbles clothes 10-15 mins in a cold dryer BEFORE hanging them outside. I rarely use softener, but occasionally a half dose on towels. Tumbling softens everything up, and lessens the wrinkles. It sounds weird, but it works better than tumbling them after they dry. I line dry year round, and it always works. Windy days will produce softer clothes, too. Good luck.

 

[wayupnorth]

Windy Days

You are right about the wind. Yesterday was nice, but very windy here and I hung a load on the line and they were just as soft and wrinkle free as out of the dryer

 

[wetguymd]

My Mom hung clothes out side all the time and never put them in the dryer first. For many years she used a wringer and would put the clothes right on the line from the rinse tub and thru the wringer. All year... as long as it didn't rain (wash day was based on the weather) and it was so neat to see the sheets freeze rock hard on the lines in the winter and I can remember the tracks in the snow under the clothes lines in the winter! She always got them out early in the winter so they had most of the day to dry before bringing them in to put them over the old radiators to finish drying. I remember my Grandmother saying that hanging white clothes out and letting them freeze made them whiter. In the later days Mom would not put the towels out on the line and dried them in the dryer. I always put them in the dryer for a few minutes to soften them and then put them out on the line.. however... I don't do the winter scene.. I only hang some things out in the warmer weather when there is a nice breeze and its not too hot. One thing I learned was to never hang non color fast clothes on the line in the direct sun.. yes they will fade!

 

[wayupnorth]

My mother would do the same in the winter, only used the clothesline when it was somewhat above freezing temps. She used her old Bendix gas dryer sparingly, probably because she shut the pilot off to save gas and it was a pain to relight it and was afraid it would cost too much to run. I do like a scratchy, off the clothesline, nice smelling towel after a shower. Brings back good memories. Eventually, the Bendix finally gave up the ghost and she bought a new Kenmore. She refused to use the Automatic cycle no matter how much I tried to convince her.

 

[mickeyd]

"Windy days will produce softer clothes, too. " It&#

The other day, I hung out a load of white T-shirts and shaving towels to dry, but a dry calm day turned moist and windy, and I was very much annoyed to find them really soft--in fact, too soft, as if they had been dried in the dryer WITH fabric softener,

 

I like the T-shirts crisp and shaving towels rough for exfoliation purposes, and a little dermabrasion, too.

 

So what I'm saying here is that what goes on the line depends on the wind, air & sun conditions: bath towels and robes go out on a windy day, dark color on overcast days, sheets on sunny days because they say sun is the greatest disinfectant, whites on sunny days as well, and so on.

 

In Winter, getting whacked by a frozen sheet is fun. So is the magic of watching flannels unfreeze and soften. Like many of you, I hang out all year. Not everything and not always, of course.

 

 

 

[stan]

tried putting clothes

in the dryer first today (about 10 min) then hung outside. It works!

 

[badgerdx]

Interesting. I'm redoing my deck that's the entry to the backdoor where "THE LAUNDRY ROOM" (angelic harp music) is.... Anyhoo, the deck is on the South side of the house, so I'm putting up retractable clothes lines for the first time. I was always taught that if you want things soft that have been hung up, stick them in a warm or cool dryer for 10-15 minutes just to tumble around. I may have to try that 15 minutes before hand. I'd never heard that trick before. Why would it work?

 

[stan]

Don't know

but, it did for me! I only tried it because I did Laundry today, and I had remembered this thread, so I gave it a try. (I used a warm dryer thou)

 

[launderess]

Always Dryer First, Then Line Dry

Gives far better results than other way round.

Even commercial laundries/dry cleaners will put items into a tumble dryer first (closely watched of course) to remove a good part of the moisture, then finsh by hanging to dry.

Think about it; simply beating a dry terry cloth towel may break up the hardness but does not equal the wrinkle removal and softness that comes from a tumble dryer.

Of course the other way round is also true, hang things to dry until damp, then finish off in the dryer. Either way it's the moisture being released along with tumble action that causes the softness.

The other old housewive's trick is to put a wet hand towel or wash cloth into a the dryer along with the laundry. The moisture released from the thing will also act as above.

 

[franksdad]

Personally, nothing feels better on your fresh showered skin than a good scratching with a stiff crusty line dried towel.  I NEVER use fabric softner on my towels (whether line or machine dried).  Fabric softner reduces a towel's absorbtion rate.  I hate when all a towel does is roll the water on your skin or dishes into little balls.