Line drying clothes

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I would LOVE to start hanging my clothes out to dry on the line but, I cannot STAND the scratchy roughness that results. :(

X2!
 
I know

I feel the same about the scratchyness, and also the lint removal that the dryer does so well. We can still hang out things here if we want to and I've often thought I'd hang them out a while and then bring them in partly dry and finish them in the dryer so they would still look nice, get the lint removed, and not be scratchy. Then again, there's the time factor in waiting on the line drying...
 
Rough?

My clothes are just fine coming off the line. The towels are some what stiff, but I throw them in the dryer for about 10 minutes to fluff them up a little.

I've been hanging pretty much ALL my clothes on the line the last 5 years at this house.
 
Just damp dry your items in the dryer for about 20 minutes, and then finish them on the line. De-lints, and softens the fabrics.
 
I grew up having to hang out clothes and swore I would NEVER do it as an adult. Then, three years ago, I suddenly decided to give it a try. I hung out 102 loads last season, and plan to do so again this year.

Yes, towels aren't as fluffy/soft, but I've found spinning them at the slowest speed helps keep them a little softer. I also bought (completely by accident) a set of towels at Sears (on closeout) which come off the line much softer than my "winter" towels, which are bigger and thicker, but emerge from the line stiff and scratchy.

I've lived most of my life in tiny, rural towns, and can't fathom that there places where hanging out clothes is forbidden. I live in a town of 5,000 and it's well over twice the size of the town I grew up in. I mean, we have a McDonald's and everything, LOL!

And I hang out all items, including my briefs---although I heed the advice of our own Laundress and hang them on the back line (which is very close to my fence) with larger items hung in front of them for discretion's sake. And they're just white cotton briefs; you can see them in any Shopko/Pamida flyer or department store catalog.

Over 17,700 dryer fires each year?! That's scary. And I have a newer Frigidaire dryer, which seem to spark up at the slightest provocation, if the user complaints are accurate.
 
I never really experienced line drying until I was grown up. At least, not much. When I was in elementary school, it seems to me that our "energy conservation units" promoted line drying. I think I tried to nag my mother into it, but she much preferred using a dryer year round.

About 10 years ago, I started line drying, although I've never actually used a line. (I use those wood drying racks.) I hope to get to the point where I can air dry 100%.

I haven't had much trouble with stiff or scratchy clothes. Towels are a problem, though, although it's something I can live with.
 
I don't line dry a whole lot. It DOES come in handy when my dryer breaks down.

I had that happen and I hung all my clothes out to dry. They turned out alright except for the jeans. Stiff as a board! hehe.

I mostly have a clothesline for just in case I need it.

One thing I like to line dry are curtains. When I use the dryer, they get all wrinkly. Line drying in a good breeze gets them wrinkle free.

~Tim
 
racks, and jeans

I often dry some clothes indoors on racks indoors or on hangers. Actually in the winter time because the house is so dry, and I figure it sorta helps humidify the house.

Perversely, I like my jeans hung dried. I like the fact that they're rough and stiff- it's like breaking in a new pair of jeans again.

I must admit my old Norgetag was good for hang drying, since the low speed spin meant fewer wrinkles, when used with a small amount of fabric softener.
 
I always prefered line drying---

---it makes the clothes smell a lot nicer. I take towels down while they're still a little bit dfamp and fluff them up for 10 minutes in heat and 5 minutes in air.I put the other clothes,shorts and shirts in to remove any wrinkles for about 5 minutes then fold them and put them away.Everything smeels like Gain,original scent and stays fresh. People always complement me on how nice I smell.
 
Stiff Towels

I line dry everything. I have some clothes that have never seen a dryer. Those are the softest. I guess since the fibers have never felt the heat of a dryer, they have never seized...and retain their store-bought softness. Clothes from the line are easier to iron and hold the press better. I don't have any lint issues because I have a front-loader and only wash sorted loads. Even jeans come off the line soft, especially if they have never been dried. Towels are the only thing that don't retain their softness...however, they are better for your skin this way. I can't tell you how many people have asked me what kind of moisturizer I use...and I have never in my life used anything on my skin except for soap and a nice scratchy towel. Towels are also way more absorbant line dried without fabric softner. It's all in what you are used to. I've used line dried towels for so long, I don't even know what a super-soft towel is like (I remember them feeling "greasy" on my skin). I also absolutely love the way sun-dried clothes smell. There is nothing like it. The actual act of hanging them out is almost meditative to me...I enjoy it so much. It always reminds me of my childhood and is so relaxing.
 
Side Benefit

And one more pleasant thing about line drying. I wash enough that, when I first started line drying, I noticed a significant drop in our electric bill. I tracked it for about a year and a half, and I averaged a $10 to $15 per month savings. I couldn't believe it was so significant...but I didn't change anything else about the way we use electricity.
 
We line dry when the conditions are right outside. Right now there is so much pine and oak pollen out there that our white sheets would come in the house green. The pollen covers everything. You have to run the windshield washers before you leave the house because the windshield is covered with the stuff. Our electric air cleaner on the furnace has been snapping away for the past few weeks.
I like sheets and shirts and unmentionables line dried, but towels must be dryer dried because of the softness issue.
So if we run the dryer only one time during a laundry day, we still save money.
But what about the money wasted by going in and out of the house on a hot Texas afternoon? I am sure some of the cooling escapes.
 
I hung out clothes the last two weekends. It was pretty windy last Saturday so I had to tie myself to the poles while hanging the sheets, but they dried real fast.

I love the smell of line dried clothes, don't mind the stiffness, it's not that bad. Only problem is allergy season for asthmatics and outside drying don't always agree.
 
AHHH!

Nothing like having your clothes clean and smelling fresh as an ocean breeze! TIDE CLEAN!

BTW...isn't it about time for some of you to take pics of your Tide (or whatever detergent you use) clean laundry hanging out on the line? If I could line dry clothes I would, but I live in an apartment.

 
Be careful asking for pictures of laundry drying...

...you might get it!

Here's a picture taken of the drying I'm doing this afternoon.

As I commented earlier, I use wood racks. It's a nice solution--I can use them year round, moving them outside when the weather permits, and then inside when the weather is bad.

lordkenmore++4-10-2010-19-37-24.jpg
 
Line Dried Laundry

A key tip when drying towels to stop them going stiff

wash them with a small amount of detergent, as too much can make them go stiff because of the detergent residue left in the towels.

when hanging them to dry hang them so that there is a lip shape, between the line and the towel, as this lip will blow in the breeze and fluff up the towel, resulting it to feel softer and fluffier.

If you want to at the end, finish them off on the dryer on a cool tumble programme or low heat setting, for 10-20 minutes to add some extra fluffiness.

I love the smell of fresh towels and clothes, that smell of fresh outdoor air =]
 
I line dry most everything down here in south central texas, about the only thing I dry in the dryer is socks!! I don't mind the stiffness of the towels, they are very water absorbent and they smell good. Love sheets dried outside too. Clothes dry faster outside than in the dryer in the summer months. We noticed a huge savings on our electric bill. The only time I use a dryer is when the weather in inclimate.
 
I actually enjoy the exfoliating properties of a line-dried bath towel. I dry my back first, which gets a nice scrubbing. That dampens the towel just enough for the fibers to get soft, again.

Our electricity is so cheap---- $.07 per KwH---that I don't notice a significant drop in my electric bill when line drying. My motivation comes from saving wear and tear on my dryer. I save it from over 100 drying cycles each year.

The added bonus is the wonderful smell of line-dried items, especially bedding.
 
Hang in a breeze for softer towels.

This is a shot from last year, but I've had several weekends of full-lines this Spring already. If it's above 40, I'll put washing out. The very best smelling sheets on earth are those dried on the line and the ultimate are sheets dried on a snowy day -really!
The small square hanging with the single pin is the Purex 3&1 detergent/softener sheet. I hung it out with the clothes but I don't think that's what they meant ;-)

gansky1++4-11-2010-08-50-37.jpg
 
If you hang anything out in this area

With in 30 mins you wont have a thing they will all be stolen. And will end up at one of about 15 flea markets..
 
The same thing will happen at any laundrymat in town

There are "watchers" just waiting for you too leave and in 5 mins they are all gone.. It is said that some have "ties" with the attendants and they pay them to "call them" when some one leaves.. just life here. nothing new at all.
 
Hey fellows Love hanging clothes we where hangers in our family.
Don't really mind hard towels but prefer a little softer towel.
Tim i like your method...
But laundress gave me this method and thank you.
Ok i did a load of towels today and here's how it went.
Five light towels ...
1/4 cup of Tide with bleach & 1/4 Arm & Hammer super washing soda
in a Bosch washer.

aldspinboy++4-13-2010-03-40-53.jpg
 

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