Laundry Experiment: Cold Water and Line Drying
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The challenge? Wash your clothes in cold water and dry them on the line for 30 days.
Hmmm…. me thinks, I can handle that.
In fact, I was already washing our clothes in cold water and I had some experience with line drying. I also had some residual fear of bees and moths from said line drying experience. But, you know me, I’m always up for a challenge. I figured I’d find a way around that. And I did.
Yes, yes, I did.
- Up to 10% of a home’s energy use is due to the clothes dryer. Reducing the usage (or not having it at all) was saving me a few bucks.
- Line drying is a very savvy, green thing to do. You’re cool if you dry your clothes this way.
So, to dry your clothes on the line can make you cool and richer. Who knew?
Some observations from the first 2 weeks of the challenge:
As you can see, I’m drying the clothes indoors. Oh, let me count the reasons why… One, the weather here in San Diego is often cool and overcast. Not the most efficient clothes drying weather. Two, I won’t forget them outside. Three, I have this fear of bees.
I’m finding that I can fit two loads of clothes on this indoor clothes rack. So, if I wash and hang two loads at night, they are usually dry by morning. And, if I do the same in the morning, they are ready to be folded by bedtime. This means I can get four loads washed and dried in a 24 hour period. This is proving to be sufficient, even in a family of 8. Kids clothes dry quickly, which is a big plus.
Tricks to line drying
- Dry clothes that are destined for the closet on hangers. You don’t have to mess with clothespins. As soon as they are dry, hang them up!
- Pin tshirts on the line upside down. This way the “crunchy” part caused by the pinching of the clothespin will be on the bottom hem and not on their shoulders.
- Hang socks by the toe for the same reason.
- Don’t forget your clothes outside after dark or the bees might get them.
I also found some tips to make line drying easier:
- wash the load at night or first thing in the morning so that it has enough daytime to dry. Clothes take longer to dry in cool weather.
- shake out each article of clothing to help eliminate the wrinkles.
- hang tshirts and socks upside down so that the marks from the clothes pins aren’t as noticeable.
- hang shirts on hangers on the line. Takes just a few seconds to slip them on and makes collecting the dried clothes a snap. Putting them away is even easier.
- sheets dry really quickly. Just fold them in half and then fold them over the line.
- hang jeans by folding them over the line. Flip them halfway through to dry the other side.
- don’t leave clothes out after dark as they can attract insects, such as bees and moths. (Ask me how I know.)
- check the weather so you don’t have to rush out in a downpour, collect your clothes, and rewash them. (Ask me how I know.)
While we are back to having a running dryer, I have still left the clothes line up. Once I get over my bee/moth phobia, me and my clothes pins will be back in business.
What’s been your experience with cold water wash and line drying?
Disclosure: Seventh Generation and My Blog Spark provided me with a “Project Laundry Line” kit that included Seventh Generation Natural 2x Concentrated Laundry Liquid, a portable laundry line, clothes pins, a laundry basket, and a Flip camera to record my experience. I was not compensated in any way for participating in this challenge or offering this giveaway, nor was I required to do so. My opinions are my own. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.
I wrote about this last year, including a formula to figure out how much your dryer costs to run per load (saving $ motivates me!)
How much the dryer costs
If you can, dry items such as underwear in the sun to sanitize – even the hottest water cycle in the washer doesn’t get hot enough to kill e. coli, so unless they are bleachable you’ll need powerful UVA/UVB rays to kill the nasties!
http://www.milehimama.com/2009/06/02/recession-proof-your-routine-laundry-part-2/“>Washing in cold water tips and tricks
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I can not hang our clothes outside because I am allergic to bees but I do hang them up in the house.I do 2 loads of clothes a day for a family of 6.We save around $20.00 a month doing this.I have always washed in cold water so I really dont know how much this is saving us.We live in N.C. so I would guess our utility rates are different.I love your blog!
I have been line-drying clothes for about 10 years now and I love it, especially when the electric bill comes! In the winter I hang the clothes in the basement since we have a boiler and a forced-air furnace running there it is very warm and dry.
In the summer the clothing hangs outside in the sun. With towels or jeans, I simply hang until they are ALMOST dry and toss them in the dryer for 10-15 mins. to finish. They come out soft and I avoid the 40-50 mins. dryer cycle. The residual moisture released in the dryer softens the fibers.
Hanging my clothes on a nice spring/summer day is like therapy for me. I listen to the birds singing and enjoy the sunshine. By the way, my hubby refuses to put a clothes line in the yard so I use a portable wooden drying rack on our deck.
I love hanging my clothes out on the line…you cant get that wonderful smell in the dryer..I’m one of the weirdo’s that like scratchy towels. I live in Yuma, Az. One of the hottest places on earth, and can dry anything in about a half hour. I always use cold water. I put a cup of vinegar in every load, that seems to take care of the stains.
I have been using cold water and line drying clothes forever…my mom did this as well. I wash only whites in warm water. We only dry towels, socks, and undergarments. Usually onlly 1-2 loads in the dryer a couple times a week. We are a family of 5 (3 very active boys involved in sports). Most of the time, I hang the clothes by hangers on a pole in my laundry room and in doorways when I need extra room. I hang the jeans and shorts by the beltloops, and fold nylon shorts or shirts that I do not want stretched at the shoulders over the hanger. If you pull the clothes out of the washer as soon as the load is done and give them a good shake, most wrinkles come out. Sometimes you can even smooth them out with your hands while the garment is still wet. We have found less shrinkage especially with t-shirts and sweatshirts. We see a huge savings compared to our friends who dry everything.
It’s funny the things I take for granted! I live in Australia – and have been washing in cold water and line drying forever! Admittedly our climate is more suited for line drying. I don’t use fabric softener either, but use white vinegar as a softener when washing towels or sheets. I also use a clothes rack (or airer) for drying the kids clothes – it is just their size and they love hanging their own clothes out to dry!
I took out our clotheslines a couple years ago after finding the outside “stuff” aggravated my son’s breathing. I have 3 drying racks that I use in the basement which works well.
We’re moving soon to a place with main floor laundry (YAY) and my husband asked if my drying racks were coming (“we don’t have the room). I said I’ll make room!
We’re on budget billing for our electric so I’m not sure of the savings. I mostly do shirts and jeans/shorts/pants and my cloth napkins. I will dry our pillowcases on the rack, but not enough room for the sheets, which is a shame b/c I LOVE the smell of line-dried sheets.
I’ve been line drying and washing cold for awhile now and LOVE IT! Glad to see you’re trying it too… even if it IS inside. 😉
I have some posts on how to make your own laundry cleaning products on my blog if you ever feel like giving those a whirl!
http://picklewart.blogspot.com/search/label/Saving
I love to line dry in the summer. Made hubby buy me a clothes line for mother’s day last year. he wasn’t real thrilled with putting it in the backyard, but I convinced him we would be saving tons of money drying the cloth diapers outside in the sun. There’s nothing like the smell of dried in the sun laundry!
I always wash in cold and hang my clothes as often as possible. I made my own soap which saves a ton since I only paind 60 cents for the next 6 months of so of soap. As for the savings, my electric bill dropped $50 in one month with just hanging the clothes. If they get really stiff I’ll put them in the dryer for 3-5 minutes (set the timer) to get out the stiffness and any critters that might be hiding.