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Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,724
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: Drying Clothes Outside....

I live in the country in the Northeast, and I use a wash line outside all the time.....

 

I like the physical act of hanging up clothing outside.....and it smells so good when it comes in....

 

Like someone else mentioned, the towels DO feel a little stiff, but I like that feeling....makes  your skin feel so good.....To me, towels dried in the dryer feel too soft....greasy even...and they don't seem to be as absorbent...

 

I'm retired so it's also some exercise....up and down the basement stairs to get it in and out of the washer, out the back, bending and stretching to hang it out, and then to get it in, fold and put away....

 

 

For about 6 months of the year here, even on cold days, it dries very quickly in the breeze.....sometimes on days about 80 degrees, the first stuff hung on the line seems almost dry by the time I get it all out.....I live on a ridge top so there's always a wind blowing...80-85 degree wind in the sun dries real fast....

 

 

Then, in winter, I dry the clothes inside.....the towels, socks, washcloths.....any heavier cloth stuff...I arrange on the cast iron radiators....it adds moisture to the air and the stuff dries really fast.....other stuff I hang on hangers from the door frames.....dry in no time because heat rises.....A load of towels is amazing to see how fast they dry....it's very dry heat in the house in winter....

 

 

I figure I've saved thousands over the year using the line and the radiators....I'm retired, my clothing is simple and mostly cotton, and I live alone so no one cares if a few items are suspended bu hangers in unused door frames to the empty rooms....

 

I wash my "single girl sheet" a few times a week because I LOVE the smell of fresh sheets from the line.....I use a king size flat sheet folded in half instead of making the whole queen size bed....I sleep relatively in one position all night and just use that folded sheet. The sheet I use has been washed so many times it is SOOOOO soft now....I hate to think about tossing it out, but that's so silly because I have about a dozen unopened sets of NOrthern NIghts sheets in my linen closet..... I just like the way that sheet feels!!!!

 

 

I like the act of hanging and taking in clothes....and I also enjoy the act of reading a real newspaper on the back porch in summer.....some BIG paper like the Sunday NY Times with many sections.....with coffee, in the summer, on the back porch....heaven to me!!!!!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,168
Registered: ‎03-14-2010

Re: Drying Clothes Outside....

We didn’t have a clothes dryer when I was a kid. My mother spent hours putting out the laundry on the clothesline and then bringing it back in when dry. I remember the mad dash outside if we heard thunder....😉
Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,523
Registered: ‎09-01-2010

Re: Drying Clothes Outside....

I grew up in a household with a wringer washer and line dried clothing; outside when the weather was nice, and in the basement on rainy and snowy days.   

 

Until allergies and COPD concerns increased here, I was hanging our clothes outside as well.   That ended nearly 10 years ago.   My husband took the lines down, and brother pulled the posts out with his tractor.   I really don’t miss the hassle of hanging things outside.   I also think the 15 skin cancers on my hands were due to sun exposure at the clothesline.   

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,702
Registered: ‎08-22-2013

Re: Drying Clothes Outside....

My husband is a master at laundry and he does hang the clothes, sheets and towels outside weather permitting.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,040
Registered: ‎09-12-2010

Re: Drying Clothes Outside....

What a wonderful memory! There's just nothing better than freshly washed sheets that have dried on a clothes line outdoors! My mother hung clothes on the line in good weather until she was 88 and moved to assisted living. I loved those times I had growing up and helping her...and oh how great everything smelled!

Frequent Contributor
Posts: 140
Registered: ‎02-06-2018

Re: Drying Clothes Outside....

I am 54 and have always used a clothesline.  I have never used bleach.  Sunshine works wonders.  It is actually time consuming to hang and bring back in the house.  It is a lifestyle choice.  

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,181
Registered: ‎02-05-2011

Re: Drying Clothes Outside....

I never put my expensive jeans, pants, blouses or tee shirts in the dryer.  I think dryers are damaging to clothes.  Cleaning out the lint trap in my dryer proves my point.  I hang items on a rack on my patio in the back of my house and they dry quickly and seem fresher.  If I had a clothes line, which I would love, I would hang out all my laundry.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,038
Registered: ‎06-03-2018

Re: Drying Clothes Outside....

When we sold  our family home after my parents died, I made sure to take my Mom's clothes line! Nobody else wanted it. I have it set up in my back yard and try to use it every so often in memory of my Mom. Plus I do like the way it makes things  smell so fresh! And I know she would love me using it! 

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,447
Registered: ‎01-22-2016

Re: Drying Clothes Outside....


@Biftu wrote:

I never put my expensive jeans, pants, blouses or tee shirts in the dryer.  I think dryers are damaging to clothes.  Cleaning out the lint trap in my dryer proves my point.  I hang items on a rack on my patio in the back of my house and they dry quickly and seem fresher.  If I had a clothes line, which I would love, I would hang out all my laundry.


 

Hi! Logo Sister 🥰 

 

I never put my clothes in the dryer for the same reason. My yard is large with a fence that is not open for the public to see. Wonderful seeing you! Take care. 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,645
Registered: ‎03-28-2015

Re: Drying Clothes Outside....

My Mother always hung clothes outside and so did my Grandmother. I have some handmade "clothes props" that I use to hold up the lines when I wash sheets or rugs....

 

Everything dries quickly and rugs last longer. I hang my sheers....sheets rugs and throws out when I can.

 

There is nothing like that clean fresh smell....