Clothes Line Drying

My family has been drying our clothes outside in the summer for quite a while. I try to smooth them out when I hang them (on our deck rails). When they are dry or almost dry we put them in the dryer on low or air fluff for 10 min. with a dryer sheet. It is just enough to get the wrinkles out. I use All free detergent and Bounce free or store brand of such due sensitive skin in our house and I don't want extra smell on my clothes but it probaably doesn't matter. I figure it saves a lot of drying time,and you can also get your laundry done quicker! And yes use less natural gas.I agree with your "save the earth/rainforest" attitude. We try also. Good luck. A.--married 17 years to someone who does his share and more of laundry and cooking!, have a just turned 16 yr. old son and a 13 3/4 yr. old dtr. who like to change clothes a lot! :)

1 mom found this helpful

Hi
I love to line dry as much of my laundry as possible whenever possible. I was raised with 6 siblings and my mom line dryed too. I find that a tennis ball in the dryer for 10 minutes with a damp washcloth takes the "stiff" out and also the wrinkles out of other clothes.

I have to use fabric softener.

I make my own laundry detergent so I'm not sure how this would work with a regular detergent, but I usually put some vinegar in the washing machine and that seems to help.

I cheat. I dry them outside, then fluff them in the dryer for 10min or so. I figure I'm still saving energy, they smell great from outside, and they're still soft. I don't use fabric softener since I cloth diaper -- I don't trust dh not to forget and use it on them, lol. Vinegar makes a GREAT fabric softener, about 1/4 or so in a load. It does NOT smell once the clothes are rinsed and dried.

Hi Sara, You are a one of a kind lady,should be proud of yourself for all you do to make your families life better. I have hung my clothes out for the past 30 years and found that towels, jeans and heavier items need to dry in the shade or part shade to stay soft. Everything else will stay soft as long as there is a nice breeze. I have many times brang my towels in and fluffed them in the dryer for about 5 minutes and that will soften them up. I too breastfed my 3 children for the first 2 years of their lives and used cloth diapers until they were potty trained. I knew in my heart I was doing the best for my babies. I made my own babyfood and bought minimal store boughten foods for them, grew a garden so we had fresh vegetables to can for the winter months. Keep up the good work and give yourself a hardy pat on the back. Your family is very lucky to have you in their lives. M.

I put vinegar in as fabric softener, I use the downy ball and put in about 1/2 cup. It helps alot, they are still a little stiff but much better. For my jeans and things that get so stiff I just throw them in the dryer for about 3 mins after they are dry and it gets rid of the stiffnes too.

Hi Sara,

I love to use my clotheslines too. Mine rarely come off stiff, and I think it's because I dry on days that are windy with sun. If the clothes dry too slowly, they get "crunchy". My mom taught me to throw towels in the dryer for just a few minutes, and then hang them on the line. It helps to keep them soft. I also use fabric softener.

Happy laundering,
J.

Do you use fabric softener?
What I used to do was decide what would be okay if it was all still from line drying.
Sheets, shirts, trousers (depending on the fabric), underwear. There's just something about things being dried outside. A very fresh scent. And that sounds like a commercial.

Sox, Towels, and other things dry too stiff and it's not pleasant against the skin. Again, maybe fabric softener would make a difference. I just gave up after a while. My set up broke anyway.

Sara ~
I line dry my shirts so they don't shrink, and I love to dry my sheets and quilts outside. For my shirts, I use fabric softener in the washer, throw them in the dryer with a dryer sheet for 15-20 minutes, then hang them up. That way they get the benefit of the dryer sheets, but only for a few minutes and they never come out stiff. For quilts and sheets I use the fabric softener in the washer, then hang outside. On a nice sunny, breezy day, they don't take long to dry and they smell fabulous!
D.

I've been doing line drying for years.On real hot days they do dry faster so they're not out as long and dont get stiff.If you keep them out longer then they should be they tend to stiffen up.I sometimes add alittle fabric softener to the wash.

~J.~

Hey Sara, you could try using a liquid fabric softener in your final rinse, that should do the trick.

Sara,
Line drying on windy days is the best way to keep clothes from getting stiff. Otherwise what my mom used to do when we were kids was put the clothes in the dryer for 15-30 minutes, then hang them out on the line. Hope this was helpful.

Hi Sara! Doesn't feel good to be able to take care of our family in a safe way that is in harmony with nature? We are fortunate.

I use Shaklee's Soft Fabric Concentrate. While I could use it in the wash my mooma taught me to be a penny pincher
so I spray it in the dryer. After I spray into the dryer I run the clothes for 10-15 min then line dry. I have had repair men say never spray softner in dryers--but this product is different than any other out there. Have you read the fine print on some of the other brands? It says not to use on fluffy fabrics. hhmmmwhat are childrens sleepers made of?
Have you ever heard about what is in traditional softners and what those chemicals can do to your family's health?

Would you like to learn more about the Shaklee products? I would be glad to share with you what I have.

M.

Hey there you!!! :o) Since we don't have a dryer I use Ecover softner in the wash. But when I didn't want to use it, like with the cloth diapers, I used vinegar and it worked nicely too. Glad to see you here...good luck getting the crunch out!

I am interested in responses as i too have not solved the crnchy problem!

This is a common problem with line drying. When I was growing up in the country my mom always line dried - all year long (in the house in the winter) because we didn't have a dryer. I believe that she used a liquid fabric softener in the washing machine and that helped with the problem. I know that she still uses liquid in the washer, instead of the dryer sheets. Not sure what there is out there along the lines of ecofriendly fabric softener though - we use dryer sheets and compost them (just learned you can do that).

try your last rinse cycle with nothing but white vinegar.

I have found that if you add a bit of fabric softener (i.e Downy) to the rinse cycle of the wash, the dry clothes that have been hung out will not be so "crunchy"...especially towels.

Greetings Eco friendly mom!!

As for the clothes drying outside...I have never thought about it until now but my clothes do not get crunchy. We do not use any detergent in our washer, and we only use cold water. Talk about eco-friendly and it cuts down on your risk of allergies and dry skin itching in the winter. We are able to do this only because we use a product called "Laundry Pure". My husband and I have a home-based business that uses all eco-friendly products and I think you might be interested to check them out. The laundry pure saves on energy bills as it uses no hot water what-so-ever. It uses no detergent and no fabric softner. And no you do not have to buy a new washer as it is easily installed into whatever machine that you have. Please check out the web-site and see for yourself...www.laundryplus.com/remmam, password = guest. For more information or to find out about our other eco-friendly products go to www.ecoquestintl.com If you like what you see or want more information, please contact us at: ____@____.com or (800) 766-9613

In any case, Sara, enjoy your baby as they grow up all too fast. My youngest daughter is all ready going into the second grade.