Saturday November 7th, 2009
 |  |
 |
Let It All Hang Out
Posted by Su Avasthi on April 16, 2007 - 7:22pm.
Who says that we shouldn't air our laundry in public?
Certainly not the growing number of clothesline activists -- such as the folks at Project Laundry List -- who'd love to see more of us proudly let our undies fly and dry in the breeze. They've dubbed Thursday National Hanging Out Day to stress the eco-friendliness of clotheslines.
The group has posted tons of information and great reasons to step away from the dryer. After poking around on their site, I found lots of interesting facts and statistics. Among them:
- A recent Cambridge University study found that 60 percent of the energy spent on clothing comes from washing and drying it.
- A single T shirt puts about 9 lbs. of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere.
- There are some 88 million dryers in the country. If we all dried our clothes outside for six months, we'd reduce the country's total residential CO2 output by 3.3 percent.
- A New York Times reporter, inspired to forego her dryer, found that using a clothesline slashed her electric bill by more than 50 percent, from $1,120 to about $576.
With a load of enthusiasm and freshly laundered whites, I decided to give it a try. After all, I'm not upgrading to high-efficiency appliances in the near future. And there's really no excuse to use a dryer in Albuquerque, given our ample sunshine and arid climate.
Unfortunately, my mission quickly turned into a mishap. First of all, my makeshift clothesline (I strung up some twine between two trellises) wasn't strong enough to hold even the most lightweight of my clothes. It quickly became obvious that I'd need a real clotheslines to pull this off. Near as I can figure, installing a clothesline involves digging potholes and mixing cement -- a bit of a problem because I'm adverse to hard labor.
Apart from the clothesline dilemma, the other problem turned out to be the weather. Spring brings gusty, gritty winds, and before I finished pinning my last camisole to the line, my pristine whites were covered with dust, elm seedlings, and enough pollen to kill me. I had no choice. I ended up rewashing those whites, before tossing them in the dryer.
Even though my initial attempt failed, I was heartened by the fact that the Times reporter also faced challenges (towels like sandpaper, homeowner association issues, time constraints) as she made the switch. She eventually worked through those problems -- and ultimately I hope I do the same.
But I'm waiting till the summer before I try again.
Art Credit: Gretchen Markle
Topics:
- Cleaning
- carbon dioxide
- CO2
- dryer
- energy conservation
- laundry
- planet
- Project Laundry List
- Step It Up
Here in the Netherlands, where most of us live in three story rowhouses, the top floor is a dedicated laundry room. Clothes can be hung to dry in a protected space and one can open the window when the rain stops. Years ago, when the houses were smaller, clothes were hung outside under a protective roof. Unfortunately, this air drying is increasingly being viewed as "quaint", or"old-fashioned". Let's hope it takes off in the U.S.A. and that the trendy Dutch will be happy to prove how hip and ecological they are and return to their sensible and energy-conserving ways.
carolina garciaw
One thing about hanging towels and such, I love them out on the line but didn't like the stiffness. My solution is to dry them on the line then throw them in the dryer for just a few minutes. It doesn't take nearly as much energy to soften as it does to dry completely. My sheets stay stiff though because I love to crawl into bed and smell that freshness.
It's so funny to hear people say they are so reliant on dryers. I live in Australia and I'd estimate that only 10% of my friends have tumble dryers. Even those that do only use them when it's raining out, they run out of clothes horses/linespace inside, and they actually need something dry for now (not next week or tomorrow). Those that use their dryers all the time tend to get a "you what??!" reaction, rather than those that hang their underwear out for the world to see.
In my area of Australia, we get between 75 and 100 days of rain per year, so it's not like we have perfect drying weather all year round.
In my household, we look at the 5 day weather forecast, and decide which days to do washing based on the driest/windiest days on offer. We also have limited undercover linespace on the back porch and in the carport so if there are no rain-free days coming up, we'll hang the washing undercover.
I guess it takes a bit of organisation and forethought but it itsn't all that hard once you get into a routine.
And you also tend to develop a system of putting your underwear on the inner lines, and your outer wear on the outer lines so that people can's actually see your underwear!
I am in the process of buying a new washer and dryer. I am remodeling the laundry area of my home to house my freezer and a stack washer and dryer (gas). Front loader washer because they use less water. I have always hung some things out to dry. I have bought an umbrella type clothes line and put it in a place of honor in my yard. I use a Laundromats and dry there some. I love the smell of my sheet and towels and things that have been sun dried. The plus side is the sun is free, and the only down side is when it rains. Note: you can add white vinegar to you rinse water and that will help soften you wash.