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Air Drying Clothes Without a Clothesline
by Jill Cooper
Description: Tips for drying clothes when you don't have a clothesline.
We all know that if we don't dry our clothes in the dryer we save on
electricity, but many of us don't think about how the dryer reduces
the life of our clothes. For a long time I couldn't understand why
so many people were buying scads of socks and underwear for their
families every few months. When my children were growing up, they
almost never wore out their underwear and socks and we owned only
about a quarter as many pair as most people. No I didn't buy some
name brand known for its child proof quality. I usually bought the
least expensive ones I could find.
Fast forward a couple decades. One day after folding my grandson's
new underwear, I noticed that the waistband was terribly rippled.
After doing some research, I discovered the answer: The dryer was
destroying the rubber elastic in the socks and underwear. I rarely
dried my family's clothes in the dryer, so the elastic never broke
down. It doesn't just happen with underwear - Have you ever noticed
pilling (those little fabric balls) on your clothes and linens and
the resulting lint in the dryer? That is the result of the fibers
being rubbed thin. The dryer also shrinks clothes and sets in stains.
Though I don't use the dryer to dry my clothes, I do use it for five
minutes or so with some loads (just long enough to fluff the
clothes). I put one load in the dryer and only leave then there as
long as it takes me to load the washer with the next load.
If you have no clothesline, you live in an apartment or your
homeowners association won't allow clotheslines, here are a few ways
to dry without a clothesline.
You need at least one drying rack and some type of clothes rod. You
can buy drying racks at most discount stores or hardware stores.
You might locate a clothes rod in your laundry room above the dryer,
use a sturdy shower curtain rod in the bathroom or get a metal
clothes racks that hooks over the back of a door. You don't need
much. I can hang two loads of laundry on one drying rack and 2 feet
of clothes rod.
Hanging on a Clothes Rod
Hang as many items as you can on clothes hangers, beginning with the
obvious things like dresses, dress shirts and blouses and hang the
hangers on a clothes rod to dry. Be sure not to put the hangers too
close together or the clothes will not dry. You can also hang things
like pajama tops, t-shirts, small kids shirts and one piece outfits.
Lightweight pants, pajama bottoms, skirts and sweats can be pinned
on clothes hangers and even sheets can be folded and hung on them.
If you are really short of drying rack space, you can hang socks,
underwear, wash rags, hand towels and towels on hangers and add them
to your clothes rod, too.
Hanging on a Clothes Rack
When hanging clothes on a drying rack, I start at the bottom with
socks and underwear, wash rags and baby clothes. Young children's
clothes and hand towels go on the middle layer and the top rack is
for towels, jeans, pillow cases, sweaters, sweats, pajama bottoms
and t-shirts. I try to use every inch of space, so if I put a
pillow case on the rack and there are a couple of inches left next
to it I put a sock there. I even hook bras on the corners of the
rack.
Drying racks are handy because they can be moved to speed up the
drying process. Place them outside on a sunny (but not windy) day.
Inside the house, try putting them over a vent and the heat or air
conditioner will dry them faster. If you don't have central heat or
air then you can place them in front of your heater or a fan. Don't
place clothes close enough to heaters to be a fire hazard.
If you are short on space and don't want to look at a drying rack in
the middle of the room, do the laundry before bed, hang it and in
most cases it will be dry by morning (especially if you set it above
an air vent).
Try hanging large king sized sheets or blankets over your shower
rod, over the rail of your deck, between two lawn chairs or folded
in half or quarters over your clothes rack. When you fold large
items, you must flip and turn them every 5-10 hours so that each
side gets dry.
Sometimes it is useful to hang a clothesline in the basement or
attic. Be sure to check out your department stores and hardware
stores for other ideas. They have many clever items like
retractable clotheslines, things to hang over doors and some not so
new ideas like extra large drying racks that can hold two loads of
laundry each.
Even though this may sound complicated at first, once you do it a
few times it becomes second nature to you. Pretty quickly, you will
discover the most efficient way to hang your clothes on the rack. I
know automatically that three wash rags fit across the bottom bar of
my rack and the two socks will fit next the that particular t-shirt.
It's like putting a puzzle together- the first time takes you longer
than the times after that because you know where the pieces fit.
Jill Cooper raised two teenagers alone on $500 a month income after
becoming disabled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She is the author
of Dining On A Dime, Eat Better and Spend Les. To read more of
Jill's articles and for free tips and recipes visit
http://www.LivingOnADime.com.
