View Full Version : Clothesline drying... What DON'T/WON'T you line-dry?
From the dawn of time, I have clothesline dried. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, was exempt from being walked out back and tacked to the line, however, one thing I have moved away from drying on the line, bedding.
When life was more simpler in our home, i.e., less kids... bedding and crib sheets were laundered in the washing machine, then hung on the line to dry (always), but with more beds to change as compared to back in the early 1990's... when all I had was a crib or two to deal with, along with a bed or two... bedding, now gets the tumble dryer treatment.
Now... if I had an extra set of helping hands at my disposal (any given time/day), I would for surely go back to the old days of line-drying sheets and things, but as it stands, the tumble dryer is proving to be a much more fuss-free/simple method of tackling drying bedding in our house these days.
How about in your home? Have you moved away from line-drying certain things? Things that you once used to dry and thought nothing of? Like bedding?
Won't: underwear, most cotton t-shirts
Will: most anything else. Hanging is mandatory for anything that's partly synthetic as the dryer eventually ruins it. My hanging space is very limited due partly to the darn HOA and partly due to my not yet putting in the time/creativity to find a solution to the space problem in the new house. Right now I have two shower rods in the bathroom and a bunch of towel racks I use. My current goal is to hang at least half of each load. For my clothes, I hang them on hangers then the hangers go on the rod so they don't get clip marks, and I can move them directly from the line to the closet without doing anything else. Also saves a lot of space on the rod.
Jill. Not that I wanted to ask such, or have this thread turn into a "how come" discussion... but why not underwear? I LOVE doing an all underwear (panties) line! Women power! LOL!
I line dried for many years. Didn't even own a dryer for a few years. But to better manage my allergies I've gone to total dryer use. Dust mites, pollens, etc ... They are gathered up by damp clothing hanging in the breeze.
What a shame you had to give up on line-drying, Tammy. Glad to know the tumble dryer option has helped.
One thing I know some people WON'T hang, is anything black. They're so afraid of fading.
I hang out as much as I can but lately, I put all my work clothes on hangers and put them in the bathroom. Same with t-shirts. Undergarments and bedding go outside, as well as bath/beach towels, kitchen towels, bath mat ;) and hubby's work clothes- he gets grimy smelly and the extra air seems to help them smell nice. :) I have a half shaded clotheslines for the darker fabrics because here in Texas, the sun will fade something in one hanging. :)
Love the sounds of your half-shaded clothesline, MamaM!
Never gave it much thought (until now), but clothesline placement is important. My clothesline gets sun from sun-up until late afternoon... a little bit into the early evening once Summer arrives.
I have too!!! The sun is GREAT for whites but fades anything else!!! We have temps up to 113 in the summer time. It takes very little time for it to dry when it's that hot. Seriously think it takes less time to hang everything outside than put it in a dryer. And then I don't heat up the house. :)
113... wow! I envy you for being able to cope with that sort of heat. Heat, tires me out. I feel like a bowl of oatmeal when we get spells of relentless heat during the Summer.
Re: the sun, and how it works like magic when it comes to whites... absolutely! When my kids were babies, I was dedicated when it came to line-drying their diapers outside, and stained diapers were no match for the sun!
I can't live where it's cold. I just drink a lot of Sweet Tea. :)
This one is for you, MamaM! http://www.wivesbehindthebadge.org/forums/images/smilies/smiles/th_teasmileyf.gif
YUM!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!! I love tea!!!! : )
Me, too!!! That tea-smiley, is one of my very favourites!
Everything line dry. Outdoors when warm enough for he things not to freeze, indoors otherwise.
miradoblackwarrior
2-28-13, 2:18pm
I"m an apartment gal. I got two wooden racks, one for when I wash by hand, one for when I make a bi-monthly trip to the laundrymat. The only thing I think I won't put on the rack is sheets or blankets. Just too much material to handle at home.
If I had a line outside, I would use it in a heartbeat. Lot's of good memories, putting sheets up on the line with Mum.
Susan
Good on you, Susan!!! I agree... doing battle with tent-sized sheets can be a PITA.
Like yourself... if I didn't have an outdoor clothesline, I'd snap-up another wooden drying rack in a heartbeat! So traditional and old-fashioned! LOVE the look of wooden drying racks! LOVE the simplicity of, too!
The only thing that keeps me from hanging anything and everything outside to line dry besides rain is China!
Where does all that smog from Beijing go? Right over Japan :(
Coming up soon we may also get what are called the Dragon Winds from China.
Red dust from the Gobi Desert gets kicked up and it can turn our sky
orange on bad years and it gets everywhere in your home if you
forget and leave your windows open, too :(
llamo - Maybe you can fix that for us? Hehe :)
Boo... what a drag, Dhiana.
IshbelRobertson
2-28-13, 4:50pm
I line dry as much as I can, but in winter resort to a tumble dryer for sheets and towels, but everything else gets dried on a clothes pulley in the kitchen.
I line dry most everything in the warmer days and even cool days. When it gets really cold I just hang shirts and jeans on hangers in the closet, but use the tumble drier for bedding, towels, socks, etc. It is on my list to get or build one of those indoor clothes racks made of wooden doweling, but just haven't got to it. Actually, it might even be a good project to do with PVC piping, which is pretty darned easy to work with.
Anything with a lot of elastic like bras suffer from the sun so I dry them on racks inside.
This winter I have been drying my one set of fleece sheets after going through a super spin cycle. I never thought that I would like these sheets but they are pure heaven on cold nights.
Only stuff from the thrift store. It all goes into the dryer; woolens go in dry, and washables get washed & dried hot. We put everything on the line in summertime!
I line dry outside pretty much everything when the weather is agreeable. When it isn't, I still line dry alot inside, but some goes in the dryer, mainly towels and bedding.
Jill. Not that I wanted to ask such, or have this thread turn into a "how come" discussion... but why not underwear? I LOVE doing an all underwear (panties) line! Women power! LOL!
That's cute! I wear grannies, and in my opinion 100% cotton knits never do well line-dried. Too crunchy for me! Same reason for not line-drying cotton t-shirts.
Tussiemussies
3-2-13, 12:09am
There isn't anything that I won't put out on the clothesline. It all goes out and comes back in fresher and the fibers of the material don't look worn down. My clothes last longer this way...:)
I use a wooden rack indoors and use it for everything except blankets and bedspreads which are both too large and too heavy for it. Those I drape over two open doors. I usually don't put it out on the balcony because of pollen and not wanting the condo assoc to complain.
After over two years of non-use, I freecycled our dryer about a year ago. Everything is line-dried outside when weather permits or rack-dried inside when weather doesn't permit.
early morning
3-2-13, 1:32pm
Everything I wash is dried on the line or in the house. I have a shade spot for black/coloured items, and a center line for things I prefer not be in view of the road. Mama always had a "disgrace line" at home, behind the barn, for rags and old rugs that she wanted hidden from view! And our main lines were in view of our Grandparent's (Dad's parents) chicken house, so if Grandma was feeding the chickens or gathering eggs and saw bedding on the wrong week day, she'd fire up the car and come to see who was sick. Drove my mom so crazy that she moved the line, lol. Clotheslines communicate, you know!;)
Tussiemussies
3-2-13, 1:38pm
Everything I wash is dried on the line or in the house. I have a shade spot for black/coloured items, and a center line for things I prefer not be in view of the road. Mama always had a "disgrace line" at home, behind the barn, for rags and old rugs that she wanted hidden from view! And our main lines were in view of our Grandparent's (Dad's parents) chicken house, so if Grandma was feeding the chickens or gathering eggs and saw bedding on the wrong week day, she'd fire up the car and come to see who was sick. Drove my mom so crazy that she moved the line, lol. Clotheslines communicate, you know!;)
That is just too funny about your grandmother!!! LOL :)
Me, too, Ishbel. Here in Canada, we clothesline dryers have no choice but to rely on the tumble dryer (cooler months/times of need), and because I use the tumble dryer so little, I tend not to feel guilty over it. I simply chalk-it-up to one of those necessary- necessaries.
Rogar. Love the sounds of the PVC piping dryer!
Razz. I try to make a point of hanging any/all elasticized things, either early in the morning... or towards the early evening. I think it definitely helps.
Redfox. Do like your precautionary measure Re: using the tumble dryer for thrift store purchases.
Wildflower. I can't tell you how many times I have thanked the gods for my electric tumble dryer! It's bailed me out sooo many times!!!
Jill. I wear grannies, too! They are the only thing that fit bigger, full-bottomed girls! Although I have cotton ones, I LOVE my Nylon-Antron ones for smoothness! They fit and wear the best under slacks.
Tussiemussies. Me, too! Anything that can be line-dried... is fair game in my home! LOL!
Reader99. Super-nifty idea Re: hang/drape drying blankets/bedspreads over two doors! Love it!
Happystuff. Ahhh... the good old-fashioned way!
Early Morning. LOL! Now that, would drive me batty! As a single-line owner, anything/everything goes when it comes to clothesline drying!
Was just thinking... "clotheslines offer stages... stages in, and of life". Such a story they are... just by looking at them. Maybe that's why I have always loved clotheslines so much. So telling/revealing... as to the going-ons in the homes belonging to them.
Clotheslines... are a sneak peek window into the personal and private lives of others, without getting up-close and personal...
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