While the Sun Shines
I’m sure everyone has heard the term, “make hay while the sun shines.” It is pretty important the hay is cut, rowed, dried and baled when conditions are warm and dry.
There are other things that go well with warm and dry weather. I really like a warm day to do roofing. The shingles are easier to cut and they seal really well.
I always keep an eye on the weather and schedule doing laundry accordingly. It has gotten to the point where we rarely use our drier. Even during the winter the majority of the drying is done on the line. Sometimes we need to finish a load in the drier, but we’ve generally had good fortune if we set the laundry out early. You can generally tell when the clothes are dry on the line. They hang differently and flutter in a gentle wind.
Tuesday was a hot day here; not by the standards of the rest of the country, but hot for here. There was also a breeze. I did a load of laundry around Noon and when it was finished I started hanging the heavy things on the line first; towels and jeans. We have a fifty-foot line on a pulley. By the time I hung the socks, the final items, I could see the first towel I hung fluttering in the breeze. I stepped off the porch and walked to the end of the line and was surprised to see the first towel I’d hung was already nearly dry.
One thing I’m really pleased about is how much lower our electric bill is since we started line drying.
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 4:00 AM
7 Comments:
If I could find a way to channel and save all of the hot air generated at work, I could dry my clothes free for the rest of my life. Those blowhards have got be be good for something, I just haven't figured out what yet.
I love the smell of laundry dried in the fresh air. Tho my son dislikes line dried clothes. His grandmother does it and he says all her towels feel like stiff sandpaper. And actually - hers do.
My guess is too much detergent.
weese, have grandma put a shot of white vinegar into the last rinse cycle. Works wonders as a fabric softener, especially helpful for folks with hard water.
I love line dried clothes too, but just not realistic to do in St. Louis. Between big ugly bugs taking up residence in the folds in the summer and the bitter cold freezing the line in the winter and the numerous rainy days that constitute spring and fall... just not worth stringing up the line. Many older homes had lines put up in the basement - but not nearly as wonderful as having the wind and sun dry your clothes.
Darev, I think people on exercise machines should generate electricity.
Weese, tell him they soften up as soon as they come in contact with moisture.
Rich, fabric softener should work as well and smell better.
Quandlequeen, My mother has never had a drier and still doesn't. It's really weird having your clothing freeze on the line.
Guy, you said, "fabric softener should work as well and smell better." This may be true until you consider the ingredients in fabric softener and the possible consequences of using them.
Modern fabric softeners use silicone based formulas. These actually penetrate the fabric and have unintended consequences like making towels and such less absorbent and breathable. While they might make fabric feel good to the touch, they work like Rain-x on a car windshield and in fact have a common ingredient. If used with a clothes dryer they actually coat, and eventually clog, the lint filter.
It's beyond me why people would want to use a product which makes towels repel water and which makes clothing into a vapor barrier. I like my clothes to breathe and let moisture evaporate.
1/4 cup of vinegar in a load of clothes adds absolutely no odor. It doesn't infuse fabrics with silicone. It has no secret ingredients like emulsifiers, fragrance (to which some are allergic), coloring, stabilizers and preservatives. Vinegar also costs a whole lot less than a commercial fabric softener.
Rich I stand corrected. Thanks for the tip.
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