Each and every day, more savvy people realize the value of using clotheslines. While you may have not previously thought of going this route, the truth is that they are a great way to save energy and money while taking great care of your clothes in the process.
Clotheslines are no longer considered an “old fashioned” way to dry your laundry. They have come back with a tremendous resurgence and actually fit quite well into our modern world. If you have ever thought that using clotheslines was just not for you, it’s time to take another look at the wide variety of benefits that they offer.
Enjoy Tremendous Financial Savings
Rather shockingly, dryers cost almost as much money to run as refrigerators. In fact, one of the most expensive items in your home to operate is your dryer. While your washer uses about 500 watts a year, your clothes dryer actually uses 5000 watts per year.
Each load of laundry that you toss in the dryer costs you dearly. A load per day with a gas dryer will cost 15-20 cents, while a load a day with an electric dryer will cost 30-40 cents. This adds up to almost $150 per year. Just imagine what you could do with that extra money.
What if you have a lot of family members who use the dryer? If that is the case, of course, your prices will start to rise sky-high.
When you use a clothesline to dry your clothes, you save 100% on energy costs. This means a significant savings. After all, what could be less expensive than using the air to dry your clothes?
Also clotheslines are inexpensive to buy and easy to set up. While it takes a little longer for clothes to dry, people find that the clothes stay in better shape and last longer.
A Great Way to Be Eco-Friendly
In a quest to reduce their carbon footprint, many individuals have been realizing that doing away with the use of a drying machine altogether may make a ton of sense. Experts offering advice on this subject have even been recommending making the switch to clotheslines.
According to Mother Nature News, “Line drying is, hands down, one of the most effective ways you can go green at home.”
Electricity represents CO2. Each load of laundry that you put in your dryer is about 5 lbs. of CO2, and that adds up to approximately 1800 lbs. or more of carbon dioxide each year. When you take into account that each household is potentially producing that much CO2, the environmental impact is rather staggering.
Statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency show that dryers in the United States emit 32 million metric tons of CO2 per year. They also use 43 billion kW. hours and 443 million therms of natural gas.
When you switch to clotheslines, you’ll stop using as much electricity from power plants. You’ll be doing your part to protect our planet.
Avoid Cost of Buying a New Machine
While running your dryer a few times a week is expensive, there is also the cost of the machine itself to consider. New dryers cost between $500-$1600.
EnergyStar focuses on labeling appliances that use the least amount of electricity. They have over 40,000 models of appliances. Until 2014 they didn’t have a category for dryers do to the fact that all of them are highly inefficient. They had previously stated, “EnergyStar does not label clothes dryers because most dryers use similar amounts of energy, which means there is little difference in the energy use between models.”
Finally, EnergyStar dryers have been categorized due to the fact they use 20% less energy than traditional dryers. This is based on the fact that dryers have had some recent innovations. For example, they will come with advanced sensors that can inform you when the clothes are dry.
Sadly, most dryers still can’t meet the Energy Star requirements. And those that do will be far more expensive. Currently, they will cost over $700 per machine, according to Consumer Reports. However, even with a dryer with Energy Star status, you’ll only save about $18 per year.
Naturally Humidify Your Home
When the humidity level drops below 40%, you will find drying your clothes indoors can make a big difference. You’ll add increased moisture into the air. This means that you might be able to cut down on your central heating bills. It's a viable way to humidify for no expenditure at all. Yet, most people fail to take advantage of this benefit of drying clothes by the air.
Potential Dangers of Clothes Dryers
Did you know that clothes dryers cause deadly fires? The US Consumer Product Safety Commission says that each year there are over 15,000 fires, 10 deaths and 10 injuries due to dryer fires. How does this happen? When lint accumulates and airflow is reduced, the “perfect conditions” are set for a fire. Often the lint trap doesn’t catch lint and it builds up even right on the heating element. People often simply forget to clean the dryer ducts.
Dryers placed in basements are actually safer. Those in bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens can be more dangerous since they have been installed with sharp bends to enable them to fit into different spaces. There are more places for dangerous lint to gather. The perfect set-up is to have shorter and straight duct venting.
Also carbon monoxide poisoning can result from dryers being set up incorrectly. When you avoid using a dryer, you do away with the worries concerning this issue altogether.
Clotheslines Actually Improve Your Clothes
When your clothes get fuzz on them, it actually reduces their lifespan. Your clothes will look and feel better when you opt to use a clothesline. You’ll find that colors never fade.
As you likely already know, being tossed around by dryers can eventually break your the seams of your clothing. Sometimes zippers will pull seams while they are inside of the machine together.
Plus, many people end up with wrinkled clothes when they don’t remove them quickly enough from the dryer. When you use clotheslines, you’ll find that your clothes are ready and perfectly wrinkle-free whenever you need them.
Protect Vintage Clothing
When you buy used clothes, you not only save money but also not contribute to the non-eco friendly process of shipping clothes from China. Those who love vintage clothing find many one of a kind pieces and want to wear them constantly.
However, the problem with vintage pieces is that once they are gone, they are gone. The good news is that when you use clotheslines, you dramatically improve the lifespan of your vintage clothing. It only makes sense to get as much wear out of these pieces as possible. Otherwise, you’ll be saying goodbye to them forever before you know it.
A Clothesline Won’t Be in Your Way
Many people find that the optimal solution is to have an outdoor clothesline and an indoor one when weather gets cold or rainy. If your clothesline is inside, you can opt for a wall-mounted version. This means that your clothesline will retract and not take up space.
If you have a very small living area, you’ll find that using a clothesline is actually a great way to save room in your house. As stated, above you can simply retract your clothesline and it will be out of sight. A clothes dryer, on the other hand, will always be taking up valuable space. And who likes looking at a big, unattractive clothes dryer anyhow?
Enjoy the DIY Movement
From making your own food to air drying clothes, there is a real joy that comes from doing things the “old fashioned way.” Once you start using a clothesline, you might get more inspired to do other things yourself too. For example, you can easily make your own laundry detergent. Water and vinegar can be used as a stain remover. All of these things save money and enable you to skip potentially toxic ingredients in your home.
Many who start using clothesline feel that getting outside in the sun is one of the best parts of their day. They feel they experience pleasant memories from their childhood like sleeping with cotton sheets dried in the sun.
Clothes that dry outdoors on a clothesline smell great. Instead of the chemical scents of fabric softeners and drying sheets, you’ll find that your clothing, towels and sheets have a fresh and natural aroma.
Plus, on a very practical level, the sunshine can remove stains. The sun’s rays can also rid clothing of dust mites, fungi and bacteria. So drying your clothes in the sun is ultimately a healthier route as well.
Join Others Around the Globe
Using clotheslines is far more widespread in other countries including Australia, Italy and Japan. But this activity is catching on with great speed in North America and the rest of the western world. You’ll find that once you switch to clotheslines, you truly will enjoy a wide variety of benefits ranging from health and safety to financial. You will know that you are doing your part for the planet and for your wallet as well.
