Ditch your dryer!

Well, spring has sprung and it is time to get outside! The eco-friendly focus for this week is ditching the gas or electric dryer and upgrading to a solar/wind powered variety. It’s not as complicated as you think – we’re talking about clotheslines. Your gas or electric dryer is a wasteful energy hog! While you can find very efficient washing machines, dryers are pretty much all in the same sorry boat.

The very cool website and blog "Project Laundry List" http://www.laundrylist.org/ offers a top ten list of terrific reasons to ditch your dryer:
Dryers use ten to fifteen percent of domestic energy in the United States!
10) Save money (more than $25/month off electric bill for many households).
9) Clothes last longer. Where do you think lint comes from?
8) Clothes and linens smell better without adding possibly toxic chemicals to your body and the environment.
7) Conserve energy and the environment, while reducing climate change.
6) It is moderate physical activity which you can do in or outside.
5) Sunlight bleaches and disinfects.
4) Indoor racks can humidify in dry winter weather.
3) Clothes dryer fires account for about 15,600 structure fires, 15 deaths, and 400 injuries annually. The yearly national fire loss for clothes dryer fires in structures is estimated at $99 million.
2) Can be an outdoor experience that is meditative and community-building.
1) Demonstrates that small steps can make a difference. Don't have to wait for the government to take action!

Now, most of the world is probably thinking “duh – why wouldn’t you use a clothesline?” but here in the U.S. there can be a bit of a stigma attached and some homeowner’s associations won’t permit residents to hang their laundry outdoors. It’s time to break that stigma and make clotheslines mainstream again! The more people who hang their laundry out, the more commonplace it becomes. You can buy very cool retractable clothes lines and racks on line, or you can pick up a simple clothesline at your neighborhood hardware or dollar store, and small retractable lines for indoor bath or laundry room use are also widely available. Pick up some clothespins and you’ll be in business.



On the plus side air dried laundry smells great, but it can also be a bit stiff. Remedy this by remembering to use a natural fabric softener (avoid those nasty petroleum based products) or adding a quarter cup or so of vinegar to your rinse water.

Save money, energy, the planet – what’s not to like about clotheslines?