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They dried fine outside even below freezing. And, stiffness of wash dried on the line came from inadequate rinsing, not outside drying. Our wash was always soft and fresh smelling.
I do remember the outside lines and the sturdy sticks. Has been a while and yes the colder it gets the faster it dries. A good shake and frozen sheets are dry.
Back to the country of conveniences. Towels go into the dryer. Most of the rest gets hung on hangers (LOL) to dry. If possible on thin chains under the pergola. Weather permitting is a factor in OK. It is either windy or very windy which means red clay dust or lots of red clay dust or simply on the ground in no time. SO put up dowels into several door frames of rooms we do not use daily and it works just fine. No red tint:>)
I use to hang dry our laundry when I was an energy-miser. I bought 3 multi-rack drying racks and would spent half a day doing laundry. The energy efficient washer goes through a 1.5 hr cycle...times 3 loads plus hand-washed items. Now that I have a 4.8kW solar array, I use the time delay on the washer and dryer to run during the super-off peak electric rate. I still hang dry the laundry during really dry days and I hang dry the hand-washed items as well.
That other thread about repairing underwear got me to reminiscing a little about childhood in the 50s and brought to mind "wash day." Ma would do the laundry with an electric machine that would agitate the wash, then drain it and rinse it twice, but she had to take each item and run it thru the wringer individually. My bride, at age 5 got her hair caught in that menacing device once. Luckily, her ma was on the spot and yanked her out before she got trapped. No damage done. Severe injuries were not uncommon from an adventure like that-- crushed fingers & hands or hair caught so deep the only remedy was to cut it off.
Then Ma had to lug the wet, heavy laundry out to the back yard and hang it with wooden clothes pins (also made good toy soldiers or two crossed together as a war plane) on the clothes lines. The lines, sagging with the heavy load, were then propped up with notched clothes poles. Playing with those polls and leaving them in outlying hiding spots was a capital offense, as I recall.
As an adult I lived for more than a decade in a ritzy neighborhood where hanging your wash outside to dry was actually outlawed!
Anybody here using "solar power" the old fashioned way and hanging your laundry out to dry? Nothing like that crisp, clean feeling of fresh clothes & linens treated that way.
All summer for the general stuff, and even in the winter for the delicates.
I have never owned a dryer and always use a clothesline, but in my region it is common to do so.
In the winter i have 2 racks that I put near the radiator and by morning they are dry, but i like to hang sweaters outside even in the dead of winter as they smell really good.
why pay to dry, when mother nature does it for free
That other thread about repairing underwear got me to reminiscing a little about childhood in the 50s and brought to mind "wash day." Ma would do the laundry with an electric machine that would agitate the wash, then drain it and rinse it twice, but she had to take each item and run it thru the wringer individually. My bride, at age 5 got her hair caught in that menacing device once. Luckily, her ma was on the spot and yanked her out before she got trapped. No damage done. Severe injuries were not uncommon from an adventure like that-- crushed fingers & hands or hair caught so deep the only remedy was to cut it off.
Then Ma had to lug the wet, heavy laundry out to the back yard and hang it with wooden clothes pins (also made good toy soldiers or two crossed together as a war plane) on the clothes lines. The lines, sagging with the heavy load, were then propped up with notched clothes poles. Playing with those polls and leaving them in outlying hiding spots was a capital offense, as I recall.
As an adult I lived for more than a decade in a ritzy neighborhood where hanging your wash outside to dry was actually outlawed!
Anybody here using "solar power" the old fashioned way and hanging your laundry out to dry? Nothing like that crisp, clean feeling of fresh clothes & linens treated that way.
Yes, I do, even living in the ritzy part of town. The only time I don't dry at least some of my laundry outdors is when it's snowing or when the spruces are in pollen, because it leaves a fine yellow dust on everything that stains.
I'm glad to see I'm not alone in this. I have a nice wooden rack I use for all the little stuff, underwear, sox. Most everything else gets put on plastic hangers and hung on the back open porch. They are almost wrinkle free when they are dry. I have metal shelving units in my garage and I hook plastic hangers along there and clothespin my sheets and blankets along those. I save time ironing by doing this as everything is hanging straight and wrinkles just seem to disappear. I love the smell of air-dried clothes.
I machine-dry most towels. However, I have had the best results when line-drying them when they are wrung out VERY well before hanging, and when there is a breeze. A sopping wet towel hung up in a motionless environment seems to turn into a board.
I machine-dry most towels. However, I have had the best results when line-drying them when they are wrung out VERY well before hanging, and when there is a breeze. A sopping wet towel hung up in a motionless environment seems to turn into a board.
Ha, ha...I've met some of those boards. I will throw the line dried towels in the dryer for 5-10 minutes to soften them. I just didn't know if anyone did anything else.
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