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I have front load w/d and clothes seem to come out of washer 1/2 dry already. Usually I'll stick 'em in dryer for 5 minutes and take out shirts and hang to dry the rest. My dh drives me crazy b/c his answer to laundry is just to keep pushing start so he doesn't have to take them out to fold.
I don't own a clothes dryer. I've lived in an apt in southern cal for the past 8 years. I have a clothes line, clothes rack and round pipe across the top of my patio for hanging up clothes, towels or linens after taking them out of the washer. I normally do only 1 or 2 loads of laundry at a time so I don't run out of space to hang things. Today was about 80* and sunny outside so everything dried in less than 2 hours.
I have front load w/d and clothes seem to come out of washer 1/2 dry already. Usually I'll stick 'em in dryer for 5 minutes and take out shirts and hang to dry the rest. My dh drives me crazy b/c his answer to laundry is just to keep pushing start so he doesn't have to take them out to fold.
Ha - Midwesterners here you can tell... not only would our towels and jeans turn "hard", but *everything* when hanging outside to dry during winters! Lol. However... I *did* do this myself for a couple of years before I got a dryer. Took a *long* time to dry bc once I brought them in (which was also a chore and quite comical - stacks of frozen clothes - hard sort of like the Flintstones cartoon), then I had to balance them on things until they thawed, then dried again. Lol. (This was during some really bad winters when I didn't want to pack & drive my laundry to a laundromat.)
I hang things still sometimes on hangers - lightweight items. And I've used the wooden racks, but they seem best for things like socks and other smaller things. If you have a permanent shower-bar (v. a movable one), they also make a great place to hang laundry to dry. You can use a movable one (I've done this also), but *one* too many items, and the bar will fall! Then you've got clean clothes on your bathroom floor. I find they dry sooner in the bathroom bc it's a smaller room, and when the heat comes on, they just naturally dry quicker there.
One thing I *do* that does help... that I haven't read on the board yet, is to run your clothes through an add'l spin cycle once they're done in the washer. (Just be sure you don't run them through an add'l rinse, or you'll defeat the purpose.) This has really cut down on my drying time this winter, esp. with towels and rugs which I wash a lot with a pup in the house and his little paw prints all over coming in from the snow. Also, check your dryer vent (the tubing and on the outside of the house). It can become clogged with lint and slow down the drying process. (I know bc I just cleaned my outside vent today.)
One thing to think about when using the dryer......the air it exhaust out that helps dry the clothes...has to be replenished.....if it's 40º outside then every cubic foot of air your dryer exhaust a cubic foot of air has to be replaced inside your home and you paid to condition that air with your air-conditioning system. Likewise when it's really cold your exchanging that conditioned air with dry cold air....double wammy to the power bill. Just something to think about if your looking to try and save money....use the dryer when temps are closest to what you would wish them to be inside the home....seems kinda backwards huh.
...Likewise when it's really cold your exchanging that conditioned air with dry cold air....double wammy to the power bill. Just something to think about if your looking to try and save money....use the dryer when temps are closest to what you would wish them to be inside the home....seems kinda backwards huh.
Hey BigJon! You sound sensibly smart. I love it when someone can give smart technical- or household-type info. So... taking into account your post, whaddya do when it's ave. -20F windchill for about 3-4 months running when that's *nowhere close* to what I'd like it to be inside?!
Obviously you do what you can....I was talking about us folks not in Siberia
It's more of a way to think about when you can do something like that....like can I wait to do that last load of laundry in the dryer till tomorrow when it's 70º outside or should I do it tonight when it's 50º....if you have to have the clothes obviously you do what ya need. When I try and cut my energy usage I noticed one thing didn't matter......multiple things have made a significant difference. Not trying to tell anyone how to live...spend your money as you wish
Hey BigJon! You sound sensibly smart. I love it when someone can give smart technical- or household-type info. So... taking into account your post, whaddya do when it's ave. -20F windchill for about 3-4 months running when that's *nowhere close* to what I'd like it to be inside?!
Besides I'm sure your air is so dry (assuming you don't use a humidifier) the clothes are probably dry before you can pull them out of the washer.
Obviously you do what you can....I was talking about us folks not in Siberia
It's more of a way to think about when you can do something like that....like can I wait to do that last load of laundry in the dryer till tomorrow when it's 70º outside or should I do it tonight when it's 50º....if you have to have the clothes obviously you do what ya need. When I try and cut my energy usage I noticed one thing didn't matter......multiple things have made a significant difference. Not trying to tell anyone how to live...spend your money as you wish
Hey again. I don't use a humidifier - within view of the Great Lakes, so it's not as dry here as it is even 20 minutes inland. But I do use a dehumidifier spring & summer. It's interesting - my w/d were gifts from some friends who'd been given a new set themselves from someone else. When they gave it to me, they told me the dryer didn't work well - that it too a *long* time to dry things. But I never had a single problem with it! They were very surprised and kept asking if I was sure! Ha! They'd lived in their place a long time, so I was wondering if their in/out vents were clean. When they brought the w/d to my place, I had a new vent installed. I'd never thought about the outside temps having anything to do with the drying time. Good thing for CD! You learn something new everyday - at least! Thank you for the tip!
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So... whaddya do ???
Hey BigJon! You sound sensibly smart. I love it when someone can give smart technical- or household-type info. 
So... taking into account your post, whaddya do when it's ave. -20F windchill for about 3-4 months running when that's *nowhere close* to what I'd like it to be inside?! 
I don't use a humidifier - within view of the Great Lakes, so it's not as dry here as it is even 20 minutes inland. But I do use a dehumidifier spring & summer. It's interesting - my w/d were gifts from some friends who'd been given a new set themselves from someone else. When they gave it to me, they told me the dryer didn't work well - that it too a *long* time to dry things. But I never had a single problem with it! They were very surprised and kept asking if I was sure! Ha! They'd lived in their place a long time, so I was wondering if their in/out vents were clean. When they brought the w/d to my place, I had a new vent installed. I'd never thought about the outside temps having anything to do with the drying time. Good thing for CD! You learn something new everyday - at least! Thank you for the tip! 
