Does anyone actually still line dry their clothes?

[gatorsmom]

What with smog and allergies on the rise, I just can't imagine that many people still hang their clothes outside to dry if they have the choice. With my ever increasing seasonal allergies, the mere idea of hanging my sheets out on the line to dry just makes my eyes itchy to think of it. I remember though, that my mom used to love hanging our sheets out to dry when I was younger. And it's certainly a good energy-saving way of drying clothes. Our new rental house has a really nice clothes line in the backyard. Makes me a little sad that I can't use it.

Does anyone here still hang their clothes and linens outside to dry?

[boolady]

I would if I could, but our HOA doesn't permit clotheslines. My mom still does, and her things always smell awesome.

[elephantmeg]

I do in the summer. Especially sheets and towels that take forever to dry. I do not put them out if we or the people next door are mowing...

[sweet_pea]

If something can't be dried in the dryer, I line dry it outside in the summer. Other things I line dry in the summer only if I have the time and energy. Especially if I'm washing our bedsheets – love the fresh scent afterwards!

[brittone2]

At my old house I didn't hang stuff out during the peak of pollen season, but otherwise we were okay.

I had a clothesline, but I really like my big drying rack from ikea as it is easy to move inside if needed. Doesn't work for sheets but I use it for clothing, diapers, and towels.

[AnnieW625]

I do it a lot, esp. a lot in the summer. I have never noticed an increase of allergies with line dried clothes.

[LMPC]

I dry all of DD's stuff on a big Ikea rack...and lots of our stuff. Still put towels and sheets in the dryer though. I just open the windows to the laundry room to get some of that nice smell.

[boolady]

I do dry things on a big rack, too, but it's inside (HOA again). If the weather permits, I open a window and put it nearby to try and capture some outside smell.

[wimama]

I do on occasion. But, I do it to sun stains out and not really to dry them. I usually rewash the clothes because I have bad seasonal allergies. The sun is my best and last resort stain fighter for me. On a rare occasion I will even hang wet stained clothes in the window in the winter to get some sun.:thumbsup:

[mommylamb]

I would if I could, but our HOA doesn't permit clotheslines.

:yeahthat: It's one of my big pet peeves about the HOA. Also because dryers are such huge electricity suckers (and where I am, electricity is pretty much all coal sourced).

I do keep a drying rack in our tiny tiny laundry room and hang a lot of our clothes on that.

[KpbS]

SIL does--unless it is too cold of course!

[m448]

I have this in my room in a corner and I can hang up two FL loads of clothes on hangers to dry. I dry the load for 10 minutes to relax wrinkles then I hang the garment on a hanger smoothinghems, neckline and button packets with my hands. Once dry they're ready to go in our closet usually overnight or the end of the day. I do dry sheets and towels in the dryer.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00079TDV6?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1

[wencit]

Back when we lived in our own home, I'd dry almost all of DH's and my clothes on drying racks in the garage (except for towels, socks, and underwear). Allergies are not an issue for us. I hate it when clothes shrink after I bring them home from the store! DH has ruined more than a couple pairs of pants by throwing them in the dryer all the way. Now that we are renting this townhouse, I still dry most of our clothes on a rack, only inside instead of the garage.

[Ceepa]

We have a drying rack inside. Unfortunately DH and DC have seasonal allergies pretty bad. I remember my grandma's line outside. I loved sleeping in her sweet-smelling sheets.

[kijip]

We do much of our stuff on 2 wall mounted indoor racks. Washer spins out so much of the water, things dry really fast. Mostly we just dry blankets, jeans, towels, and prefold diapers. We prefer not to wear out our slacks, shirts and underwear in the dryer and we need to line dry some things any ways like bras, pocket diapers, sweaters etc. We do not have the clothesline outside. In Seattle, rain is a factor pretty much all year (at least 10 months) and our yard is pretty small to accommodate a clothesline.

[mamicka]

I would if I could, but our HOA doesn't permit clotheslines. My mom still does, and her things always smell awesome.
:yeahthat:

ETA: We do air-dry many things indoors but I only have so much room to hang stuff. I'd love to be able to line-dry stuff in the summer but if I'm being honest I don't know if I'd be able to find the time.

[xmasbabycomin]

My dad and stepmom, who live in S. Fla have always line-dried outside, as long as I can remember. They have a tiny drier for "emergencies" but never used it. I thought it was kinda weird in high school, and the towels are kinda rough, but they were definitely green before it was cool.

[Moneypenny]

We do line dry outside in the summer (although I do avoid a couple weeks of heavy pollen activity). I can't say that our allergies seem any worse than during weeks when I don't line dry (because it was raining or something).

[cvanbrunt]

I sure do. I line dry most of my clothes and all the other standard stuff. Outside when possible, on the shower curtain bars and a bar in the laundry room if its cold or raining. DH and I both have allergies and have no problems with this.

[septmama2b]

I have a rack that I use for all of my cloth diapers, I dry them out in the sun as much as possible. Saves on energy and the sun takes out all the stains. If I had more room I'd have a clothesline in a heatbeat.

[momm]

We use a drying rack for some things.. but mainly it's all electric dryer. I always felt it was generally frowned upon to dry things outside.

[zoestargrove]

we line dry all summer. It's never been a problem with allergies. I've been thinking of finding a line to hang in doors for the winter.

[brittone2]

We use a drying rack for some things.. but mainly it's all electric dryer. I always felt it was generally frowned upon to dry things outside.
By your neighbors you mean?

Our last house was on 1.3 acres and not really visible from the road, so I felt very comfortable hanging whatever out...sheets, etc (eta: no skivvies flying in the breeze, but I would put them on a drying rack on my deck, which was not visible from my neighbors' decks/yards). In my current (temporary rental) house I'm in a subdivision on 0.72 acres, no HOA, good privacy (mature landscaping bordering property) and no one can see my drying rack out on my deck. Shrug.

[fedoragirl]

I line dry every thing of DD's in summer, winter, all the time. We have a private deck and a screened in porch that allows me this luxury. It's a norm in every country that I've lived in as long as it's not in-your-face kind of line drying.

[misshollygolightly]

I line dry pretty much everything during the summer- sheets, towels, dipes, clothes. We have a fenced-in backyard so I don't worry about "airing our dirty laundry in public" :-)

[WatchingThemGrow]

The house 2 doors down has a washer that was there in 1977 when the current owner moved in. She has never used it! She washes everything by hand and hangs/lays flat to dry. Her friends told this at her funeral Saturday. Can you believe it? NEVER used a washer or a dryer.

[gatorsmom]

The house 2 doors down has a washer that was there in 1977 when the current owner moved in. She has never used it! She washes everything by hand and hangs/lays flat to dry. Her friends told this at her funeral Saturday. Can you believe it? NEVER used a washer or a dryer.

Crazy. Some preferences die hard. My dad's sister about 20 years ago bought 3 wringer-washers because she was told they were no longer being made. She is babying those wash machines because she says she does't want a modern washer. She prefers her wringer-washers and is hoping these 3 last until she dies. I have no idea how she dries her laundry once she's washed it. Probably line-dry, come to think of it. I think they look something like this: http://countrylife.lehmans.com/2009/05/14/wringer-washer/

[WatchingThemGrow]

Crazy. Some preferences die hard. My dad's sister about 20 years ago bought 3 wringer-washers because she was told they were no longer being made. She is babying those wash machines because she says she does't want a modern washer. She prefers her wringer-washers and is hoping these 3 last until she dies. I have no idea how she dries her laundry once she's washed it. Probably line-dry, come to think of it. I think they look something like this: http://countrylife.lehmans.com/2009/05/14/wringer-washer/
Whoa. I've never seen one of those. Seriously, I wonder what is down there in her house. Besides a bunch of smoky stuff... How old is your aunt? This lady was almost 80, a professor of nursing, never married, crazy interesting, but you totally didn't know until her friends shared it all after the fact. I remember her saying she had to dry her clothes inside during pollen season. My house only had a washer when I moved in. It was not a wringer-washer though!

[MoJo]

Line drying outside is totally normal here. Up until this past week, we were line drying everything because the dryer was broken. Even after surgery, I carried a basket of wet clothes up from the basement to hang outside every day unless it was raining, and at least two of the people whose properties border ours do too.

DHs allergies never seemed affected by it--I never even considered it. We live far enough from the cities that we don't notice smog even on advisory days.

Our line was there when we moved in and used before the dryer broke, just not as often. It's largely shielded by shrubs. When the weather's nice, it's pleasant to use, and a great excuse for a few minutes of fresh air.

We also have a very long drying rod on the basement ceiling, but outside is much better!

[gatorsmom]

Whoa. I've never seen one of those. Seriously, I wonder what is down there in her house. Besides a bunch of smoky stuff... How old is your aunt? This lady was almost 80, a professor of nursing, never married, crazy interesting, but you totally didn't know until her friends shared it all after the fact. I remember her saying she had to dry her clothes inside during pollen season. My house only had a washer when I moved in. It was not a wringer-washer though!

No, actually, my aunt is 76 and is a WORK HORSE. Her house is spotless. Her family grew up on a farm where they didn't have electricity until my dad was in highschool. And they only got it then in the barn for the animals- not the house! She just does her laundry that way because she prefers that machine. She also has a dial telephone. It's in mint condition too. She does a lot of things the old fashioned way. I think she is just resistant to change. :)

[mikala]

I have a rack that I use for all of my cloth diapers, I dry them out in the sun as much as possible. Saves on energy and the sun takes out all the stains. If I had more room I'd have a clothesline in a heatbeat.

:yeahthat: Now that it's winter I miss line-drying our diapers in the sun! When it's raining or during the winter we keep the rack inside and line dry with a fan. It's a lot gentler on diapers, bras, sweaters, fleece and other delicate items.

[MommyAllison]

My grandma, mom & sister do. I would if we had a clothesline, but DH is not quite on board...

[MontrealMum]

My Ils do, and their towels are like loofahs. I never realized that that would be the result, but it's seriously painful to stay at their cottage and use their towels. That said, it is a nice smell, but we have too many allergies to do much drying out-of-doors.

We dry most of our clothing on a rack indoors, but because of allergies we do towels and sheets in the dryer.

It's not unusual at all to look down the alleys here - because we're in a big city - and see things on an outside line. Even in winter. Do I need to post the pic of DH in the field in Labrador with his frozen long johns?

[citymama]

We have a line on our back porch and we line dry some clothes (but never towels or sheets - I love my fluffy dried sheets and towels!). All of DD's dresses and tights, DH's tees and dress shirts that aren't dry cleaned, my nursing tanks and tees, and some of DD's nicer tops. Anything with fleece or wool in it.

[BeccaB-D]

I have a huge garden and line dry most of our clothes, sheets, towels, diapers.
I own dryers for when the weather is bad, but most of the time everything is line dried.

Although sometimes my kids 'borrow' an (almost) dry sheet to play with :irked:

[brittone2]

My Ils do, and their towels are like loofahs. I never realized that that would be the result, but it's seriously painful to stay at their cottage and use their towels.

I don't know if they have a dryer available, but you can just air fluff for 10 mins in the dryer and it takes care of the loofa-esque quality they can get when line dried. Even better w/ a dryer ball.

[maestramommy]

Good question. I do now, since we have our own house. I line dry them inside because it's easier to string a line. We also have a couple of clothes racks that I use for diaper covers, delicates, certain types of sport clothing, etc.

But in SoCal I did not because I was afraid of smog. My neighbors did though. It was really too bad because the climate there was perfect for line drying.

[ncat]

I do when its sunny.

BUT the last time I hung the kids sheets out this fall, DH decided to spray our yard. And didn't understand why I insisted on rewashing everything.

[trales]

We do about 9 months per year. I have a great pictures of all the cloth diapers hung out on the line to dry.

All of our neighbors do also. On a hot summer day, backyards are full of drying cloths on lines. I like it.

[vonfirmath]

Life in a Shoe still hangs their clothes up to dry.

[lizzywednesday]

I would if (a) the HOA permitted it and (b) my allergies wouldn't go absolutely ape afterwards.

I do "line dry" things like bras, tights, Spanx and pantyhose.