On clotheslines

On clotheslines

08 Jun 2005

Got questions about the environment? Ask Umbra.

Dear Umbra,

We would like to install a clothesline this summer to take advantage of the few months of sun that we get here in Oregon. Any advice on the best kind, and how to keep air-dried clothes from feeling like cardboard?

German Whitley
Philomath, Ore.

Ask Umbra continues below

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Dearest German,

Excellent. If your power supplier is, as I suspect, Consumers Power Inc. in Philomath, you are paying about 7 cents per kilowatt-hour; their handy electricity calculator says drying five loads of laundry a week is costing you $56 per year. So, besides reducing demand on the electric grid, drying your clothes outside will save you money.

They call me the launderer.

Once you've made the decision to line dry, most of the rest of your choices surround utility, cost, and aesthetics. The No. 1 consideration must be your outdoor space: its dimensions, location, and availability of line-stringing spots. You must choose between a plain old line strung between two points (via the shortest distance, of course) and a freestanding umbrella-type folding clothesline.

Check out Project Laundry List for shopping tips and links. The classic clothesline (with hooks, about $10) usually comes in cotton, cotton/poly, nylon-coated wire, or vinyl-coated wire. Here is where one eco-tip comes in: no vinyl, and that's final.

If you have a small space or a wide space with no contact points, an umbrella-type line -- which costs about $55 -- might be best. These can be folded up and kept in the garage during the rainy season, and you may get more linear drying feet in your particular alfresco zone.

Oh, crunchy dungarees are the worst. Some suggestions for reducing stiffness: use less detergent (a good idea in any case), snap out the wrinkles when hanging the clothes, hang in a partially shady spot, hang on windy days (see if you can set up your system to take advantage of prevailing winds), and position clothes with the heavy part on the bottom (e.g., pants with belt loops down).

Finally, for ultimate laundry efficiency: think about moving to the desert.

Freshly,
Umbra

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the environment -- but first check out her FAQs!

The claims made in this column may not reflect the views of this magazine. Neither the magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise or safe. Please use this column at your own risk.

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

Comments: (9 comments)

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string theory

I use a clothes line whenever possible - but like you don't like the stiffness of the clothes after their being dried in the sun - my answer is when I bring them in I simply throw them in the dryer for a few minutes. This fluffs them up and uses very little power. Or just wear your "hair shirt"!

by david a liddle at 5:26 PM on 08 Jun 2005

Basements work too

I'm living in Ketchikan, Alaska, where rain is measured in feet, not inches. An outdoor clothesline is a dream, a fantasy never to be. However, an indoor clothesline works wonders, and probably does anywhere someone has some extra indoor space. Plus, the cardboard clothing effect is greatly reduced.

by pjsmartin at 6:15 PM on 08 Jun 2005

Number 1 consideration?

The No. 1 consideration must be your outdoor space: its dimensions, location, and availability of line-stringing spots.

Probably your number one consideration should be legality. Many municipalities and homeowners associations have rules against visible clotheslines.

by pansauce at 7:16 PM on 08 Jun 2005

I grew up with clothes lines!!!

Hey Being a Brit it's kind of in your genes to use a clothesline ALL year round. I too live in the Pacific NW where it rains more than in Blighty...yep it does I spoke to my Dad today and it's in the 70'-80's over there!! During the winter and the rain my Mum would string a never ending clothes line under our carport and our clothes would hang out there all day. Come the evening they would be transfered into the house and our stock pile of coat hangers would come out and everything from our undies to shirts were pegged or hung over the hangers. The hangers were then hung over door frames, heaters, hooks, etc. in fact pretty much anywhere inside the house where they would stay. Sometimes I felt like I lived in a Chinese laundrey, but when your dont poscess a drier you have to improvise the best you can. In fact it was not till 1990 when I came to the States that I met these energy consuming things you call driers!! I do pocess a drier but if I can get away without using it then I do, I have a indoor clothes horse and an outside whirly drier (we call them that as they whirl around in the wind.) A couple of years ago I spoke to PUD regarding my energy consumption, and they said that compared to most families of four we use a 3rd less energy than the average family. My Mum was born in 1929 and went through rationing and living in London in the 2nd world war, she nagged at us if we walked out of a room and left a single light bulb on...I now do the same with my family, I guess it's all what you grew up with!!!

by sproglet at 8:44 PM on 08 Jun 2005

Clothesline fanatic

Despite being a resident of Wonderfully raindrenched Copenhagen - Salty'n'Soaked Queen of the sea - I must profess to being a clothesline fanatic. Nothing quite beats the pleasure of going to sleep in linen that smells ever so nice after being dryed on a garden clothesline.
As for the cardboardiness of the clothes a neat trick is to add a little vinegar to the washingmachine during the last rinsing cycle. This also eliminates the need for fabric softener, a nasty chemical cocktail for the aquatic environment and allergic humans alike.
The recreational value of the garden can also profit from a clothesline arrangement with two poles and a rope. This can, if used only in times of total vacancy on the clothesline, be a great football - that is soccer to you - goal.

by Mai at 3:30 AM on 09 Jun 2005

drippy drip drip

air drying is totally the way to go! the only things i put in the drier ever are my sheets and bath towels, and the occasional item covered with cat hair. two plusses that haven't been mentioned are: drying your clothes inside helps humidify your environment in the winter and cool your environment in the summer (yay, latent heat!); also it's generally better for your clothes (less wear and tear). of course, if you haul your clothes to the laundromat, you dry them there because, well, water is heavy.

also, it should be mentioned that natural gas is much better than electric for driers as with most other appliances.

by mihan at 12:16 PM on 09 Jun 2005

Air drying

I too grew up in the UK and so have always air dried clothes. Now I live in Canada so its a bit tricky in the winter, but I air dry inside the house when I can (you need to be careful to do this in a well-ventilated area otherwise you can get mould problems).

I was going to mention the white vinegar in the rinse but someone got there before me - in addition to softening clothes it also is handy at getting rid of lint (I know about lint, I have 2 dogs). You only need to use about 1/4 cup per load.

Lastly, I'm going to see if I can get one of these devices, they look rather good. http://www.shielingholidays.co.uk/products.htm

by Snowsurvivor at 4:17 PM on 09 Jun 2005

I am an environmental newbie

Why no vinyl?

by Amanda Elizabeth at 8:11 PM on 09 Jun 2005

Wiki Page on Clotheslines and Drying Rack Options

I'm a student at Pomona College in Claremont, California and recently spent a good amount of time looking into the various clothesline and drying rack options since Pomona is going to purchase some for student use and I wanted to get the best available racks for us. (Umbra actually helped me get started. See: http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2008/02/25/index.html)

In my research, I was shocked to find that there is NO good website explaining all the different clotheslines and drying rack options, so I made my own! It's a wiki page on the Tip the Planet sustainable living wiki that ANYONE CAN EDIT. You can check it out here: http://www.tiptheplanet.com/index.php?title=Air_dry_washi ...

I'm trying to spread the word so that the site becomes a clearing house for drying rack information, and people have to spend less time scouring the web for the best products. Have a look, share it with your friends, and by all means add your wisdom!

Take care,
Chelsea

by ChelseaH at 3:09 PM on 28 May 2008

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String Theory