Thanks.
S
And it could be both!
For most items, a few hours on a somewhat sunny day suffice. Clothes
will dry fine in cold weather as long as you have some sun. A breeze helps.
Heavy weight items take longer. The only killer is damp/wet weather.
If I'm doing several loads, I'm regularly taking items off the line
that I had put on earlier.
Jeff
>
> Thanks.
>
> S
>
>
Cotton can be especially hard to dry because it's hydrophilic.
Depending on the relative humidity, it may not be completely dry in
several hours. If you have to finish drying with a few minutes in a
dryer, hanging clothes on the line first still saves energy and wear on
the clothes.
The other posters mentioned a broad variation of outdoor drying time
and my experience is the same. I have been hanging up my clothes to
dry as pften as possible for over 35 years. I even have a couple of
lengths of short clothesline in the basement for haning things up in
the winter. It all depends on the humidity. I live in an area where
there is a significant Amish polulation and they hang their clothes
out year 'round! One word of caution (and I find this incredibly
amusing in this day of energy conservation): some neighborhoods/
developments have what are variously known as "deed restrictions" or
"deed covenants." If you have one of the aforementioned existing on
your property, you may be in for some civil action from your
neighbors. Other typical deed restricitons are: No parking motorhomes
or trailers in your yard; none of those small steel, utility sheds; or
no cars regularly parked in your driveway (all of them have to be in
the garage). Good luck!
Where do you live, what is your humidity and temperature like?
Here in California where it doesn't rain all summer and it gets very
hot, I tend to hang laundry in the evening and take it down at about 10
am. The evening heat and breezes dry it but don't put in wrinkles, and
the sun isn't on it so long that it starts fading it.
If you have dry heat, which you might not if it rains in the summer
where you live, your laundry will dry very fast.
If it is 80s where you are and breezy, your laundry will dry before it
rains at night.
> VERY approximately how long does it take to dry regular clothes on the line?
Varys with the weather. They can dry in a lot less than
an hour when its over 110F with a strong hot dry wind.
I never wash when it looks like it might rain and even in winter, its always
dry by the time it starts to cool off in the later afternoon, with the wash hung
out first thing, as soon as the sun has come up outside so its warm enough.
> I am having my husband install a clothesline to lessen our reliance on the dryer. I want to know if it is nice in the
> am, but going to be rainy in the pm, does it make sense to put the clothes out?
In the summer, yes. Not in the winter.
I hang all my laundry to dry in my unfinished basement. Where I live, it's considered almost odd not
to "finish" your basement, but ours is much more useful as is. I have four collapsible drying racks, one
long rope and two short ones, plus a couple of PVC pipes and three old-fashioned one-piece metal
towel racks attached to the bottom of the floor joists above, on which I hang plastic hangers. I can
hang five or six loads up at the same time (for a family of four).
In the summer, I open all the windows down there, and the clothes smell like they were outside in the
breeze. In the winter, the furnace keeps it so dry down there that the clothes dry overnight, and
never get musty. BTW, the house came with a dryer.
Years ago, when we lived in an apartment before and shortly after the kids were born, I got really
creative. We couldn't afford cable, so we had a large outdoor VHF/UHF antenna attached to the
ceiling of our bedroom (odd looks from visitors who weren't used to it, but good reception on the
second floor!), and I used to hang lightweight laundry like dress shirts on it.
In the living room, a previous tenant had left two hooks in the ceiling for plants, and I tied string with
a loop at the bottom to each hook and suspended my broom between them, to hang hangers on.
Plus, of course, the first collapsible drying rack.
J.
> VERY approximately how long does it take to dry regular clothes on the line?
Strong hour when its over 110f with a strong hour when its over 110f
with than an dry in a lot dry with a strong hour when its over 110f with
a lot dry with a strong hour when its over 110f wind. Varys wind. Varys
with the weeather.
Winter wash when in winter wash hung outside sun has so its always dry
by the later, it starts always dry by the soon, winternoon and ever wash
hung outside sun has so it looks like its wash when in the warm enough.
I never after, it starts always dry by the wash hung outside so it looks
like it looks like it might rain thing, as soon, with thing, as the
later after afternoon, winter wash when in winter, it might rain the
laternoon as cool off in the later, it looks like.
> I am having my husband install a clothesline to lessen our reliance on the dryer. I want to know if it is nice in the
> am, but going to be rainy in the pm, does it make sense to put the clothes out?
The winter. In the winter. In the summer, yes. Not in the summer, yes.
Not in thee.
The was a lawsuit by a homeowner against restrictions. Based on
energy conservation the EPA made restrictions against clothlines
illegal.
Some things like my bed sheets dry in an hour or two. Bath towels
take several hours even under full sun.
Thanks all!
Not if you're not going to be home to whip them off the line in time.
How about being selective, and just hang the things which a dryer
won't 'enhance', like dishcloths.
Tee shirts? I want 'em outta the DRY-er.
Some things should never go in a dryer - consider a tension rod over
the bathtub where these items can drip dry.
Here in the central valley of the West Coast in the USA where
temperatures reach 90+ degrees by 11AM (and very low humidity), I seem
to recall about 2-4 hours drying time for a basic T-shirt. Jeans
would take a bit longer. And I'm sure it would also depend on how
well your washer "wrings" out the clothes.
That's definitely true. Basically the neighbors don't want to see
your hanging linens above the fence. On the same subject, my mom
lived in a condo community where you couldn't park if you had a pickup
truck. My brother had an S-10 he'd have to park out on the street.
Of course the HOA came up with this back when regular people had cars
or station wagons, "trucks" were for plumbers and carpenters. I
certainly hope that got changed seeing as how average families own
trucks and SUV's.
But they do smell great when hung out to dry.
Jan
Learn something new every day
As long as you are learning, you are living
When you stop learning, you start dying
Pop jeans in your trunk on a hot day - no fading from the sun and
will def. save money.
and where does the evaporated water go? to rust your trunk hood?