Line drying laundry now that fall is here and winter is coming?

[babysteps]

I took the baby step (toward self sufficency) of giving up the dryer this summer. I want to keep up the practice of line drying the clothes. Any advice now that the cool weather is here and the freezing weather will be here in two months?! The wood stove should be instuled in the next two weeks, that should help some inside drying.

We have limited space so we can't hang a line in a basement.

Would love to hear your suggestions and advice.

Thanks,
babysteps

[ebarj1098]

I've seen the Amish with clothes outside on a sunny winter day. I also know they had a folding rack that was put next to the wood stove. Other than that...?

[wormlady]

I have 2 folding wooden drying racks that I set up next to the woodstove when needed.
I also put things like shirts and dresses on hangers and hang them on my (shower) curtain rod.
In our furnace room there is also a rod and I will hang things in there.
The wooden drying racks fit nicely in the tub and I have toyed with the idea of perching one on top of the fridge overnight to take advantage of the warm air there.

[Carol K]

I'm going back a long way but I remember as a kid in England that my Auntie had some sort of wooden rack that she would put clothes on and then it had a pulley system and she would raise it up and the laundry would be up in the air at ceiling height. Not pretty I guess, but heat rises and maybe that was the theory behind it.

Carol K

[Charleen]

We have a couple of wooden folding drying racks. Our bathroom is usually warm, so I set one inside the tub to get it out of the way. A smaller one sets next to the kitchen wood stove. Another sets in the basement next to the wood furnace. I will hang clothes outside on a sunny day, especially if it's windy. The moisture in the clothes will still evaporate and if they're still damp (along the seams or pockets) it won't take long to completely dry once they're in the house.

[RedEarth]

I have found that you can get whites VERY white in the winter, so that's one advantage to continuing your line drying. I think if they freeze that helps with whiteness somehow, and maybe sun reflecting off snow? It can take a little more work to keep up the line drying, but it can definitely be done. Good luck!

Jessica

[canfossi]

I dry my clothes outside during winter for a while, then bring them inside to finish drying on a rack in front of the woodstove. It takes longer but saves money and electricity.

[Deb&Al]

we have no dryer, by choice, but do have a basement, although it's unheated. we dry our clothes there in the winter, but they do take longer.

now, our mennonite neighbors have a clothesline running from their back porch to the barn, and they move it by some kind of pully system. throughout the whole winter, unless it's snowing, or raining, i see laundry hanging out practically every other day.

you probably could continue to hang stuff outside for a while, as long as it's not raining or snowing.

debie

[MountainMama]

I have a wooden drying rack I got at K-Mart for $9.99. It isn't very sturdy but does a great job when I put it in the sunlight in my kitchen under my ceiling fan. I just cut it on high and turn the clothes in about an hour and they don't take long to dry and are not wrinkled. I do this all winter and it works great. I move it in front of the fire place for harder to dry items in the winter.

I consider this one of my best investments. My family doesn't like it when I block the kitchen so I try to do this when they are at work and school.

MountainMama

[ET1 SS]

While I was stationed in Scotland, everyone had clotheslines hung from their kitchen ceilings. They raised and lowered them using pulleys, tied off to the walls.

Kitchen ceilings are always very high, and they get heated during cooking.

If you stay in any B&B in Scotland, during the mornings as you sit at the kitchen table eating scones, you will likely be dripped on.

[diane]

I wash a load every day in the winter. I hang them out, weather permitting, or put on a wooden rack next to the woodstove if it is raining or snowing. If I just wash one load and get it right out, they will usually dry outside......but I might have to "finish off" the dampness next to the stove if there is no sun or wind. On a nice sunny day with a breeze I will wash everything that is dirty and hang it out. I had a friend who had a cute old wooden ladder that hung from the ceiling in front of a south window and she hung things on hangers from the rungs. She had hanging plants on each end. I am thinking that when the addition is done and the wood cookstove is installed that I will do that in my south windows next to the stove.

[dare2b]

Originally Posted by diane

. . . a cute old wooden ladder that hung from the ceiling in front of a south window and she hung things on hangers from the rungs. She had hanging plants on each end. . . .

So glad you mentioned this. Some roofers and painters left a couple of broken ladders behind when they finished repairing this house and I have cussed them ever since for leaving their junk behind. Now it is no longer junk!!! Hooray! I can hang them (the ladders, not the painters and roofers, haha) from the ceiling of the carport and dry my clothes out there when it's raining. Yippee!

[Danaus29]

I hang my laundry out (weather permitting, not snowing or raining) year round. The worst part about hanging clothes out in cold weather is the numbness in my frozen hands. If you use fabric softener even jeans shouldn't be too stiff. I don't use fabric softener in the towels so 1/2 cup baking soda goes in the rinse water, seems to help with the stiffness. Use vinegar to wipe down your clothesline first, supposedly keeps things from freezing to the line. My lines are plastic or vinyl so things don't freeze to the lines anyway.

[bugstabber]

My husband says his aunt always dried clothes outside (in Minn) year round. After the clothes were outside on the line for awhile she would bring them in and hang them on clothes racks to finish drying. We dried clothes indoors for a couple winters when the house we rented had no electric hookup for our dryer. I used wire hangers and clothes pins to hang up the clothes, several of the door ways had wooden rods for curtains instead of doors.

[babysteps]

These are wonderful tips. There is no shortage of knowledge and help here.

You've encouraged me. I'm going to really try and keep my dryer dormant. As I sit here it is raining. I left my towels out on the line last night (ugh they were already dry!) Oh, well I'll will leave them out today and perhaps they will dry and if not I'll bring them inside and try some of your tricks.

I do have a drying rack from Walmart, but the darn thing has been used so much it is ready to fall apart. Anyone know a good source for sturdy wooden drying racks? I do also hang things on hangers inside. Now however, I'm going to try drying more outside all winter long. I'm in zone 6 so we could have good days of warm weather (35 degrees and above) until Feb. 1.

I know several people have said that your dryer is a big drain on your electric bill, so if we can really, really, limit our use we will begin to save a little more. Can't wait until our woodstove is up and running! That will quick dry some things. Could use it today to dry out my rain soaked towels.

Thanks for responding. babysteps

[nodak3]

Lehman's Hardware (online) is the best source of racks. We got our pulleys from wally world, and did pulley lines off the back porch. We might get two feet of snow overnight, but if it is sunny I can still dry the clothes outside!

[katlupe]

A good quality wooden drying rack can usually be purchased from a Mennonite or Amish store. I plan on buying one from my local Mennonite store, I eye it every time I go in there. I had many of the others and they usually bite the dust.

I don't have a washer or dryer, and haven't for over 6 years. I do have a small line (made with baling twine) above the hearth behind my woodstove. I hang clothes out and then when they are almost dry, I hang them there and upstairs. Upstairs, I have a unfinished bedroom with those high ceilings (the roof) and my chimney goes through there so it's warm up there. My cookstove chimney goes up there too.

When the clothes are frozen, I just bring them in and set them in the bathtub till they thaw then hang them.

[buck_1one]

Here is my two cents. I haven't had a drier in almost 6 years and never miss it. I have eye bolts screwed into the studs of the walls just below celing level, I ran line between the eye bolts and did this by the wood stove. I do wash hang them up and go to bed. When I wake in the morning the wash is dry and the house smells like fresh dried wash. The lines are right against the celing so no one sees them. It looks a little "hickish" when the wash is up but if you hang it before bed and take it down in the morning no one knows the difference. A big plus is putting on nice warm clothes in the morning.

Buck

[Misty]

I remember my mom hanging laundry all year round outside. I remember them stiff and cold, but can't remember if they ever dried or not.

[vtfarma]

That's what woodstoves are for. the air is dry inside in the winter even though we have a pan full of water on the stove. I hang the clothes on hangers and have places down cellar and up around the woodstove to hang. My neighbor hangs her clothes out on her porch all year round. She is pushing 90 and whether it is icy or hot she is out there hanging her clothes. I keep telling dh that is what I want to set up and he just smiles!