Newbie question about laundry

[materursa]

Sorry for asking such a simple question, but I was wondering what those who don't have dryers do to dry their clothes in the cold weather. Racks near the stove, or something else?
Thanks!
Amanda

[turtlehead]

I hang mine out on the line. They freeze but sublimation works faster than evaporation for us, because the humidity is so low in the winter.


I've read that super cold temps can cause laundry (sheets) to freeze so hard that they break when you try to handle them. I heard this from a friend who lives in Alaska. Our laundry does fine in single digits.

[mistletoad]

We hang ours out too.

[veme]

Outside on a line on a covered porch works well when the temps are above freezing.

If you put your clothes through a hand cranked wringer that will help to dry your clothes faster because it gets the water out better than a washing machine spin cycle.

Racks or clothesline inside works well to, but can get in the way of day to day activities.

veme

[farmer kate]

Hung outside or hung in the basement, where it will dry by the next day. I figure that adds humidity to the dry indoor air, too.

I'm hanging it in the basement now because we live on a hill and it's a sheet of ice, and the one time I actually made it to the clothesline I literally had to hang on to the line or I'd slide down the hill.

farmer kate

[Cindy in NY]

I hang ours in the basement. It takes about 24 hours for things to get dry. We usually have about 2 - 3 feet of snow in the backyard where the clothes lines are so outside drying isn't an option.

[Dutchie]

I hang mine out no matter how cold it is. And if it starts raining I put up a line across the house and the woodstove dries it real quick.

[MullersLaneFarm]

Just be careful when the temps get around 45* for the first time. The honey bees will be out for their 'cleansing' flight. When you have to dump a winter's worth of waste, it's not pretty! It does stain also. So if you're wondering what those little black dots on your laundry is that you can't seem to get out .....

[MikesMate]

I have a dryer, but hardly ever use it. I hang our clothes out on the line and/or use our drying rack beside the wood stove. Just got the drying rack from Lehman's recently, very handy and really sturdy.

[chicken]

I too use a drying rack in the winter near my electric baseboard heater. Also use the dryer for some items in winter. Summer it's all on the line.

[Maura]

During the winter the clothes, even jeans and towels, dry pretty fast on wooden racks. Sheets are too big, though, and I will hang them outside one at a time for a while, then bring them in and toss across my bed to finish drying.

Having a front loader really helps in the drying category. Everything comes out practicly dry.

[ailsaek]

I hang mine in the basement. There is a pole that a former resident hung from the ceiling in our basement that is ten or so feet long, and I hang all the laundry on hangers of one sort or another (I get pretty creative) and it dries in 24 hours or less. On really cold days, when the furnace is running nearly constantly, I can hang out a load or so of laundry in the morning and then fold up most of it in the evening and hang out another load to be dry by morning. (Might as well get some good out of our house's lousy insulation.)

[MoonShine]

I think most things dry pretty well in the winter,but alot of the time,I hang stuff up inside.

[RoseGarden]

I use folding racks too, and I need to get one more, or build one, a big one for sheets and jeans.

In the winter I hang inside on the racks, or if the weather is above freezing and no rain, then out on the covered back porch on the racks. They don't always dry completely outside in the winter, and so I can just scoot the whole rack inside to finish drying overnight by the woodstove. Yeah, they can get in the way sometimes, but it's better than using the dryer.

[dragonfly1113]

I have a dryer but I only use it to get some of the stiffness out of our clothes. I dry my clothes on the line outside when weather permits or I use a clothes rack and a indoor umbrella type clothes line by the wood stove. When i take them off I throw them in the dryer on wrinkle free. They come out soft as if dried the whole time in the dryer. It also helps to remove whatever lint may be on the clothes.

[Jan Doling]

We use drip-dry hangers and then hang the clothes on a line that runs the length of our porch. There is a folding rack in the jacuzzi tub for the underwear.

[miller1911]

I dry my clothing inside on a temporary closeline attached to the rafters in our cabin, although when the weather permittes I hang them outside on the line. In the summertime it hang it all out side.

[sewsilly]

I live in SC and I hang out here year round. If it's super cold or rainy, I wash another day. Dress clothes are hung on hangers and hang inside sometimes, or outside if it's nice. I use a rack inside for sweaters and bras.

[sisterpine]

Up here in the near frozen north we use the clothes line still, no matter how far below zero it is. If I can stand to hang them out wearing gloves etc, out they go. The windier the better cause that also takes out the wrinkles and makes them soft!

[Trixie]

The weather is so changeable here - we usually just have to wait a day or two until it is warmer and dryer.