Solar powered clothes dryer
 

I use my greenhouse as a clothes dryer during the frost free season when I don't keep any plants in it (when the plants are installed, they raise the humidity too high to dry clothes). I only use the greenhouse to overwinter plants and let it bake during the summer to kill off any plant pests. The elevated temps inside the greenhouse on sunny summer days help to lower the humidity, speeding up the drying process, which can be slow with our humid summer weather. The greenhouse also keeps the clothes dry if it rains while they are drying and they are out of sight of any prying eyes that might be offended by a line of underwear flapping in the breeze.

A smaller, purpose-built, version of my greenhouse could be an option for those who can't string up a clothes line outside and/or have too many rainshowers to leave their clothes out drying all day unattended. It would just need a glazed front and top, a black back wall and floor, clothes lines strung inside, and vents high and low to allow a constant flow of sun-heated air to pass through the hanging clothes. With scrounged materials, you could build one for less than the cost of buying a clothes dryer and, beyond maintenance, it would have no operating expenses.

That sounds like a pretty slick idea. Do you have any pictures of yours all setup?

I'd also like to do something like this, but I live in an apartment. What I am concerned about is if the clothes will mildew. I can't see being able to create a greenhouse on my small porch, but perhaps a small enclosed area could be built that would act as a shield to keep others from seeing all the clothing.

I will certainly try this for sure. Thank you for the idea.



I'm just concerened about mildew. How do you avoid it ?

I hang laundry to dry in my basement all year long. I avoid mildew problem by living in an exceptionally dry climate. I probably helps to have a front load washer that spins most of the water out in the first place.

I've never had mildew problems when drying clothes in my greenhouse dispite living in a very humid climate. I hang the clothes out in the morning and when the sun heats it up inside, the humidity drops very low.

I use a greenhouse to dry my clothes because I already have an existing greenhouse, but you don't need a greenhouse to do solar clothes drying. Something like a solar or Trombe wall with south-facing glazing, vents on the top and bottom to allow convective air flow, and enough height and depth to walk inside and hang your clothes is all that is needed.

You could even make it dual purpose with upper and lower vents opening to the living spaces of the house, as well as a separate set of vents opening to the outside. When using it as a clothes dryer, close the vents to the house and open the vents to the outside (unless you want to humidify the house in the winter). When using it as a house heater in the winter, open the vents to the house and close the vents to the outside.