Why not ditch that dryer?

Brucey · 10-30-09, 03:57 PM

Theres a couple threads here mentioning increasing clothes dryer efficiency. I'm not sure I see the point in those. My dryer is the single biggest energy hog in the house, using more electricity than even my central furnace blower (Gas furnace).

It's a huge drain on resources for something that can be completely eliminated with no cost and no more hassle.

It's called hanging your clothes to dry.

In the summer this works well. I honestly dont think its any harder than using a dryer. You hang them anywhere that they can get plenty of air. The end.

With a dryer you put them in the dryer, clean the vent, get one of those fluff things, wait an hour, take the clothes out, fold them. Put them away. In winter I tend to dry in my basement but if I get a lot of clothes I'll put them in the den over top of one of the central heater vents.

Rope, pipe, clothes line, clothes hangar hanging from light fixtures. Anything you can find really works. Hang them up and wait a day. They'll still come out feeling better than the dryer anyway and I"m pretty sure the clothes will last a lot longer on top of everything else. Even more savings.

NiHaoMike · 10-30-09, 05:32 PM

It does make a lot of sense to use natural heat for drying when available, but what about the winter?

In my apartment, I have an old portable dryer (no vent), but I only plan to use it when the room is too cold. Both the portable dryer and the central heat are electric. So if the room needs to be heated, I can run the central heat and lose some energy to duct losses, or I can run the dryer and get dry clothes and no energy lost to duct losses. (I also have a radiator space heater.)

For now, I just use a drying rack. I have found that a small fan can speed up drying. And the evaporative cooling effect is very welcome during the summer.

Daox · 10-30-09, 08:13 PM

I agree Brucey, but some of us have significant others that aren't as willing as the rest of us.

Brucey · 10-31-09, 09:02 AM

Then ditch the her too (:

Nah, I understand that. While mine is fine with line drying I just can't convince other roommates to do it. They want they're clothes dry now and not tomorrow.

I just dont think its any harder to line dry than it is to dry clothes in a dryer. You're doing the same amount of work just in a different order.

As for winter, I use PVC pipe (dont I always?) just hanging along a wall in the den. It's not in the way and in a seldom used room anyway. It's positioned right over a vent to help speed up drying. I suppose it brings some moisture in the air too.

The portable dryer is probably a better idea for an apartment too, but I have to keep the whole house heated for the most part. :/

Piwoslaw · 11-01-09, 02:32 PM

The US is the only place in the world that I have seen laundry dryers, or even know that they exist. In all the other places on the globe a "laundry dryer" means this:

Some houses are large enough to have a spare room or basement with strings for hanging laundry, but compact laundry hangers (ceiling mounted, as in the above picture, or freestanding) are present in almost every home, be it a house or an apartment. Only in the last few years have electric dryers shown up, but they aren't very popular.

As Brucey said, a lot of people want things now, even though they don't really need it that quickly. Why do people need their stuff to dry right away if they have a whole closet of other clothes? Why do they need overnight or 1-day shipping for a book they're not going to read within the next week? Etc.

10-30-09, 03:57 PM	#1
Brucey Lurking Renovator Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: WV Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Why not ditch that dryer? Theres a couple threads here mentioning increasing clothes dryer efficiency. I'm not sure I see the point in those. My dryer is the single biggest energy hog in the house, using more electricity than even my central furnace blower (Gas furnace). It's a huge drain on resources for something that can be completely eliminated with no cost and no more hassle. It's called hanging your clothes to dry. In the summer this works well. I honestly dont think its any harder than using a dryer. You hang them anywhere that they can get plenty of air. The end. With a dryer you put them in the dryer, clean the vent, get one of those fluff things, wait an hour, take the clothes out, fold them. Put them away. In winter I tend to dry in my basement but if I get a lot of clothes I'll put them in the den over top of one of the central heater vents. Rope, pipe, clothes line, clothes hangar hanging from light fixtures. Anything you can find really works. Hang them up and wait a day. They'll still come out feeling better than the dryer anyway and I"m pretty sure the clothes will last a lot longer on top of everything else. Even more savings.

10-30-09, 05:32 PM	#2
NiHaoMike Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,154 Thanks: 14 Thanked 257 Times in 241 Posts	It does make a lot of sense to use natural heat for drying when available, but what about the winter? In my apartment, I have an old portable dryer (no vent), but I only plan to use it when the room is too cold. Both the portable dryer and the central heat are electric. So if the room needs to be heated, I can run the central heat and lose some energy to duct losses, or I can run the dryer and get dry clothes and no energy lost to duct losses. (I also have a radiator space heater.) For now, I just use a drying rack. I have found that a small fan can speed up drying. And the evaporative cooling effect is very welcome during the summer. __________________ To my surprise, shortly after Naomi Wu gave me a bit of fame for making good use of solar power, Allie Moore got really jealous of her...

10-30-09, 08:13 PM	#3
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	I agree Brucey, but some of us have significant others that aren't as willing as the rest of us. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-31-09, 09:02 AM	#4
Brucey Lurking Renovator Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: WV Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Then ditch the her too (: Nah, I understand that. While mine is fine with line drying I just can't convince other roommates to do it. They want they're clothes dry now and not tomorrow. I just dont think its any harder to line dry than it is to dry clothes in a dryer. You're doing the same amount of work just in a different order. As for winter, I use PVC pipe (dont I always?) just hanging along a wall in the den. It's not in the way and in a seldom used room anyway. It's positioned right over a vent to help speed up drying. I suppose it brings some moisture in the air too. The portable dryer is probably a better idea for an apartment too, but I have to keep the whole house heated for the most part. :/ Last edited by Brucey; 10-31-09 at 09:04 AM..

11-01-09, 02:32 PM	#5
Piwoslaw Super Moderator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Warsaw, Poland Posts: 961 Thanks: 188 Thanked 110 Times in 86 Posts	The US is the only place in the world that I have seen laundry dryers, or even know that they exist. In all the other places on the globe a "laundry dryer" means this: Some houses are large enough to have a spare room or basement with strings for hanging laundry, but compact laundry hangers (ceiling mounted, as in the above picture, or freestanding) are present in almost every home, be it a house or an apartment. Only in the last few years have electric dryers shown up, but they aren't very popular. As Brucey said, a lot of people want things now, even though they don't really need it that quickly. Why do people need their stuff to dry right away if they have a whole closet of other clothes? Why do they need overnight or 1-day shipping for a book they're not going to read within the next week? Etc. Last edited by Piwoslaw; 11-01-09 at 02:35 PM..