As some of you know, I have
been permanently band from using the laundry machines in our house. Because of
my exile from the laundry room, I have no first hand knowledge about what goes
on in there these days.
But, from my bachelor days
of washing my own clothes and uniforms, I do remember the frustration of the
dryer taking too long to do its job. Dryers cause wasted time because they take
so much longer to do their job than the washing machine does.
I know homemakers are the
all time champions of multi-tasking, but it sure would be great if the washer
and dryer finished at the same time.
I know two ways folks help the dryer keep up pace
with the washing machine.
The First one is to add a
spinner to your list of power tools in the laundry room. Wet clothes are taken
out of the washer and put in a spinner that spins them at very high speed to
get more water out than the washing machine spin cycle does.
Pre-spinning the wet cloths
reduces the time in the dryer by 30 to 50%. The total energy used is lower
because there is less water to dry using heat. The energy hogging heat cycle is
not on as long in the dryer. You spend more on hardware to get better energy
efficiency. You also get more loads of laundry done in a given amount of time. The problem is they are expensive costing several hundreds of dollars. Not an option for most folks who are trying to save money.
The second one is a real energy and cost saver.
Air-dry some or all of the
laundry. Doing your clothes drying using solar and wind power on an outdoor
clothesline will save you time and money. If you are lucky enough to have good
weather and the clean outdoor space, you can save 50 to 75 cents a load by air-drying
your clothes. You get maximum savings by not using the dryer at all. The
savings will show up on your monthly utility bills.
For those who are pressed
for time try this. Take the load of partly dry clothes out of the dryer before
the next load is finished in the washer.
Hang the partly dry laundry
up to finish drying on the line. As I understand it, the best practice includes
shaking out each piece of laundry real hard, before hanging it up.
When the washer is done,
take that load and put in the dryer to start drying. Then load up the washer
for the next load. Repeat until you run out of dirty laundry.
While the last load for the
day completes drying in the dryer, take the other dry laundry down off the
line. Everything will be done in record time.
Have a rainy day plan.
Once you get going with
air-drying the laundry you will need a rainy day plan. To do the air-drying
indoors, in wet weather, you will need an indoor clothesline
One excellent new invention
for drying clothes on hangers in a limited space is the Tibbe-Line. These are a
great way to get the job done either on a permanent clothesline or on a temporary,
laundry day only, line. Hang your wet shirts on non-rusting plastic hangers and
hang them on a Tibbe-Line. Your next and final step is to hang them in the
closet when they are dry.
For more information and
photos check out the Tibbe-Line web site at www.tibbeline.com
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I have been banned from touching the laundry equipment at our house. Being off the laundry detail, I was surprised to hear that you could save energy by using dryer balls. 
I learned a new trick today, who says an old Boomer can’t learn a new trick? I was reading the posts, on the Utilities topic, at 
Electric and gas clothes dryers are energy hogs. They have a motor that uses many kilowatts of power to turn the dryer drum. They also have an electric or gas fired heater that eats up energy at a high rate. The longer the dryer runs the more energy it uses.
Having a traditional gas or electric dryer for backup is helpful and convenient, so don’t be too ready to sell it or give it away. Even if space and time don’t permit you to dry everything outside, any reduction is not only going to show up with a lower utility bill, it will also be good for the environment.
