How to Use a Clothesline in Winter

Put on a coat and do the laundry.

Clothes dryers wear out your clothing and use 1,800 to 5,000 watts of electricity, costing you money. One way to reduce household costs is to hang your clothes out to dry. Summer breezes and sunny days gently dry your clothes, leaving them smelling fresh and clean, better then any dryer sheet. When winter blows in with freezing days, you still can save energy and reduce your household impact on global warming by hanging your clothes to dry. A few tweaks to line-drying practices and your clothes will be dripping dry year-round.

Things You'll Need

• Clothesline
• Clothes pins
• Wooden clothes racks

Instructions

1. 

   When it's raining or temperatures are below freezing, hang clothes in the garage.

   Hang wet clothing out on the line during the morning hours, if the temperature is above freezing and the sun is shining. Hang the clothing outside on cloudy days when the temperature is above 50 degrees, because this will allow the clothing to dry without freezing. If the clothing is still damp at the end of the day, pop it in the dryer, using the moisture detection setting, to finish drying.

2. 

   Save money by hanging clothes inside in winter.

   String a clothesline in your garage. If you live in a really cold climate, then you can utilize the garage as the next best option to outdoors. On warm days, you can leave the garage door open to catch the winter breezes. On colder days, the garage will be warmer for drying than it is outside. Using the garage is a good way to get around clothesline bans in your neighborhood as well.

3. 

   Hang clothes on racks or pegs in the bathroom.

   Use wooden drying racks on those truly horrid winter days, when you can't hang the clothes in freezing temperatures. Drying racks can be bought at any household goods store and come in all sizes. The added benefit of drying clothes within the house is that the wet clothes will bring your house's humidity level up, preventing itchy winter skin. Lay down a drop cloth or place racks within a tub to contain dripping. Be aware that it will take longer to dry the clothes inside, up to 24 hours.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your hands warmer by wearing rubber gloves.

• If you have arthritis in your hands, hang clothes inside during cold months.

References

• U.S. Department of Energy: Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use
• Wall Street Journal: Clothesline Has Neighbors Bent Out of Shape in Bend
• The Greenest Dollar: How to Line Dry Your Clothes