Clotheslines - Natural Drying can help save the planet
Clothesline drying is the next big thing to help save the planet
One simple way for the average person to help lower greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming is to hang your clothes up on a line to dry instead of using dryers. Clothes dryers account for as much as 10 percent of home-energy use in the US. Sounds simple but this issue has many complicated aspects. First of all, most people these days feel too busy to hang laundry. Only 40 or so years ago most people managed to find time to hang clothes, I suspect that as the climate changes and the energy crisis worsens we will need to rethink how we do most everything. Unlike say, installing solar panels or a wind turbine, hanging your clothes on a line is actually possible for the average person. You can do this with only a minor inconvenience - and you can proudly talk to your neighbors about why you are doing this “radical” act! Here is a very useful and thoughtful site that discusses this issue at length.
Sociological aspects like the fact the majority of women now work full-time and there is no one home during the day further complicate the issue. Also, our weekends are jammed full with a thousand chores and obligations more important. But when you think about it, with your clothes on the line you won’t be chained to your machine waiting to put in the next load. It may sound too “new-agey” but the simple act of being outside, doing something simple and stress free can help in getting in touch with nature and your spirit. There are a wide variety of types of clothesline both indoor and outdoor types. Here is one site that has an interesting range of types available.
Another real problem I have with clothes dryers is when I get blasted from dryer vents with the cloying nauseating odor of fabric softeners and detergent when I walk around my urban neighborhood. These odors may give you the illusion “of clean clothes smell”, but are these chemical odors that good for your health and the planet? GreenGuide.com has a great article that explains this and other green laundry information here, they also have an interesting video linked. The high temperatures from dryers might make you feel safer that your clothes are cleaner and more germ free but actually the ultraviolet rays from the sun do a better job in killing off germs and mold.
It is amazing to me that only Florida and Utah have state laws that prevent home owners associations (HOAs) from banning clotheslines. Clotheslines are banned by 85,000 HOAs in California alone. The HOAs rationalize that clothesline drying is associated with poverty and immigrants and this ugly display will reduce home values. I won’ t wax poetic about how beautiful I think clotheslines are with their dancing pants and shirts catching the sun like Zen prayer flags. Or talk about how visually deadening the ticky-tacky sameness of suburban McMansion gated communities are, as that would just unmask my hippie leanings. However I will provide a link to an important clothesline advocacy site, Project laundrylist.org that has a wonderful “right to dry” campaign to address this important issue.
Here is a new link to a wonderful article in today’s (4/13/2007) New York Times about clothes drying.
March 19th, 2007 18:31
Wow! This article is fascinating. Here in New Zealand we ALWAYS hang our clothes out on the line. Using a drier is extremely rare and probably only 1 in 20 households would have one. Those people would only use it if the weather is terrible or if they have many children. It completely perplexes me that some people constantly use unnatural techniques to dry their clothes. I realise that in winter there is probably no other way of drying clothes if it is snowing. But, for other times, all you need to do is hang out your clothes one weekend morning, and bring them in when they’re dry a few hours later. Or, hang your clothes on a rack inside, and they’ll be dry within 3 days. Just imagine how much money you’d save on the energy bill!
March 19th, 2007 21:06
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I wish we could boast the same but sadly for large parts of the United States clothesline drying is becoming a lost art. Maybe when people start worrying more about global warming they will start to reconsider. Or maybe when electric bills start being 4 or 5 times what they are now.
March 19th, 2007 21:10
If carbon taxes were added, and income taxes were reduced to balance it out, then that would influence the behaviour quite a lot. I look forward to my trip to the U.S. in June - it will be an interesting experience.
March 19th, 2007 23:05
[...] Original post by greatgreengadgets.com [...]
February 7th, 2008 09:45
[...] to Great Green Gadgets for source info for this episode. Due to a ton of spam, comments have been turned off here, [...]
February 24th, 2008 03:05
[...] al enjuagar, y en cuanto a secar en tendal, es en realidad un tremendo ahorro de energía y es una manera sencilla pero significativa de reducir la emisión de gases invenadero , y bueno, tal vez lavar no sea fácil, pero vivir de manera responsable si puede [...]
April 3rd, 2009 01:42
[...] less. And there’s nothing that smells like fresh, line-dried clothing. Moreover, it’s environmentally responsible and on a cold day, if you don’t have a dryer, then even a winter sun is warmer than a frigid [...]
May 7th, 2009 09:53
[...] Save the Planet With A Green PC? « Teen Tech GuruEnergy Circle: How To Make Your Home More Energy Efficient (And Save Money Too) | Greener.IdealGreen Tips: Conserving Water and How to save on your water bill. - Green Not Mean10 easy things you can do to help save the planet | Great Lakes Green PagesA Tough Economy or Chance To Economise? | Climate Action Nowmoney saving expert | http://www.spendingless.org5 Daily Things You Can Do to Save the Planet | Peachy GreenEarth Day Money-Saving Tips Help Save the Planet, Too — BIG GREEN PURSE by Diane MacEachern Says Consumers Can Afford to Live and Shop GreenThree simple tips to save energy and money in winter | Green Thinking for the Average JoeClotheslines - Natural Drying can help save the planet | greatgreengadgets.com [...]