Question about line drying

**Jasmine** · 12-28-2005, 11:58 PM

I've started line drying our clothes in the basement this week. This is the first time I've ever done this. They dried pretty quickly I thought...overnight in about 12-14 hours to be totally dry.

What I was wondering is...how do you keep away the crunchy feeling? I used fabric softener in the wash. After they were dry, I tossed it all in the dryer for 10 minutes on no heat fluff. They were fine after that but before that they were really stiff. If I have to use the dryer like that every time, that's fine. It's still saving money and my clothes are soft. I'm just wondering...is there a way to avoid that or are crunchy clothes just part of line drying?

**canadian gardener** · 12-29-2005, 12:10 AM

Crunchy is definitely part.

Several things help.

Giving the dry clothes a real quick hard shake, almost snapping them like my son does with a wet dishtowel. Do it before you hang them, but a really good shake after you take them down. Loosens them up.

Popping them back in the dryer for 5 minutes (which is way better than 25 minutes and still saves you a ton of money) and I suggest that for towels and jeans so they are nicer in use if the family complains. Still saving.

or just living with it as part of line drying.

**owiebrain** · 12-29-2005, 02:31 AM

Ditto to everything Margery said.

**SewCrafty** · 12-29-2005, 02:42 AM

Yep I use liquid fabric softner too and shake before I hang up and after, never had a problem.

**homesteadmamma** · 12-29-2005, 08:58 AM

You also get use to it after awhile. It just becomes second nature to dry yourself with a rough towel.

And once you see how much you save, it won't bother you at all.

**Blessed** · 12-29-2005, 09:05 AM

Once you put those clothes on and they are exposed to your body heat, they soften back up.

Edited to add a second thought: Or you could iron them all!

**tbs727** · 12-29-2005, 12:20 PM

I like to put mine in the dryer for 5-10 minutes before I hang them. That gets some of the pet hair off (

) and some of the lint off. Then they hang dry and feel great right off the rack.

**YankeeMom** · 12-29-2005, 03:41 PM

I don't have that problem...we have a water softener, that seems to help A LOT. In the house before, we did not have a water softener (same water though) and the clothes could stand by themselves when I took them off the line

**Jasmine** · 12-29-2005, 10:17 PM

Thanks everyone! I kind of figured it was going to just be something I had to deal with. I tried to shake the clothes wet this afternoon but my arms were tired by the 4th piece. Those things are heavy! DH told me his mom made them wear rough clothes when he was little and he hated it. He'd prefer I tumble them for 5 minutes to soften. That's fine by me since it'll still save and keep a happy household.

**kaykwilts** · 12-30-2005, 07:46 AM

I line dry everything but towels. I like the soft feel of towels and they take to long to line dry in the colder months.

**Michele Annette** · 12-30-2005, 09:49 AM

I like to put mine in the dryer for 5-10 minutes before I hang them. That gets some of the pet hair off ( ) and some of the lint off. Then they hang dry and feel great right off the rack.

I do this too. It works great!