Does anyone NOT use their dryer?

**FarmerSue** · 05-20-2007, 12:39 PM

My hubby and I finally had some time to put up our clothes line, we only moved 2 years ago! I switched to liquid fabric softener instead of my usual dryer sheets and I'm thinking of challenging myself to a clothes line only summer!
Do you use a lot less liquid softener than the jug calls for. I used about half a cap full and I think I could cut back some more.
Do you have some kind of drying rack in the house too? Canadian summers are so unpredictable and my last load was out all day and still felt a little damp.
Anyone else up for a no dryer summer?

**gmjinok** · 05-20-2007, 12:55 PM

I'll join you! I've already decided to cut back on dryer use quite a bit, but I'm up for attempting to eliminate it altogether for the summer.

We have an old fashioned umbrella-style line in our backyard. I can fit a lot of laundry on it. In the heat of the summer, I can dry a full load in about 20 to 30 minutes (temps near 100 with low humidity).

I've used indoor drying racks in the past with good success, but I don't currently have any. I might have to pick one up.

When it comes to fabric softener, I dilute mine about 50%.

**many houseapes** · 05-20-2007, 01:04 PM

about 1/4 of our backyard is clothesline.lol...I do alot of laundry. I only use the dryer if it is raining or too cold.

**Emerald_Mommy** · 05-20-2007, 02:42 PM

I've used our dryer twice in the past 2 weeks. Once for towels (Philip doesn't like "scratchy" towels) and once for underwear. We're potty training our middle daughter and she went through all her training underwear in 2 days, though she's not usually so bad. I'm really trying to have a dryer free summer. We'll see. I used to have a wooden drying rack inside but it broke and I haven't purchased another.

I don't use fabric softener, although I occasinally use vinegar. I might buy some cheap fabric softener one of these days...

**geckoace** · 05-20-2007, 03:36 PM

i have a secret love affair going on with my clothes dryer LOL so i cant join you but, i skip fabric softner and use vinegar and i only use dryer sheets when i am washing fleece cause i cant stand the static cling

**lukesmama** · 05-20-2007, 03:43 PM

Originally Posted by geckoace

i have a secret love affair going on with my clothes dryer LOL so i cant join you but, i skip fabric softner and use vinegar and i only use dryer sheets when i am washing fleece cause i cant stand the static cling

Me, too! Except I don't use vinegar, either. I've never gotten the whole fabric softener thing. (I have sensitive skin, though, so I prefer non-perfumed clothing.)

Besides, clotheslines are strictly forbidden by our homeowner's association. And our backyard is pretty easy to see from the road, so we'd get turned in for sure.

**freyadog** · 05-20-2007, 04:54 PM

I have two driers one is gas and the other electric(this one still in the packing in garage) and I use neither one.

Barbara

**peanut** · 05-20-2007, 07:55 PM

I'm going to check the garage. I think I have a huge drying rack from a neighbour's move. If I do, I'm in. It means I'll have the drying rack space to hang towels as well as regular clothes. Right now I hang dry everything BUT towels.

**joyofsix** · 05-20-2007, 08:14 PM

Maybe we're insensitive-I don't use anything but a small amount of All in cold water. I don't think I've ever even bought softener. I hang most everything in summer. I also have a drying rack I can use indoors. I do sometimes have to resort to the dryer if it's raining, but it's mostly the line from May to October.

**monkeywrangler71** · 05-20-2007, 08:34 PM

I don't use the dryer, I don't think I've used it at all for at least a year.
I hang everything outside in the summer; in the winter I hang the shirts in the bathroom, the little stuff on an indoor rack near the heating vent, and the sheets, towels and pants outside. If things are a bit damp, I just throw them over a chair after I bring them in. If it rains, I just consider it a free rinse and leave them out, and yes, sometimes they are out there for a looong time.

I've never used fabric softener, but I put vinegar in the rinse.

I try to do one load a day in order to avoid any laundry emergencies that would tempt me into using the dryer, but honestly, at this point I forget that it's even an option.

**mikandmari** · 05-20-2007, 11:00 PM

I actually LOVE to hang clothes on the clothesline! I even refused to look at houses in neighborhoods which restricts this energy-saving activity. I enjoy my yard, the sun I get on my face, and the fresh smell of the clothes.

I think it's easier on the clothes, too, and the whites get whiter. This is my favorite frugal activity, and saves big money. Oh, and like another poster just said, I have 2 dryers, one electric and one gas. They're great for piling stuff on

**FarmerSue** · 05-21-2007, 09:36 AM

That's funny Marianne, great for putting stuff on! Okay then, were have I been?????????? VINEGAR in the rinse?????? I've been on here for a LONG time and I don't think I've ever heard of this! Do you put it in that little cone thing in the middle of the agitator? The same as were the softener goes? Someone has got to fill me in on this please!

**cherrie79** · 05-21-2007, 09:51 AM

Im in! Well after this week...LoL I have been doing alot of spring cleaning and seem to be finding clothes everywhere, but where there suppost to be in the haper. So I want to get these loads done quickly. I will hang what I can, but will use the dryer to hurry things up. After that, I already planned to hang all our clothes outside this summer.

**Grayce** · 05-21-2007, 11:13 AM

I line dry as much as possible. The only thing that I never put on the line is socks and underwear. It's just too fiddly. In the winter I put my clothes on the line in the basement. I will not put towels on the basement line because they take forever to dry. I never use any sort of softner, I don't like wearing smelly clothes. In the summer clothes dry on the line really quickly. If there is a breeze it really cuts down on the scratchiness.