My One Third Acre

Nature’s Clothes Dryer

Unlike dishwashers that are more energy efficient than hand washing when used full, until recently there is no such thing as an EnergyStar clothes dryer and the ratings agency is not really enthusiastic about them. Electric clothes dryers account for 10-15% of our home energy usage. If you have sunny weather, outdoors is the place; in dry climates dry time can be as short as 1/2 hour.  In less dry and warm places, be creative around your house, the drying clothes can actually put some moisture back into a home being heated with forced air heating.

Americans seem much more enamored of the electric dryers than Europeans who often don’t use them due to space constraints. Those that do use them do so sparingly because of higher energy costs.

While you can find many fine clothes drying rack choices at Ikea, Target, Lowes’s, Ace Hardware you’ll have many more uniques choices if you go online. Do a search on “clothes drying rack” (aka clothes horse) and click on the images for an amazing array of choices, especially those space efficient models that those around the globe have developed over the years.

Here are some that I found intriguing at  Bright Green Ideas. 

While I won’t be giving up my dryer, there certain categories of laundry that I air dry regularly with a combination of hangers (shirts) and racks. Since time is a constraint I am blessed that I usually don’t need to bother with pins (pegs) and that my drying areas (racks on upper balcony, hangers in nearby bathroom, wire shelving near washer/dryer for lingerie). Like all parts of our homes, I am constantly tweaking for a more efficient combination of lines, racks and spaces for our home.

Clothing & Fabrics, Electricity, Energy Wise, Solar | Comments (2)