Drying our clothes is something everyone does. But of course big business makes this process much more complicated than it should be. In most countries, people simply hang out clothes to dry in the sun, something that you can do in summer everywhere. In some areas of the US, states actually ban people from drying their clothes outdoors, as it makes gardens look ‘ugly!’ But for colder days, there are other methods. Let’s look at all of them.
Wild & Stone Laundry Pegs are made from bamboo and can also be used to seal food and hang pictures. Sold in zero waste packaging, each pack has 20 pegs that can be composted (just remove the spring). Store these pegs in a ventilated basket or cloth bag. Store inside (to prevent mould).
If you dry your clothes outside, ideally use a retractable washing line that fits flush to the wall. This is safer than trailing wires from rotary lines (stow them away after use, to stop strangulation hazards for pets and children). Laundry Mac is like an overcoat for clothes on rotary driers, only works for ‘vertical rain’.
Drying Your Clothes Inside
If you dry your clothes inside, only do so in wet rooms (drying clothes on radiators is a fire hazard, and can cause mould in dry rooms).
The ‘damp smell’ comes from clothes taking too long to dry, so open windows if safe to do to allow air ventilation, and use a dehumidifier if need be. Electric clothes rails are one option, they work fast and take far less energy than a tumble drier. Lakeland has a good selection of clothes horses and air-dryers, and these are a one-time purchase, that saves money long-term.
Their Dry Soon range blows hot air into a bag to dry your clothes, and runs quietly to dry up to 12 items at a time. It is gentler on fabrics than a tumble dryer and faster than an electric clothes airer. You hang clothes inside it, zip it up and switch it on. Obviously keep it safely away from pets and children and keep supervised, but the clothes are dried at an affordable price and have few creases, meaning little ironing is needed.
If you use one, register tumble dryers to be notified of faults and never leave unsupervised. Keep tumble driers in good order and remove lint after each use. Never ‘donate’ lint (or human hair or pet fur) to garden birds as all can harm – birds can make their own nests, without our help).
Check filter after each load, and call for help if it feels hotter, takes longer to dry or the flapper on vent hood remains closed. Never put rags used for flammable liquids in driers (soak linseed rags in water). Morus Zero dries at lower temperatures in less time.
Lifetime stainless steel clothes pegs are unbreakable and can be kept outdoors, with no rust or stains on laundry, no more picking up springs and bits of broken pegs. Made by a family, you can drive a car over these and they won’t break. Heat and frost resistant, with a unique solid one-piece springless forced construction and a strong grip to hold heavy wet clothes securely, and easy to hold. And you can recycle them on.
