Or if line drying is not practical for you for whatever reason, consider a heat pump dryer as a compromise. It dries by dehumidification instead of heat (it condenses the moisture away and continuously blows dry air at your clothes) and uses a fraction of the energy (to the point that they use the standard North American 120v 15A plug and not the giant 240v one). Most models also don't need to be vented so you won't have a tube full of lint that can catch fire. Technology Connections likened them to accelerated line drying.
this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2025
45 points (97.9% liked)
Simple Living
2665 readers
76 users here now
Live better, with less
Ideas and inspiration for living more simply. A place to share tips on living with less stuff, work, speed, or stress in return for gaining more freedom, time, self-reliance, and joy.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
That's what I have and it's great! No exhaust to waste the hot air, just a water outlet/reservoir. It's maybe a tad slower than a conventions dryer but it still dries an entire load in an hour or less, for way cheaper.
The other factor that makes a massive difference is having a washer with a high speed spin cycle. Mine is 1200 rpm but I've seen up to 1800 rpm. Even 1200 rpm squeezes out way more water than your typically slow top-load machine.
But you use them for much longer... so it might be close to the same maybe?
I didnt do the calculation but someome should.
that works wonders when you live in a hot, dry place. i'm back living in my hometown in northeastern brazil after spending 13 years in southern brazil, which is cold and damp 9 months of the year. since i've arrived i used the dryer only once. but back there it was hard to let them dry out in the air. you either used the dryer or accumulated dirty clothes, up to the point you were left without clean clothes and with a big potential rat nest.
wait how the fuck else are you drying clothes?
Hundreds of what?
Exactly, hundreds of watt.
$ in energy costs, equipment cost, clothing replacement cost
In what amount of time? I don't see a load of laundry costing more than a dollar in energy costs.
How much extra time do you have to spend to save each dollar?
Do you get paid more than 30$ per hour after tax for your free time? If no then spending 2 minutes hanging up clothes would be worth. Nevermind the cost of the dryer.
Small animals. Don't you know how many squirrels & such die each year falling short attempting to jump between buildings?
Units
Line drying makes your clothes last longer too. I do that with all my jeans, towels, hoodies, etc. Basically only use the dryer for cotton socks, underwear, and tshirts.
careful with the summer sun tho. two of my black sweatshirts got a slightly less black side last summer 😅
I’ve literally never hung clothes out to dry without at least one item getting shat on by a bird. Is this not a universal problem?
From age 6 until 18, and age 33 to 45 I've line dried clothes, three seasons a year. I can recall one time a bird pooped on a bed sheet.
Do you live below a pigeon roost or something?
Hang them indoors?
Geese would just destroy everything out of spite because fuck you
That bird was just farting glitter. Rules for thee, not for me?
Wait a few years and the state of US economics will make this problem nonexistent: most Americans wouldn't even have electro-mechanical dryers.
They won't have homes to keep them in.
but they will be happy ... I'm told
Or clothes
I haven't used a dryer in years. I have one but I literally never use it.
I wish I had that kind of time. Takes too long to hang all that stuff.
I wish I had air
Maybe an old pair of Air Jordans would do?
We've never had a dryer, so air drying it is, all the way.
N dlesve your clothese feeling litke hard crusty shit
I think your comment spent too long being tumble dried.
I grew up in poverty wearing air dried clothes every day of my childhood. One of the biggeat things i looked foward to soon as I started living my adult lif ena dpaying own own way was using the dryer like any normal sane person.
I grew up line drying my clothes, and when I bought I house the first improvement we made was installing a clothes line.
If you find clothes and towels stiff after line drying, but there are options to address that issue.