Air Drying Laundry: Two Fold Savings

With the current cost of energy, the average load of clothes costs about 45 cents per load in a conventional clothes dryer. The convenience of transferring a load of wet clothes from a washer to a dryer and having dry clothes within the hour is nice but the costs can add up.

When I was a kid, my mom set up a nylon line between two large trees and carried our wet clothes outside to dry on the line. When she got her first dryer, I noticed a change in our laundry, the clothes didn't smell as "fresh" and they seemed to wear out quicker adding to the expense of buying new clothes more often.

While air drying can have it's disadvantages...Rain, pollen or kids running through the hanging laundry and pulling it down...The fact remains that you are saving on your power bills with the one time investment of the line and clothespins.

No yard or in an area where line drying is not possible? No problem. A clothes horse, often called a clothes rack or drying rack can be purchased from many retailers. Pricing of a clothes horse is usually based on the material it's made of, usually plastic, wood or metal. It may take a bit longer to dry your clothing, but if you don't mind the wait, you will definitely see the savings.

What does air drying advantages? Your clothing will last longer. Your energy bills will lower. No maintenance cost such as cleaning dryer vents or repairing a broken machine. You may even learn to live without a conventional dryer and make a few bucks by selling your existing dryer.