Hang 'Em Dry Challenge Wrap Up

Well, I certainly went out with a bang in October's Hang 'Em Dry Challenge where you can pledge to line or otherwise air dry all your laundry for the month.

This week has been crazy with a capital C. Between being sick, prepping to film for local TV and crappy weather, I ended up using the dryer for far more than I wanted to. We had a couple days of semi-decent weather, but between the cold and humidity our clothes dried at a glacial pace. Some of the loads I did were bedding that couldn't wait three days to dry.

Total dryer time used: 300 minutes
Total dryer time saved: 180 minutes

I think this last week represents a lot more of the average of how our winter will look like as far as air drying clothes goes. In other words, I'll probably be able to squeak three or four loads in per week where I'm air drying them. The biggest issue overall is really trying to keep the total amount of laundry down (which I'll cover in another post). I don't generate much laundry, but I can't say the same for the rest of the household.

The other big issue has more to do with humidity and lack of heat in the house. It's difficult to dry clothes in the basement when it's in the 50s and 60s with high humidity. The clothes start stinking something terrible and that just means we would have to resort to more intensive cleaning agents, which I'm not willing to do.

So, all in all, I'd say we can safely air dry our laundry at least half of the year. The rest of the year, we'll have to see how it goes.

Total Savings
All in all, we saved about 32 hours of drying time for the month. Since I started doing this challenge at the beginning of August, I would say that I've saved about 100 hours of drying time altogether. That's like running the dryer all day for 4 days straight. Which is ridiculous when you think about it.

How did the challenge go for you?

Hang 'Em Dry Clothing Confessional #4

This weekend wraps up the fourth week of October's Hang 'Em Dry Challenge where you can pledge to line or otherwise air dry all your laundry for the month.

Since I know it's unrealistic to completely line dry all of your laundry on some days, I'm letting you all do a weekly confessional so that, if you do end up caving in and using the dryer, you can confess, get it off your chest and start up again instead of feeling like you're a cheater and just quitting altogether. We all have issues that crop up and sometimes using the dryer is a necessity.

This last week (up through Saturday) was fairly uneventful and, since we had beautiful weather up until the weekend, drying clothes outside was a breeze. I was able to put the clothes out every day except for two days and, as a result, was able to keep the dryer usage down.

Total dryer time used: 70 minutes
Total dryer time saved: 450 minutes (7.5 hours!)

How's the challenge going for you? Feel free to blog and post a link here, or just say how it's going in the comments!

Hang 'Em Dry Clothing Confessional #3

This weekend wraps up the third week of October's Hang 'Em Dry Challenge where you can pledge to line or otherwise air dry all your laundry for the month.

Since I know it's unrealistic to completely line dry all of your laundry on some days, I'm letting you all do a weekly confessional so that, if you do end up caving in and using the dryer, you can confess, get it off your chest and start up again instead of feeling like you're a cheater and just quitting altogether. We all have issues that crop up and sometimes using the dryer is a necessity.

This week we ended up using the drying for a little bit longer at each "fluff" just because it's been relatively cold during the day even though it's been sunny. Mid-week I had my first experience of the weather going from dry to pouring rain and I may have been taking a nap and didn't notice it. So, the clothes that were out there got a good soaking for about 10 minutes before the rain woke me up and I ran out to bring them inside.

Total dryer time used: 50 minutes
Total dryer time saved: 400 minutes (6.5 hours!)

How's the challenge going for you? Feel free to blog and post a link here, or just say how it's going in the comments!

Keeping the crunch out of air dried laundry

The two big questions that have come out of this challenge have been the logistics of effectively air drying laundry as well as how to keep your clothes from getting crunchy.

A lot of these suggestions were made in the comments of other posts, but I thought I'd put them all together in one post for people who are looking to try a solution to the problem.

1. Look at your detergent - If you are using a petroleum based detergent without any kind of fabric softener then it's possible that it's leaving more of a crispy film on it. Try a gentler soap. Regardless of the kind of detergent you are using, the other possible issue could be that you are using too much detergent and not all of it is getting rinsed out.

2. Add a softener - There are natural fabric softeners available, but the most commonly used, and cheap, one is vinegar. Add it to the fabric softener cup or to the load directly as a rinse if you don't have a newer machine.

3. Spring for a little drying time - Some people swear that drying their laundry for 5 minutes before hanging them out to dry helps keep them from being crunchy. I prefer finishing the laundry in the dryer for two reasons - the first is to make sure they are dry (which is hard to do here in rain and humid city) and the second is because it takes out the crunch. If they are already dry, you can just run them on "fluff".

4. Give it a good shake - Sometimes just shaking your clothes out really well before hanging and/or drying them where it's windy so the clothes move around can help prevent stiffness.

Did I miss anything? Any other suggestions?

Hang 'Em Dry Clothing Confessional #2

This weekend wraps up the second week of October's Hang 'Em Dry Challenge where you can pledge to line or otherwise air dry all your laundry for the month.

Since I know it's unrealistic to completely line dry all of your laundry on some days, I'm letting you all do a weekly confessional so that, if you do end up caving in and using the dryer, you can confess, get it off your chest and start up again instead of feeling like you're a cheater and just quitting altogether. We all have issues that crop up and sometimes using the dryer is a necessity.

This week we had a tad of a snafu in that we thought our water heater was leaking. It ended up being something else (the real problem was laughable and I'm not confessing it here :), but needless to say we used a few towels in the process. And, it's been pouring rain so drying has been slow. So, I'm behind on laundry but I haven't used the dryer more than I had planned.

Total dryer time used: 48 minutes
Total dryer time saved: 450 minutes (7.5 hours!)

How's the challenge going for you? Feel free to blog and post a link here, or just say how it's going in the comments!

Tips for air drying clothes indoors

When I started this challenge, a number of people asked me why I was doing it in October when the weather is crappy, rather than during the summer when the weather is perfect for air drying clothes. Well, I did that on purpose. You guys want a challenge, don't you? Where's the challenge in perfect weather? I'm just kidding, of course.

For many Americans, learning a new way of drying clothes that doesn't involve the minute it takes to transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer is a challenge. Sure, we look pathetic to the rest of the world where line drying is de rigueur, but we all have it in our heads that we can't live without a dryer and that just isn't true. Clothes dryers have only been around for the masses for the last 50 years and I would argue that Americans at the turn of the 20th century, working in factories, were a heck of a lot busier than we are today.

There are two issues at play: one is the expectation that you can wear an article of clothing for 10 minutes and it's destined for the laundry bin. Even one day is sufficient. Two days it's starting to get scary and don't even think about wearing something for more than that. Convenience has taught us that clothes are dirty after one wearing. When, for most of us (unless you are a farmer or work in a mine), you could easily get away with another wearing.

The second is that there is no work involved in washing and drying clothes. And that's the expectation we've come to have. Line drying seems insurmountable and the idea that it takes a ton more time to line dry clothes really isn't all that accurate. It takes maybe 5 minutes? Tops. Are you that strapped for time that you can't spend 5 minutes?

Anyway, I'd thought I'd share a few tips for drying clothes inside since people are asking for help. I'll follow-up with a post for how to keep clothes from feeling "crunchy".

First off, if you live in an area where it is rainy and moist most of the year (like we do in Seattle), you're going to have to adapt a few things. The primary complaint is that clothes take too long to dry and they start smelling moldy.

Some of the techniques you can do to prevent this is to:

1. Use a movable rack so that you can move your clothes into the sun/daylight near a window if it does decide to rear its head.

2. Use a movable rack or position your line near a heating source. If you have a wood burning stove, you're in luck. If you have central heating, place it near a heating vent. If you use electrical heat, put it near the baseboard or fan. You get my drift. If it's too cold out to dry your clothes, most likely you are using some heat at least part of the day inside. Or the oven, or some room is going to be warmer than others. Use it.

3. If you don't turn the heat on (stay tuned for this year's Freeze Yer Buns!) then make sure you rotate your clothes on the rack or line. So, if there are any spots that get less airflow, alternate positions. If you use a rack, flip the clothes over so the damp parts are exposed.

4. When in doubt, or desperation, use a space heater or a fan to help with airflow. The electricity used will be far less than using the dryer.

5. If you must use the dryer, dry your clothes for about 5 minutes before "finishing" them on the line. They'll dry faster and have less opportunity for smelling mildewy.

6. If moisture is your problem, try a dehumidifier. It will not only help your clothes, but probably the rest of the house as well. It costs pennies a day to run smaller dehumidifiers. If you really have a humidity problem, look into a hybrid water heater that pulls moisture out of the air to help heat the water.

7. If certain items start smelling funky, try a chlorine free bleach, vinegar rinse or something else to kill the stink next time you wash it. This shouldn't be necessary, but if you feel you need it, give it a try.

Those are my hints and tips for successful indoor drying. When in doubt, don't freak out, just finish drying for 5 minutes in the dryer.

Any other suggestions out there?

Affiliate Links

Here is the rack I use for drying indoors. I place it in front of the heater vent or the propane stove. They are awesome because they fold up for just a few things and expand out for a massive amount of drying space:

Costway Clothes Drying Rack - Foldable 2 level drying rack

Hang 'Em Dry Clothing Confessional

Friday kicked off October's Hang 'Em Dry Challenge where you can pledge to line or otherwise air dry all your laundry for the month.

Since I know it's unrealistic to completely line dry all of your laundry on some days, I'm letting you all do a weekly confessional so that, if you do end up caving in and using the dryer, you can confess, get it off your chest and start up again instead of feeling like you're a cheater and just quitting altogether. We all have issues that crop up and sometimes using the dryer is a necessity.

For example, Wednesday night Emma cried out at 4:30 in the morning yelling, "Mom... Dad... I'm barfing!" Needless to say, once I had my wits about me I soon discovered that Emma had vomited all over her bed. Was I going to forgo using the dryer in the middle of the night in case she needed yet another change of sheets? Hell, no! Fortunately, that was before the challenge began, but it's a good example of what kinds of thing come up.

Anyway, for this first super short confessional (all of two days), I needed to fluff and finish drying a few things that were a tad damp...

Total dryer time: 8 minutes

Yesterday, it was sunny so I got two loads outside, but if it's cloudy out there's no benefit in outside drying and it takes a day and a half for things to dry inside.

How's the challenge going for you? Feel free to blog and post a link here, or just say how it's going in the comments!

Tripod laundry rack winner!

It's not too late to sign up for October's Hang 'Em Dry Challenge where you can pledge to line or otherwise air dry all your laundry for the month.

I'm trying to get at least 100 households to pledge to not use their dryers for the month. If 100 households don't use their dryers for a month it will save ~11,100 pounds of CO2 emissions. That's 5.5 tons of carbon!

If you could tweet or Facebook or otherwise help out I would be much appreciative!

"Join 100 families to save $ and 5.5 tons of CO2 by air drying your laundry in October's Hang Em Dry Challenge: http://tinyurl.com/27khd9a"

You can also help promote the line drying laundry challenge by adding the pledge badge to your blog. The code can be found on the main challenge page.

Now, for the exciting stuff... The winner of the wooden tripod Best Drying Rack is:

Caron of the blog, Itty Corbitty

Congrats Caron!

Please send your mailing info to crunchychickenblog@gmail.com and I'll have it sent to you. Congrats!

PamG in AZ

Okay PamG, you already won one laundry rack, but I appreciate the other entry! Please send your mailing information to crunchychickenblog@gmail.com

Thanks!

Tripod clothes drying rack giveaway!

In anticipation of October's Hang 'Em Dry Challenge, where you can pledge to line dry all of your laundry for the month to save money on utilities as well as reduce your carbon footprint, I have another clothes drying rack to give away! So, if you missed out on the last one, now's your chance to win a rack - this one has a little more utility to it!

If you are having problems with the accordion style drying racks that tend to get wobbly over time, but like the convenience of a rack that you can move inside when the weather starts looking suspicious, then you'll like this tripod style wooden clothes drying rack. It has 24 feet of clothes hanging capacity and, the best part is, it is adjustable to fit any space, even in the corner.

The Best Drying Rack is a U.S. made rack from a small-scale manufacturer and is constructed of maple hardwood and corrosion resistant steel construction (no plastic parts). It sets up quickly and folds up for storage to an 8" round and 27" tall closed rack.

What's also cool is that the top rotates for loading so you don't have to scoot around it to hang your clothes. It's also sturdy enough to dry six pairs of jeans or twelve bath towels at once.

Giveaway!
If you are interested in entering the randomly drawn giveaway (U.S. residents only), please add your name to the comments of this post and check out the challenge to kick-start saving money and reducing your carbon emissions by a thousand pounds of carbon a year or more!

You have until midnight PST Wednesday, September 29th to enter. Good luck!

WindowDry laundry rack winner!

And the winner of the WindowDry Indoor Drying Rack is...

PamG, who stated, "This would sure be a help. I live in a seniors' mobile home park that won't allow clotheslines. (But I sneak and use one sometimes anyway!)"

Go, Pam, you rebel, you!

Please send your mailing info to crunchychickenblog@gmail.com and I'll have it sent to you. Congrats!

For the rest of you, be not depressed. I will be having a different rack giveaway next week for October's Hang 'Em Dry Challenge. Stay tuned!

Indoor laundry drying rack giveaway!

Shortly after I posted the question asking people if they line dried their laundry year round, I got an email from the owner of a business that manufacturers indoor drying racks, who also reads my blog. Interestingly enough, this guy lives quite close to me and wanted to drop one off for me to check out. He uses all sustainable materials and the racks are hand crafted by laid off carpenters. This contrasts from most drying racks in the market in that they are made oversees and shipped over here.

The WindowDry Indoor Drying Rack was developed by the owner out of necessity because the large, bulky rack he was using was continually being knocked down by his 90 pound golden retriever and 4-year-old daughter. He decided to build a rack that could be mounted up and out of the way yet be near or on a window. It was important for the rack to be easily mounted and removed.

His motivation for having the rack on or near a window was twofold: ventilation from outside and solar assistance. One of the first questions people ask after seeing this rack is how much weight does it support using suction cups? According to the website, it supports over 25 pounds (average load of wet laundry weighs 11 lbs), but the owner has tested it with his 36 pound daughter and she lived to tell about it!

Review
I've been using this rack, mounted in our basement bathroom next to the laundry room to handle overflow from our other two racks. It attaches well to the tile and does, indeed, handle quite a few clothes. I can't say that it would hold one load of laundry, but it's great for all the socks, underwear and other, lighter items that I don't want on display in my backyard for the neighbors to see and, more importantly, blowing off in the wind on our other racks.

Even though it's in an area without great airflow, everything dries quickly and it's totally out of the way. There's only one improvement I'd like besides a little larger capacity is that the bottom suction cups don't line up under the top ones. Since I've got it mounted in a tile shower, the top suction cups are attached but the lower two fall on the tile grout and I can't get a great seal. I can't get it to mount anywhere on the tile where all four suctions cups are on tile.

Giveaway!
Other than that, I love the little bugger and I'm excited about the opportunity to give one away to help jump start the Hang 'Em Dry Challenge this October, where you can pledge to air dry all your laundry for one month. One thing that I've learned about successful air drying of laundry is to make sure you have enough hanging space and this little rack holds quite a bit more than it looks.

If you are interested in entering the randomly drawn giveaway (U.S. residents only), please add you name to the comments of this post and check out the challenge. You have until midnight PST Wednesday, September 22nd to enter. Good luck!

Accurate line drying predictions

I'm going to let you in on a little secret of mine. I've been heavily relying on technology for line drying my clothes outside. And, it's not some super duper fancy rack that hangs the clothes by itself. No, it's something on the intarwebs.

If you are planning on letting the sun and the wind help dry your clothes, you're going to need some help in predicting the weather for the day and week in order to plan your laundry accordingly. Since it's nearly impossible to know what the weather is going to do from hour to hour, using some modern technology can help you know when to bring that laundry back inside. That's how I've been planning my laundry for the last few weeks.

What is it already? It's the weather.com hour-by-hour weather report. I've found it to be relatively accurate and it's super helpful to know whether or not it will get sunny and when or whether I should wait to put out my clothes. Since it also tells you what the percent chance of rain it will be, I can hedge my bets that way as well.

For example, the current hourly weather report for my area is rain, followed by sun in the late afternoon, so I know I will be keeping it inside most of the day. But, when there's a break in the weather, I'll know about that too so I can huck it out there for a few hours.

Go check it out. You can thank me later.

If you still haven't signed up for October's Hang 'Em Dry Challenge, where you pledge to air/line dry all your laundry, git on over there and do it!

Hang 'em Dry Challenge

Air or line drying laundry is something that many of us still find challenging, particularly when the convenience of a dryer is mere inches away from the washing machine. In many western countries, few people use a dryer and will air dry year round, regardless of outside temperatures and in spite of a lack of indoor space. They get creative, using indoor racks, and hangers, shower space and whatever nooks and crannies they can find. The excuses we use in the United States just don't fly in other areas of the world.

How do we get over our addiction to drying machines and stop using excuses when, if you get down to it, are really just excuses and not real justifications? What is the real savings, both from a monetary standpoint and a carbon emissions one? One thing I love about air drying laundry is that, after some initial investment in racks or lines, it's free.

Why bother?
Here are some of the benefits (depending on how much laundry you do and whether or not you have to pay coin-operated machines):

• You save $150 or more per year in energy costs or coins
  
• You reduce your carbon emissions by about a thousand pounds or more
  
• You create less wear and tear on your clothes
  
• Air drying eliminates static cling
  
• If you dry outside, the UV light from the sun can help disinfect clothing

The Challenge
The Hang 'em Dry Challenge is a challenge to get you to line dry all of your laundry for the month of October. Preferably, you'll air dry all of your laundry and not use your dryer at all, but, since it's October (and might be moist in your area), if you need to finish off drying a load, that is allowed as long as it doesn't take more than 15 minutes to finish drying it.

Giveaways
As part of this challenge, I'll be doing some fun giveaways, including an indoor and a tripod laundry rack, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Pledge
If you are interested in signing up for this challenge, add your name to the comments of this post. You have a few weeks to get yourselves prepared, but if you don't want to spend much money, invest in an inexpensive clothesline and some clothespins and it shouldn't set you back more than $10.

Help promote!
If you want to put the challenge badge on your blog to help encourage people to start line drying their clothes, just use the following code:

<a href="http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/2010/09/hang-em-dry-challenge.html"><img width: 200px; height: 92px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePLw1j4LrUUEgGyw8RH98IgdIrOUM7PaGRbSEmfL2wIUxKymvhfKdsELipLGwALHvm7P6TI2zWCX3d1uWPs-FDJIhSxPVLRIy9D1Yw-obd5vd1JizEaIPbOK7gjXKfrM3YKkLVnfz8A31/s200/hangemdry2010.jpg" border="0" alt="Hang Em Dry Challenge 2010" /></a>

For more information on line drying laundry, make sure you check out Project Laundry!