Drying clothes can be time consuming, calculative and costly, especially on the electric bill. During the holidays it seems like there are more clothes to wash and dry than a normal week. I usually let my dryer go full cycle so I know that the clothes will definitely be dry but I'm going to stop that today. My dryer has three cycles and I tend to use just one. I'm going to select the appropriate cycle and guesstimate how long it will take for the washed loads to dry until it becomes second nature to me. I figured that when I let that one cycle run its coarse the clothes are more than likely dried why waste the time and energy doing that. I could probably at best get two maybe three loads dry for the same amount of time. Surely I'll see that reflected on my next electric bill, what do you think? How do you save energy costs when drying clothes?
Well, I think that it is widely known that appliances like a washer and dryer takes up a lot of energy. The funny part is that my electric bill has been on the down fall and not because of my dryer. It is going down pretty much because of us cutting of the lights during the day and very minimal at night. We also kept the heat off or at a moderate temp in a effort to not skyrocket the bill. Our efforts have worked and hopefully we can get our bill under $100.
I rarely use a dryer only when I have to as I prefer to air them indoors. I have used dryers and they can shrink clothes, but are good for bedlinen and towels. I think the best way to dry things it to take out things that are nearly dry like t shirts and underwear and then let the cycle continue with the other items. That's what I do so then the towels and sheets get maximum hot air and space to dry.
I tend to "guesstimate" the time for different loads as I put them in when I use the dryer, which is as much as anyone in the winter, but not so in the summer. In the summer I like to dry my clothes outside on the clothesline.
When we lived in the UK, because of lack of outdoor space and the persistent rain, we had no choice but to use the dryer. I was never happy about this at all due to the high electricity bill and the waste of energy. But now that we live in Botswana where the sun shines almost every single day, we enjoy hanging our clothes outside on the drying line. The sun is scorching hot so the clothes dry in record time. They also have a much fresher smell
I much prefer to dry my laundry outside. However, I live in the UK so only get to do this between April - September each year. At other times, I dry the laundry on a clothes horse in my spare bedroom. I cannot afford to run the dryer right now - it really does eat electricity. I find that it helps to buy a washing machine with a higher spin speed - this way the clothes come out drier to start with.
I just line dry my clothes because I live in Florida, where it's hot all the time. I only use a dryer during the rainy season and I take the clothes out as soon as they are dry so that I'm not running the dryer any longer than needed.
I had to purchase a new dryer not too long ago, and it has nice settings. You can use it to stop the dryer when clothes are nearly dry, completely dry, etc. For really heavy stuff, I take it out when it's almost dry and hang it up, so the dryer isn't running forever. For most loads, I know how long they will take, so I used the timed drying. If something is still a tiny bit damp when the timer runs out, I just hang it up. It also buzzes at me when it's done, so I don't leave clothes to get wrinkled. Setting the dryer for a few extra minutes to remove wrinkles, because you forgot to get the clothes out, can add up. I know people who always do that. I'm sure it shows on the electric bill.
I don't really think about saving energy when drying clothes. I was taught as a child to only wash and dry a full load though, so that is one sure way to conserve energy. I wash most of my clothes in cold water so that's another thing, though it has nothing to do with using the dryer. I have a lot of other clothes that are either delicate or I treat as if they are that I don't put in the dryer. I have a tripod hanger and once per month I do all the gentile and delicate stuff and hang it to dry.
Just thought of something else - with the delicate stuff I also run it through the spin cycle again in the washer. That way there is less water in the clothing when I hang them to dry. I am also conscious of not overfilling either machine and I don't mix heavy-weight items like towels that take a long time to dry with lighter items that dry quickly, like a pillow case.
I've thought of buying a dried but frankly, I don't have the room for it and I'm not really sure I'd need one anyway. I just put my clothes on a couple of strings I've laid in my balcony and let them dry there naturally, and for no cost at all. The weird part is that it mostly works during the winter as well even at freezing temperatures. I let them out for a day or so, during which they freeze rock hard, but somehow most of the water they contained is gone, and then I move them on a couple of strings in my bathroom. It takes about 24 hours for something like a t-shirt to dry this way, so it's not useful if you always need to have your clothes ready quickly.
Chooseing the correct setting to use when drying clothes not only saves on the bill but it also helps to keep your clothes from being destroyed, using too much heat to dry clothes causes damage to the material which can fade the color of the clothes cause the material to tear or fray quickly. When dryingheavy items like jeans or towels use the higher setting instead of a longer running dryer.
Well I never stopped to consider how much energy my dryer is using. However, I am one of those people who grew up believing that a dryer shouldn't go through the whole cycle unless it has a full or heavy load. If you put in a very small load for whatever given reason its only to be there less then thirty minutes depending on the load and what the item being dried is. As for being without a dryer, that is something I won't do. I have found out from experience that a dryer for me isn't a luxury but a necessity. A few years back our previous dryer went out and we spent a few weeks having to hang clothes up. This led to having clothes and linen that felt a stiff as boards. So, in my house we need our dryer.
To use, or not to use a dryer? For me it all depends on where I live. In recent years, when I lived in a humid, tropical climate with 3-4 months of monsoonal downpour, I invested in a dryer, as my clothes never seemed to properly dry out. Damp clothes are a health hazard on many levels. They invite fungi and mold which can lead to all kinds of complications. These days I live in a very hot and dry place, so drying my clothes on the roof of my house usually only takes half an hour.
