Rick a burlap bag and a brick will solve your problem at the source unless it's your wife's cat.fossil said:
Ed
Indoor clothes drying - can/will it work?
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Ed
We dry our clothes in the boiler/laundry room which is located just outside the rec-room where the insert is located. That stuff drys in no time flat.
Never found humidity to be a problem, matter of fact, when the temp outside drops below freezing, I bring the portable humidifier downstairs and let it run to help keep the humidity up to around 40%.
Never found humidity to be a problem, matter of fact, when the temp outside drops below freezing, I bring the portable humidifier downstairs and let it run to help keep the humidity up to around 40%.
Well, "fossil", I don't have any cat-puke stains on my carpets. I don't have any cats and my floors are concrete.
Booogh!
Booogh!
Over 30 years ago we got a folding metal cloths rack...it's about 10' from the stove. Does the job well, folds up so is easily hidden for company and adds much need moisture to the air. The cloths drier is rarely used in stove season so I'm sure $ are saved...how much I dunno. The bigger your family the more you would save I guess.
It does work well. I have 3 wooden racks and we dry clothes everyday. We do a load everyday and set them up before we leave for work. They will dry fast if you give them a litte room between each piece. I also have a fan running to move the cool air into the stove room anyway so thats a big help too. the clothes do come out very stiff, but oh well. With 3 girls at home they seem to always have differnt clothes on, and they our a big help putting the cloth on the racks. My little one has to do the whites, it is easy for her but a pain for us. The only time our dryer runs is when its to warm to have the stove running and to cold to have them outside. I hope this helps
Chutes, read the labels. The ingredient list on the bottle of Cuddle Soft says "contains biodegradable fabric softener ingredients(cationic)".
Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfactant
Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfactant
Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:
Right. As I mentioned, I do have a "green" alternative for liquid fabric softener. My last question was about the effectiveness of liquid fabric softener for those that line dry, as I've only ever used dryer sheets. Regarding the "stiffness" that folks on this board have mentioned, is that largely eliminated by the use of a liquid fabric softener? I guess I'm about to find out, since I've installed a retractable clothes line today and will be drying some clothes tomorrow when kids are at school.
fossil said:
Concrete cats are heavy to pick up. These would be pretty nice while sitting by the wood stove and you could hang them out to dry. http://www.flickr.com/photos/20624555@N00/2234807290/
Chutes, if you've ever experienced line dried clothes, that's what we're talking about. It's just not going to be as "fluffly" as the dryer.
Think of line dried sheets.
Think of line dried sheets.
chutes said:
Yes.. I do.. Not all my clothes, but my flannel jacket's I use for work, which take a long time to dry in the drier. Also it puts moisture back into the house.
We dry indoors all winter and in bad weather. Saves money and the items smell fresh when we hang them outside to dry in the summer. The bad news is that I can't blame the drier for shrinking my pants but the trade off is worth it. Now I can afford new pants.
Ed
Ed
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I rarely use my electric dryer.
I have a front load washer which seems to do a better wringing out job than the top loader did. I don't think it cleans any bettter, though.
I have one of those square out door clothes line on a pole with a couple dozen three foot lines on it.
I also have a loooooong closet rod in the laundry room and that room has two windows that used to have curtains, now I just drape my socks over them.
Some stuff dries in hours in the Winter, inside and out.
Sometimes in the Winter my white thick cotton towels get a litle stiff, like they were ironed.
Couldn't be though because I don't have an ironing board.
In the Winter I'll do my underclothes and sheets in the dryer, but it's a electric and I vent inside.
Every now and then I'll forget stuff outside and they get an extra rinse.
I have a front load washer which seems to do a better wringing out job than the top loader did. I don't think it cleans any bettter, though.
I have one of those square out door clothes line on a pole with a couple dozen three foot lines on it.
I also have a loooooong closet rod in the laundry room and that room has two windows that used to have curtains, now I just drape my socks over them.
Some stuff dries in hours in the Winter, inside and out.
Sometimes in the Winter my white thick cotton towels get a litle stiff, like they were ironed.
Couldn't be though because I don't have an ironing board.
In the Winter I'll do my underclothes and sheets in the dryer, but it's a electric and I vent inside.
Every now and then I'll forget stuff outside and they get an extra rinse.
Yes, a high efficiency washer, one that spins the load at much higher RPMs than the old units, is well worth the money....the load comes out MUCH drier, saving mucho electricity/gas via less dryer use. We dry ours on the line in the stove room and give'em a quick tumble in the electric dryer, vented inside, with a dryer sheet to soften 'em up. Works great and saves considerable energy. Our basement wall exit vent for the dryer serves as the feed for the combustion duct routed to our stove in winter. Works great.
TS
TS
We use our electric dryer every day, and it vents *the horror!* indoors. But it blows against the cement-cold wall in the basement and does indeed deposit a lining of lint there every few months.
I have an idea!
I just bought a flexible exhaust pipe and I'll bend it around to blow hot air directly at ............... a small pile of wood! Wouldn't warm (albeit it moist) air "season" or dry out wood in a week or two, compared to a year outdoors?
.......... only half joking, Mike
I have an idea!
I just bought a flexible exhaust pipe and I'll bend it around to blow hot air directly at ............... a small pile of wood! Wouldn't warm (albeit it moist) air "season" or dry out wood in a week or two, compared to a year outdoors?
.......... only half joking, Mike
I abandoned our dryer a month ago in hopes of lowering the electric bill. We tried using a small folding wooden drying rack, but that was not working out very well. I went to the hardware and bought some 3/4" PVC and fittings. I built the wife a nice big drying rack. We can wash and dry 2 loads a day if need be. That is enough to keep up with the wife and I, plus our 2 daughters. My wife was not real fond of the idea at first, but I help with the washing, hanging, and folding. She likes it now.
We always dry our clothes indoors in the winter or outdoors in the summer, we have a spiral stair case running through the center of the house. We simply put the clothes on hangers, and the heat rising from the stove does the rest. As far as the stiff/ruffness we simply toss the clothes in the dryer on the fluff only cycle (no heat) for about 5 mins.
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