Line Drying Clothing Tips and Tricks

Hang Dry Clothing

When the weather is warm, dry your clothes outside. You save both water and energy by hang drying your clothing. It also decreases the wear that dryers inflict on your clothing. You can even hang some clothing inside when the weather is bad if you set up drying rack in your laundry room.

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Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

I need advice on hanging laundry on a clothes line so that they smell nice and don't have funky spots where they were hung and aren't stiff and scratchy! Help Please (my dryer is broken and can't get a new one). Thank you!

Cindy from Fowlerville, MI

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RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

We also hang our shirts on hangers and hang them on the shower curtain rod to dry.helps put moisture in the air and leaves a nice scent from the fabric softener (09/10/2006)

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

During nice weather I hang almost all my laundry out to dry. There is almost no way to avoid stiff clothes. I do use liquid fabric softener in the wash and that helps some. Once you put on the clothes though, they will soften up in a few minutes and you won't even notice that they were stiff to begin the day.

I have a couple of ways to avoid clothes pin marks. If I'm going to tuck in a shirt or wear it under a jumper, I hang the shirt upside down. That way the "ears" are at the bottom where they won't show. If it's a shirt I'll wear untucked, I turn the shirt inside out and hang it by the shoulder seam right by the top of the sleeve. When I take it down and turn it right side out, I usually can't see the clothes pin mark at all. In fact, it's good to hang most things inside out because if your clothes line is in the sun, your clothes will fade some. At least this way the fade is on the inside. Also, just the act of turning things right side out again will soften them a little.

I like to wear knit shirts but don't like clothes pin marks on them either. Although the inside-out-by-the-shoulders works well, I have even better luck hanging them inside out on plastic coat hangers on the line. They always look fine with no marks when I turn them right side out again.

Good luck--line drying is a great way to save money and not waste resources. (09/12/2006)

By Katie A.

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

The air and sun make them smell nice. The wind will make them soft. They won't get spots if the line is clean and you're careful how you clip the clothespins. And the sun will whiten whites, too. I hang out my laundry whenever possible. Even in freezing weather. They freeze-dry and that helps whiten also. You may find you never need a dryer again. Let Mother Nature do the work. (09/12/2006)

By pam2cats

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

I drip dry quite a few of my clothes and the children's nicer things. I have a dryer and appreciate it but don't use it for everything. I think it can be hard on clothes and can shrink and fade. I just hang a lot on hangers from a rod in my laundry room or from the shower curtain rod in the bathroom. All my tops get dried this way and they come out nicely too. I use liquid fabric softener in the washer or even vinegar in the rinse. I am not an ironer at all and feel my drip dried clothes look fine without ironing. (09/13/2006)

By Debbie52

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

The hardest thing I've found to line-dry are jeans. If you wash them separately with a little extra fabric softener, and hang them from the BACK of the belt using 3 clothespins, you might get acceptable results.

Do be careful to not overlap materials. Some more delicate things can fade in the sun, and you might want to dry them on a hanger on your shower bar.

Try to keep a large basket near the back door so that you can do an emergency snatch-grab in the event of sudden rainshowers. : ) (09/13/2006)

By Doggy

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

Shake them out really well before you hang them. That really helps with softening. I put nearly all clothing on coat hangers, that way I can just hang them in the closet when they are dry. Smooth out the button plackets and pockets while they are still wet. Shake, shake, shake and fabric softener doesn't hurt either. Susan from ThriftyFun (09/13/2006)

By ThriftyFun

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

Don't ask me how or why this works but if you hang your clothes on the line and spray them down with a hose they will dry very soft. i found this out by accident with a lawn sprinkler. towels and sheets were extra soft. I've also had this happen when laundry was left out and rained on. (09/14/2006)

By Carla

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

My Mom always said "Hang tops from the bottom and bottoms from the top" (09/14/2006)

By PICO

Drying Pajamas

I don't dry my pajamas in the dryer because I don't want them to shrink. Instead I dry them on separate hangers. They only get a little wrinkled, not bad at all. Once you get into them they won't be as wrinkled but they do smell clean though (01/06/2007)

By Alicia

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

Should we hang Polo shirts by:

• The bottom
• The shoulder seam
• Or by a clothes hanger

The biggest complaint I have is of the material stretching at the collar. (04/20/2007)

By Mike

Help!

I need some help, I am new to hanging my clothes . Here is the problem: the clothes always smell funny when I bring them in from being hung. I use liquid fabric softener but it doesn't seem to help. Could it be the washer? Please help I'm desperate! We have to hang the clothes due to the small dryer size in this house. We live in a Japanese style house in Okinawa. Help! (06/14/2007)

By Dawn

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

I think we've really regressed if we start hanging every thing we wear and/or use. Let us remember that in winter some of us live in extremely cold and snowy, sleet, environments and it really isn't feasible to hang our fabrics. Hang them inside you say? Well, fine except many live in apartments, studios, etc. Try to find a place where they will dry without having to be ironed. Sheets? Where do you propose we hang those. If they have to be ironed, what good is it doing to not use the dryer to save energy? Makes sense, all right?

By Blizzard

Editor's Note:It often works well to put clothing in the dryer for a little while, then shake out and hang. That way they have lost most of the wrinkles. It's true it isn't practical for everyone but for many it is. (02/29/2008)

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

I love hanging clothes outside. I got some fresh air myself, and the clothes ended up smelling great. I absolutely love sheets that are dried on the line -- smells like summer all night long. :) If your clothes are smelling "sour", then something is not right. Are you hanging them immediately after they finish washing? They could be souring in the machine. As soon as they finish washing, take them out and hang them on the line. Do not "bunch" them or double them over the line, as this will leave spots that don't dry as quickly, and could smell sour. Always use clothespins. Take the items and pin them corner to corner, if they are towels or washcloths, or shirts. Heavy pants and jeans, you may need to hang on their own. Also socks pretty much have to be hung singly, but underwear can be pinned each one to the next. The one thing I don't really like to line dry is towels, as they just don't get as soft, but that's just my opinion. And they are perfectly fine dried on the line, it's just a matter of preference for me not to dry them on the line if at all possible -- but I have used many a towel dried on the line anyway! (03/03/2008)

By bailegirl

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

We have hard water from a well and no matter what we've done the clothes always come out with a funky smell, especially the towels. Once you use them they transfer the smell onto your skin if you try to use them again. Find a nice perfume or put dryer sheets/potpourri in you drawers. That's the only thing I have found that helps. Good luck! (05/29/2008)

By Julie

RE: Tips for Hang Drying Clothing

If you go to Phancypages, you'll see a whole article I wrote on pegging out clothes, but even after all the years of outside drying, I'm learning a lot from you folks, so thank you for that.

In Australia, dryers are far more uncommon than clotheslines, which go under the name, usually, of Hill's hoists or clothes hoists.

We're really blessed at the moment, in that, where we rent has both an undercover set of parallel lines and an umbrella-shaped rotating hoist. It's full-on Winter at the moment, so the washing is all undercover.

We do use inside racks, but it's only if it's really urgent. My dd insists on sleeping in a sleeping bag on her bed (go figure!), and she's staying at her brother's during the school holidays that are on now, so I've finally washed her sleeping bag, gave it an extra spin and have it hanging over some exercise equipment in the lounge room, which is the only room in the house we can afford to heat. It's dried nicely, and has no pong to it.

I don't use fabric softener, for many reasons - a mix of laziness, frugality, suspicion of yet more chemicals in our systems and waste down our drains, and I don't think we really need it. But of course it's a personal matter.

Anyways, try Phancypages, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how interesting it is. I'm not the webmistress, Nita Holstine is, and has been for years.

Dominus tecum (07/10/2008)

ByLeonie in (brr!) Southern Australia

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Softer Line Dried Clothing

I love to hang clothes on the line but hate the sandpaper, stiff feeling. How do I get them to feel like they came out of the dryer and not so hard after coming off the clothes line?

Jodi

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RE: Soft Line Dried Clothing

This probably sounds silly, but I used to dry things on the line then run them through the dryer for about 5 minutes or so to soften them up. You'd never know they'd not been completely dried in a dryer. Think of the electricity saved cutting down drying time. (05/18/2005)

By Sharon from KY

RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

Shake them hard both before and after hanging to dry. This really helps. I like the slightly harder finish, but if you don't there are fabric softeners that go in the washer, try using less to find how much you actually need. Also stretch side seams, that helps keep stuff wrinkle free.

Smell the clothes. The wonderful smell of sundried laundry is worth the slight stiffness. (05/19/2005)

By Jeneene

RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

My slacks and tops are placed in the dryer briefly to dewrinkle them. Then I place them on hangers and hang outside to finish drying. Most times they do not even need to be pressed. I always use fabric softener in my last rinse. (05/19/2005)

By Elizabeth

RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

One thing I do is save laundry I want to turn out soft for a sunny, but windy day. The combination of sun and wind, along with a little fabric softener, will do as well as a dryer. For example, I can hang out bed linens anytime because the stiffness helps avoid wrinkles. I save sweaters, towels, corduroy, denim, and t-shirts for windy/sunny days. (05/19/2005)

By lulugirl765

RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

Here's a tip, add vinegar to the rinse to soften them, or use less detergent. (03/09/2007)

By Gaab Family

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Softer Line Dried Clothing

I like the feel of linen shirts that have dried in a clothes dryer with fabric softener. But to save money, I dry them on an outdoor clothes line. Unfortunately, line drying leaves them stiff, with wrinkles. What can I do to get them soft again?

By AmnesiaWes from Hawaii

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RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

Use liquid fabric softener when you wash them and pop them in the dryer for 4 or 5 minutes after taking them off the line. (04/19/2009)

By Anonymous

RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

Fabric softener when you wash, and I used to put all shirts on clotheshangers and then hang them on the line. Much less wrinkles. (04/19/2009)

By vguy

RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

I put everything in the dryer for a few minutes before I hang them outside. Clothes that shrink, I put on the no heat cycle. I try and dry all my clothes without using my dryer in the winter using wooden dryers and a cloths line in my basement. If you need the clothes the next day, a small fan on the lowest setting works wonders, and uses less electricity then the dryer. (04/23/2009)

By dduff

RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

I use fabric softener in the last rinse, hang things on hangers after shaping/stretching them and then hang the hangers on the line. After they sun-dry I toss them on "Air-fluff" in the dryer for about a minute. Works very well for me. Even with towels! (04/23/2009)

By Cathy S

RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

I know this can not always be done, but if you can hang your clothes out on windy days or when the wind is blowing your clothes will be softer. The more wind the less wrinkles. In the hot summer and on days with no wind, my clothes are stiff. Fabric softener helps. I do not like to use it, because it's bad for pipes and septic system. Also double rinsing clothes helps. The soap still in the clothes after one rinse makes them stiff, and clothes last longer and look better getting the soap out. (04/24/2009)

By Cindy in Texas

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Softer Line Dried Clothing

If your clothes are stiff when line dried try this. Hang your clothes out in the late evening and leave over night. Bring them in as soon as they are dry in the morning. They will be so soft.

By grannygirl from Lexington, NC

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RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

Baking soda in the rinse water, it softens water so why not your clothes. I think that would work. What do you think? (06/16/2009)

By bird watcher

RE: Softer Line Dried Clothing

I put vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. Fabric softener is not good for things like towels. (02/28/2010)

By TXBetty

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Save Electricity: Hang Dry Your Clothes

To save on your electricity try hanging your clothes outside. Most permanent slacks come out really well if you hang them outside.

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Softer Line Dried Clothing

How can I soften wind dried laundry?