Apart from wasting energy and causing fires, dryers don’t always work very well. This problem became a major inconvenience last week.
With all the guests, kids and visitors returning to their rightful homes, I really needed to wash all the bedlinen. We had so many visitors that it was sometimes a trick to remember who was sleeping behind which door.
So the great washday arrived – like the several before it, the weather was dull, cloudy, damp, cold, and not a breath of a breeze. In other words it was going to be a dryer day. It has been several months since I had to use the dryer for sheets, so I had forgotten what a pain it was.
Putting large bed sheets, and holiday table linens, into the overcapacity dryer causes them to tumble into a corkscrew of knots, frequently curling themselves around pillow cases and other smaller items. The net effect is that the sensor in the dryer pings to say everything is dry – when the bulky mass inside the corkscrew is still wet. The time it takes to unravel this mess, shake it out and then push back into the dryer, several times, is wasteful, not to mention frustrating.
All the sheets would have been dry in one day if they had been on the line, and they would have needed very little intervention from me. As it was it took all day and several loads/reloads before each lot was dry.
Today – a good drying day for winter. So all the sweaters and jeans were washed and hung out- all but a few heavy sweaters dried by late afternoon.
March 10, 2008 at 11:25 am |
Hello — I am a reporter for the Boston Globe, working on a story about legislative efforts to protect clotheslines, and I am looking for a clothesline in New England that we can photograph in the next couple of days for the story. Ideally, we would love to capture someone hanging out laundry, although it would have to be happening authentically, and could not be staged. Can anyone help point me toward a clothesline? If so please contact me ASAP at jrussell@globe.com or 617-929-3153. Thanks!
March 12, 2008 at 2:33 pm |
I could not agree more. In fact a long time ago I actually had a dryer that caught fire – probably my fault as I was trying to dry a comforter but never the less!!
Here in the UK, despite our (often exaggerated) wet weather, I have hardly used my dryer this winter thanks to some good drying wind.
I would warn that if using a rotary (umbrella) type dryer you should close and cover up with a purpose made cover when not in use as there HAVE been instances of children playing with them with very unfortunate consequences. Covering up the dryers also looks a lot neater and keeps them from getting mouldy etc in the damp. this make even more enviromental sense as the dryer will last longer before needing replacing.
A very important message for folks with children or grandchildren. However we should be giving them a message to save enery – let them help with hanging out the washing, but take care they do not “play” with the rotary clothesline.