Global Warming Challenge #1
Air Drying Laundry

Action:
Obtain and install clothes lines and/or drying racks big enough to hold a whole load of laundry
Alternative Action:
If you already have clothes lines and/or racks or if you are unable to install them, you may obtain and install clothes lines and/or drying racks for a relative or friend!
Follow-up Action:
Line-dry at least 4 loads of laundry a month. Do this for 3 consecutive months. Families of 3 or more should aim for 6-8 loads a month but this is not mandatory for meeting the challenge.
Better Than Nothing:
(you won't get credit for the challenge but you'll save some energy). If you can't air-dry whole loads, you may air-dry half and do the other half in the dryer. Since you are not saving nearly as much energy, you should do this for as much of your laundry as possible.
Possibilities
Where Pros Cons
Outdoors
  • Fresh air, natural sunlight
  • May be only choice if you don?t have space indoors
  • Can't use in rainy weather
  • May not be practical after dark
  • May be further, harder to use
  • May be an eye-sore to neighbors
  • May collect allergens (pollen etc)
Indoors
  • All-weather
  • All times of day
  • May be closer, easier to use
  • May not have enough / appropriate space
    But be creative, consider all the possibilities!
Combination Best of both See above. But problems may be reduced if you do some indoors and some outdoors

Type Pros Cons
Make-it-yourself lines
  • Cheap if mount to existing walls or posts.
  • Can customize to your own space
  • Need to be kind of handy
  • May be costly if need to install (outdoor) posts
Single retractable lines
  • Cheap
  • Small when closed
  • Come in very long lengths (good outdoors or garage)
  • Not enough line for a whole (decent sized) load unless you open it to about 20 feet
Multiple retractable lines
  • Fairly inexpensive
  • Small when closed
  • Hold a lot in a small amt of space
  • Shorter (cheaper) ones aren?t long enough to use in garage.
Wooden rack
  • Fit in small spaces (even bathtub)
  • Not very big when closed
  • TWO racks may hold enough
  • ONE rack does not hold a whole (decent sized) load of laundry
  • Does not work for sheets, awkward for towels
Umbrella Dryer
  • Holds a lot
  • Easy to use
  • Expensive
  • May be hard to install (unless it comes with a weighted base)
Other types of racks
(wall mounted, freestanding
  • Large variety or choices (on-line)
  • Some hold a lot
  • Some fold to fairly small size
  • Expensive
  • May be hard to install

Helpful Hints

  • Hanging items from their corners with clothes pins allows you to hang more in the same space.
  • Folding large items in half allows you to hang more in the same space (but drying takes longer).
  • Line-drying the heaviest items (e.g. towels, blue jeans) saves the most energy.
  • If items feel too stiff when air dried, you may tumble them on "air only" setting of your dryer before and/or after line drying. Air tumbling takes very little energy!
  • Be creative!! Consider all the possibilities. Don?t give up if your first try doesn't work.

Be creative!

Energy Savings / Greenhouse Gas Reduction Estimates

Electric Dryers:
Typically usage is 1800 to 5000 watts (equal to 18 to 50 100-watt light bulbs!!)
Dryers use about 5% to 12% (average of about 8%) of total electricity usage per household
Electricity usage accounts for about 21% of total greenhouse gas emissions per household
So, electric dryers account for about 1 to 2.5% of total greenhouse gas emission per household
Gas Dryers:
Energy use / greenhouse gas emissions probably are somewhat less than for electric dryers.
But potential greenhouse gas reduction is probably still in the .3 to .5% range
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