The One Thing You Should Never Do With Your Laundry

Photo credit: bigstock.com

Did your mother or grandmother warn you to never dry your clothes indoors? If you are like many people, you own a dryer and have probably never given that piece of advice a second thought. However, many people are interested in going more “green,” taking into careful consideration their carbon footprint, and trying more natural methods of doing almost everything, including drying their clothes.

If your mother didn’t warn you, then heed a word of warning from your friends here at NaturalOn. Drying your laundry inside the rooms you are occupying can do serious harm to your health. This is because clothing drying increases the humidity levels in the room as much as 30 percent. This creates the perfect condition for the development of mold spores.

One average load of laundry contains about 2 liters of water that will be released into the air. If we have healthy immune systems, we can probably deal with this amount of humidity, but what about those who are not as fortunate? The ones who usually suffer the worst are the young, the elderly, those with weakened immune systems, and those who have respiratory problems. Even those who suffer from simple seasonal allergies can develop a serious health risk from mold spores.

Drying your clothes at home is not a bad idea when it comes down to it. Of all the appliances you own, your clothes dryer is usually #3 on the list of biggest users of electricity, even more so if it is an electric dryer! Clothes dryers ruin the elastic in clothing and increase the dust levels inside the house. Also, as you may know, clothes dryers are one of the biggest fire hazards in your home.

So it only makes sense that people want to save money, save the planet and save their clothes by drying them naturally. The main idea here is to be sure that you dry them in a room that no one is staying in, or you put them outside.

Here are 5 tips to help you dry clothing naturally and safely, while saving tons of money at the same time.

1. Timing

To give your laundry the best possible chance to dry, do your wash either the night before or early in the morning so that you can hang clothes early. Clothes do not dry very well during the nighttime hours, but if you put them out before you go to bed and take them down when you get home, that should work. Just be sure there is no rain forecast!

Continue to Page 2

Photo credit: bigstock.com

2. Space

When you hang your clothes, be sure that there is at least one hand width of space between them. If your clothes are overlapping or if they are touching each other, the moisture is not exposed to the air or sun and it won’t dry. For very thick items, such as towels or jeans, give them two bars on the rack so that even their two sides do not touch. Turn jeans inside out to help dry the pockets.

3. Use Hangers

Putting your nicer clothing, or clothing that tends to wrinkle easily, on a hanger is a great way to dry them and get fewer wrinkles all at once. Hangers are easier to place on rails, on tree branches, any place where your clothes can get some air and sun. When they are finished, you simply move them to the closet. What could be easier?

4. Inside Drying

If you must dry your clothes in the house, move them to the sunniest room possible. Put the rack near a south- or west-facing window. If possible, open the window for some fresh air. Don’t put them inside a room where people sleep or where you spend most of your time, such as the kitchen or the living room. If you like, you can put your clothes in a guest room, for example, and then move them to the warmer kitchen after you go to bed at night.

5. Flip ‘Em

If clothes are taking a bit too long to dry inside, you can try flipping them over. Another trick is to turn them inside out (or right side out if they are already inside out). This can help to expose still damp parts to fresh air. If there is just one small area that is still damp, you can try using a blow dryer to finish drying that one spot. Other people put a fan in the room to help dry clothes. One last trick is to put the clothes near a lamp or other low hanging light. Light bulbs naturally give off heat. It’s not a great deal of heat, but sometimes it’s just enough to finish the job.

One last tip: if you live in an area that has high humidity (such as South Florida), you can still dry your clothes indoors by using a room dehumidifier. This will help by not only removing moisture from the air so that your clothes can dry, but so you can breathe easier as well.

Happy clothes drying, friends!

References:

www.cpsc.gov

Prev Next