Yes, You Can Line Dry Your Laundry In The Winter. Here’s How

• Thomas Nelson
• October 22, 2021
• Sustainable Living
• 0 Comments

I’m not the kind of man ashamed to admit that he’s got a lot of things in common with his grandma. I like soft food, Matlock, and line drying my clothes. Just about any time I talk about line drying my laundry anywhere on social media, there’s always a handful of yeah-but-what-abouts who chime in about the sheer impossibility of line drying your laundry in the winter. But here’s the thing: it is actually quite possible. It’s called living hardcore, friends.

When you line dry in the winter, you get pretty much the same results as you would by line drying in the summer – fresher clothes that last longer, a lower utility bill, and an angry HOA president. Each of these things are deeply gratifying to me.

Obviously, it’s easier to line dry clothing in warmer months, where you have a nice breeze and sunshine that helps the water evaporate nicely from your clothes. That process still occurs in the winter, but it can be more difficult. Still, it’s quite possible. Let’s dive in.

Problems with line drying laundry in the winter

There are three big issues with line drying your laundry during the winter. First, there’s the time spent drying. It may take quite a bit longer to dry in the winter simply because it’s colder, and cold air won’t dry your laundry quite as quickly or effectively. Another consideration is humidity, which can definitely be higher in the winter. If it’s cold and humid, you may find that your laundry just won’t dry.

And finally, there’s precipitation. It rains a lot where I live during the winter months, and it snows a lot elsewhere. Line drying your laundry in the rain and snow probably won’t dry your clothes very well. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have options. Read on!

Benefits of line drying laundry in the winter

If you’re hardcore enough to line dry your clothes in the winter, you’ll see a few benefits. And believe me, I’m all about those benefits. Here’s what you have to look forward to:

Lower utility bills

Do you know what I love? Not spending money I don’t have to. I wouldn’t call myself the thriftiest person, but it brings a smile to my face when I see a lower-than-average utility bill hit my inbox. It not only means I save money – it also means that I reduced the amount of various resources I used. I have an electric dryer, and while most of the energy where I live is hydroelectric, there is still an environmental impact for each watt I use. Reducing my home’s electric use is a win for the environment and my wallet.

If you really want to save money, try out my super cheap homemade laundry soap recipe. This is the recipe I use, and I love it!

Reduced wear and tear on your dryer

According to Angie’s List, a dryer will last, on average, about 10 years. Given that the average home runs a load of laundry through a dryer 8 times per week, that means that a brand new dryer has about 4,500 uses in it before it wears out. If you line-dried even half the loads of laundry you do, you can double the life of your dryer.

You can quantify that another way by looking at the dollar amount of each use. An electric dryer, like the one I use, will cost you about $600 new. You spend about $1 of the dryer’s total value every week, assuming you do 8 loads per week. If you line-dried 4 loads per week, you would double the lifespan of the dryer – only use about $.50 of its total value per week. It seems like small potatoes overall, but if you had the choice of buying a new dryer today or in 5 years, which would you choose?

Clothes that last longer

Running your clothing through the dryer is tough on the fabrics and will reduce the length of time you can comfortably wear a garment before it falls apart. I don’t know about you, but I value each and every piece of clothing I own. Not just because I like it, but because I value the fact that someone somewhere took the time to make it. I respect the labor of people who work in industries like the garment industry. I also like not having to buy new clothes all the time.

Better smelling laundry

I really don’t care what “green” laundry detergent you swear by, nothing comes even close to touching the smell of fresh, line-dried clothing. It smells so neutral and natural to me. Can’t beat it. You get that fresh, line-dried smell in the winter and summer alike. And I don’t want to hear it – you do not need fabric softener to get soft clothes.

How to line dry your laundry in the winter

Let’s get one thing straight: frozen clothing doesn’t necessarily mean wet clothing. Clothes can be frozen and stiff, but once thawed are actually quite dry. It’s a little thing called sublimination! Sublimination is, essentially, the process by which frozen water skips the liquid phase of evaporation and goes straight to becoming a gas. Even if your clothes do freeze, there’s a good chance that by the process of sublimination, they will still dry.

In the off-chance you bring your laundry inside and it’s still a bit wet, investing in an indoor drying rack to finish the drying process is a good call.

Otherwise, plan to dry your laundry as you usually would. Pick a day without precipitation, sunny and a bit windy if possible, and line dry ’em. It really is that simple. Again, on days where the weather isn’t cooperating, do what you would do on a rainy summer day – dry them indoors. Or just wait for a better day to do laundry.