Permies Poll: Do you use a modern clothes dryer?

A new addition to the Permies Poll series brings us to the laundry room!



I have added an option for seasonal use as some folks, like my grandmother, would hang clothes out to dry in the good weather but had a dryer backup she would run for convenience.

Please share how you dry clothes and any tips you might have!

I have to admit, I have not given up my clothes dryer quite yet!

I have intention of getting an outside line put up in the coming year like my grandparents had but it is on my honey-do list still.

I mostly hang up my clothes, either outside or inside. But I do run some kinds of clothing (silk shirts and some knits that don’t iron well) in the dryer for a few minutes to relax the fibers and make them less wrinkly if hanging inside.

Yes I do.  And I don't intend to give that up.  Its one of those creature comforts that I'm very attached to.With my mental health differences the way they are I would freak out too much and be too scared if I hung things out to dry outdoors.  And we have too much laundry on the regular to find places to hang it all indoors and wait for it to dry.  Cudos to all who can give their dryer up, but that isn't me.

Definitely seasonal.
We much prefer hanging them on the line outdoors  

Haven't had one since I was nine years old!

I hang clothes to dry outside overnight in the summer, during the day on dry days in the winter, and inside on wet winter days if I can't wait for a break in the weather and also when it's crazy hot outside and I want the cooling effect in the house.

I'm looking forward to having the bench on the rocket mass heater to help finish drying them off when we have looooong rainy spells.

One day we'll have a covered area that will be an outside kitchen, a potting shed, and a covered area for hanging laundry to stop the sun damaging the clothes in summer and the rain accidentally soaking them again when it catches me unawares the rest of the time.

I have a 1993 Maytag clothes Dryer.  Would that be considered modern?

Yes, I use it.  It works as far as I know the last time I dried clothes in it.

I use it for storage as I prefer to use the clothes line because the clothes smell so good.

I absolutely use a dryer.  I currently live in a city apartment, so I have to.  But, even when I relocate and settle down into the rural, mountain countryside, I'll have a dryer.  In fact, I'm getting two, as well as two washing machines.  One set of home machines and one set of larger, commercial ones for doing large items, like king-size comforters, blankets, pillows, etc.,  (I'm a laundry geek.)  Yet, I still plan to install a clothes line and use that every chance I get, too.  But, sometimes it's not practical.  Sometimes you need things dried quickly, or it's raining, or it's winter, or it's a heavy day for pollen, wind and dust, or the sky being sprayed...

On the flip side, that's balanced out by not having a microwave, TV, stereo, entertainment gadgets, a garbage disposal, a dishwasher, a lot of lighting, kitchen gadgets, smart appliances, and other things.  My food waste is non-existent and even my trash is a lot more minimal than average.  I only own what I use on a weekly basis, but that's not because of any philosophy I hold to.  That's just how I am naturally.  When I relocate, I'll only have three rubbermaid bins measuring 18x21" (16" tall) and one suitcase for clothes.  One of those bins is just extra toiletries and household products.  One is books/desk stuff and the other is a few towels and random stuff like.  That's it.  I haven't even owned a vehicle for 24 years because I walk everywhere I need to go within a 12 mile radius.  (Though that will change when I relocate because I'll need a vehicle.)

I love Permaculture as a methodology but I don't hold to it philosophically or as a belief system.  My "carbon footprint" has always been drastically smaller than the staunchest environmentalist, but I'm that way naturally, not philosophically.  I don't believe in self-sustainability or self-reliance because people weren't designed to be lone wolves.  We need each other, hence the very existence of this forum.  That said, I love and respect those who work their backsides off to supply as many of their own needs as possible.  That's admirable and inspiring!  I'm striving to do more of it myself.  But, none of us are truly ever self-reliant or self-sustaining.  Not one person supplies every single one of their own needs.  (Just like "Zero Waste" isn't realistic.  Everyone has waste and/or garbage.)

Modern appliances aren't going away.  Off-grid living methods are a choice.  There's nothing wrong with either one.  I'm preparing my new home to fully function for BOTH on-grid, and off-grid, living.  I believe the key is finding the right balance that meets your needs physically and philosophically/ethically.

Emmett Ray wrote:...I love Permaculture as a methodology but I don't hold to it philosophically or as a belief system...

Emmet, you might find this thread interesting - The Wheaton Eco Scale

Burra Maluca wrote:

Emmett Ray wrote:...I love Permaculture as a methodology but I don't hold to it philosophically or as a belief system...

Emmet, you might find this thread interesting - The Wheaton Eco Scale

I identify more with the first reply of that thread in that I don't really understand the rating system.  Mostly, probably, because I'm not ingrained in the philosophy of permaculture and I'm not trying to rise to any levels of it.  I'm just living in ways that are natural to me and keep my conscience at ease.  I know I'm not everyone's cup of cocoa and that's perfectly okay, too!  Any category of 99% of anything I happen to fit into isn't purposely acted towards to get there.  

But, you're right.  It was definitely an interesting read and I appreciate you taking the time to find and link to it!  I enjoy hearing other people's views (most of the time) to see what I can learn.  

I use both. I hang them outside, when I'm able, but more often than I'm happy about, the dryer is absolutely necessary.

We do not have a dryer but I did not realize how important they can be depending on your preferences. I did not expect very many folks would feel so strongly about having one or two lol.

This was probably the easiest thing we have done to reduce out electric bill. We do one small load everyday since there is seven of us. We hang outside if it is not raining and inside if it is.

One caveat, we use a spin dryer. This makes a HUGE difference. The clothes go from the washer to this device for 3-5 mins. We hang up after.

It does not heat, it just spins at high speeds and the clothes dry quickly after hanging up. It uses very little electricity and the one we have is on its fourth year of daily use. Below is the one we have, there are many other options.

https://laundry-alternative.com/collections/regular-spin-dryer?srsltid=AfmBOoqUv97VSsQAh1NCJKtQeW7aCVGDcyKqekM5rJ_Ufa5lqAGo7VDQ

Hmm I've become lazy and use it all the time.

When I was on the ship, there wasn't any real choice but now... I need to set up an internal washing line.


I previously lived without one for a couple of years and it was fine.

I use the dryer 90% of the time. My wife and daughter use it 100% of the time. It's just a boatload of extra work to find a basket, lug the wet load of clothes down the stairs and out into the yard and scare up enough clothespins, and then make sure it doesn't rain, and bring them in. And it's below freezing five or six months of the year. And they're not as soft -- at least until you crunch them up. And we don't really notice the cost. I hang stuff up sometimes just because I get a wild hare to do it or because it's a giant quilt or something, but mostly not.

Depends:
* Delicate clothes hang dry
* As a default, I prefer to hang dry
* If I need something immediately, it goes in the dryer
* If something is bulky (ex: my comforter, towels, etc.) it goes in the dryer

In an apartment, but usually just dry stuff over the shower (no dripping on the floor, don't have to go outside when it's cold)

No. I don't use one. My vote will change if you wanna buy one for me. 😃

No dryer here.
I think some of these things are easier for those of us who grew up without (a dryer, a microwave, etc) so  rather than giving up something we just never got that particular appliance.

Over the winter we hang things indoors or on our covered porch or out in the yard clothes lines in the sun if the days are mild.
Other seasons everything gets hung outdoors unless it's raining

Just the two of us now though.
When the boys were growing up we sometimes took everything to a laundromat in town and even then brought things home to dry on the line....I just couldn't bring myself to pay for something the sun would do for free 🌞

here's the exceptions:
When I was weaving full time and doing production items, I wanted to sell everything as preshrunk and machine washable so I did just that and used the tumble dryers in town to finish the job.

During my felting binge I was given a 12 volt tiny dryer and used it to felt recycled sweaters...It's long gone and oddly enough we were never tempted to shrink dry our clothes in it

When my dryer died, around 1980, I never replaced it. My house has a covered porch on three sides. East and west sides have clotheslines. I have a vaulted ceiling in the main room where the wood fired heater lives with a drying rack that can be hoisted up ten feet. I use that even in hot weather if it is rainy.

Judith Browning wrote:I think some of these things are easier for those of us who grew up without (a dryer, a microwave, etc) so  rather than giving up something we just never got that particular appliance.

Exactly!
I have never had one. Grew up mostly without one (we moved a lot, the first thing my mother did was put up a line in every new yard), and aside from a few years when I had the luxury of using a laundromat, I always lived in places where people just didn't have/use dryers. Nowadays in Japan they're more common, and even in Brazil some people have them now, but I've always just gone with the flow, so to speak.

I recognize that drying outside requires the luxury of time-- time to wait til the weather is good, time to hang up and take back in, time you don't have to commit when you're putting your laundry in a dryer. And that is a real luxury.
When I worked in an office in smalltown Japan and a rainstorm sprung up, inevitably someone had to race home to bring in the laundry/bedding that was hanging outside, it was a given. Today I work at home and I can fit it in, but when I was teaching and had two little kids and an hour-long commute, you can bet I was using the laundromat and the dryers there.

It depends on your climate, and also that your washing machine spins the clothes pretty dry. When I live in the high desert, I wouldn't think of getting a tumble dryer. In winter Massachusetts, indoor air is so dry that drying clothes indoors is fast and beneficial to air quality (but only use unscented detergent!). But in coastal Massachusetts in the summer, indoors is humid, and only half of days are dry enough to hang things outside, so a tumble dryer is sometimes essential.

Christopher Weeks wrote:... It's just a boatload of extra work to find a basket, lug the wet load of clothes down the stairs and out into the yard .... And they're not as soft -- at least until you crunch them up.

Christopher, it sounds like your washer doesn't spin the clothes properly. My clothes aren't a lot heavier coming out of the washer than they are going in. If your clothes are drying stiff, it sounds like the washer isn't getting all the water out of them. If it's the case that your washer isn't spinning them as dry as it should, you're wasting a LOT of electricity getting that water out of your clothes in the tumble dryer using heated air, rather than a minute of centrifugal force in the washer.

Also, holding the clothes by the corners and snapping them briskly before hanging them helps reduce stiffness and wrinkles.

Christopher Weeks wrote:
... It's just a boatload of extra work to find a basket, lug the wet load of clothes down the stairs and out into the yard .... And they're not as soft -- at least until you crunch them up.

This is a permaculture design problem.  Reducing extra work while improving energy efficiency.  The dryer that came with the house is next to the exit door with a porch outside, There  is a post for the porch roof and in the distance a tree.  With a pully on the post and on the tree a continues line around the pullies I only have to move the clothes a few feet to the line and hang and real them out then when dry back in again. If they need to be fluffed up or a little dryer it is a short lift to the dryer before folding or hanging.

I have a dryer that came with the house, but I only use a clothesline to dry the clothes, or indoor drying racks if there are many days of rain and gloom sequentially. However, I always put all the cotton shirts, long and short sleeved, in the dryer for about 60 seconds before I hang them out. It makes them look so much better. Shakes out the wrinkles and restores the shape so when they're dry, they are instantly wearable.

If I didn't have a dryer, I wouldn't buy one just for this, though.

Yup, it’s electric but we have solar.

Emmett Ray wrote:I absolutely use a dryer.  I currently live in a city apartment, so I have to.  But, even when I relocate and settle down into the rural, mountain countryside, I'll have a dryer.  ....   On the flip side, that's balanced out by not having a microwave, TV, stereo, entertainment gadgets, a garbage disposal, a dishwasher, a lot of lighting, kitchen gadgets, smart appliances, and other things.  My food waste is non-existent and even my trash is a lot more minimal than average.  .... Modern appliances aren't going away.  Off-grid living methods are a choice.  There's nothing wrong with either one.  I'm preparing my new home to fully function for BOTH on-grid, and off-grid, living.  I believe the key is finding the right balance that meets your needs physically and philosophically/ethically.

I understand what you mean; we'll be getting a dryer for the rural place we're moving to. We already have a small washer, but every time we try to hang things to dry, something happens, lol. It's humid in the summers with occasional random quick patches of unpredictable rain. When we stay there 1-3 weeks now & then, we'll hang stuff out, leave for the day, and even if it was sunny all day, god forbid we come home after 6pm and some dew is settling in. We have to take it all down & hang it inside all night, and put it back out the next day...  Plus I'm allergic to dust. It is definitely helpful to put bedding in the dryer, and once in a while our pillows to heat them up to (hopefully) kill dust mites and fluff their remains out of the pillow. All that said, I LOVE the smell of sun dried clothes & sheets, so I do want to hang things out as much as possible,

And like you, we do our parts in lots of other ways. We get a big laugh out of the insert in the electric bill once in a while comparing us to our neighbors. What on earth are they doing in those houses, lol?!?

Josh Hoffman -- I had a spinner for a while, it was fantastic!! Especially while we didn't have a dryer at all. It did such a better job than the washer itself. Moisture-wicking materials (those super thin shirts, for example) came out nearly dry. We'd hang them in any old place, even just the back of a chair because it'd be dry in an hour.

Odd that I'm referencing my time in China for the 3rd time the past day or so, lol, but I keep getting reminded of their ways, and I believe in learning from everywhere! As of 2008 when I was there, hardly anyone owned dryers, even in my 18 story city apartment building, though they would own small washers (some had a separate super-spinner section attached, like Josh described). But every apartment has a balcony or at least an area that juts out with a clothesline and some potted plants. We in the US could take a lesson from that, for urban areas. In China it seems that when they made cities, they replicated villages, in that they made sure to have everything a person would need within a few blocks, on purpose. My apartment complex had about 8-10 buildings, each 5-18 stories tall! And within our 2 blocks there was a market with fresh veggies, fruit, & eggs; there was a butcher, a barber, a tailor, a convenience store, a couple small restaurants, a tiny bike repair shop with an old guy with his big belly spilling out of his white tanktop, lol, etc. Sort of permaculturish if we think about it. They considered people's needs and were laid out very well, not just "whoever wants to open a shop here", though that also happened, but the basics were always within a few blocks of a large apartment complex, or even at the bottom floor of the buildings. I wish US cities and all these new apartments going up near me were laid out with that much thought. It would cut down hugely on traffic, too, if basic needs were within a few blocks.

Last vote in apple poll was on March 10, 2025