How much energy does a clothes dryer use?

I'm looking at switching from my dryer to using a drying rack/clothes line, and I'm wondering how much energy would I save? Even if I have the energy efficient dryer? 

No such thing as an energy efficient dryer.

the solar clothes dryer we use is very efficient, takes no electricity, and if it does not rain they stay dry, if you forget  to get them in.

ours is similar to this one,
http://whatthehay.wordpress.com/category/house-stuf/

http://energyboomer.typepad.com/energyboomer/2007/06/drying-clothes-.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_4473881_build-solar-clothes-dryer.html

In my opinion I suggest two posts on the ends,  or a good heavy one as some times with the "T" design one will have some sage as the T twists,

I would dig down at lest 24" for the posts, not the 12" suggested in the third link,
I used a dead man anchor to instead of the brace on the inside like on the first link,

1800-5000W. In short - they use a lot!

Just to add my two kopecks:  Years ago when the world was young and dinosaurs roamed the earth, my then-wife and I used a clothes line to save money.  We were in Kansas at the time -- home of the brown recluse spider.  My ex-wife was/is phobic about spiders, and the thought of having to deal with brown recluse spiders would send her into a tizzy.  Which is why, when she found some common gray spiders in the sheets after bringing the laundry in, that was almost the end of our enviro-friendly experiment.

What we wound up doing was to bring the laundry in, then throw everything in the drier for 10-15 minutes (depending on the humidity).  That would kill and toss out any and all creepy-crawlies that had decided to latch onto our clothes, while still keeping that fresh-air smell.

I have been working on a design which beats those nice outdoor solar models. 

Sure, those are super-efficient and dry clothes quickly.  But my dryer, under certain circumstances, will not only dry your clothes, but also air condition your house.  If you live in hot & dry, hang the clothes indoors - evaporative cooling will cool the house and add just the tiniest bit of humidity, which can feel good in the desert.  3 functions in one! 

yukkuri_kame wrote:
I have been working on a design which beats those nice outdoor solar models. 

Sure, those are super-efficient and dry clothes quickly.  But my dryer, under certain circumstances, will not only dry your clothes, but also air condition your house.  If you live in hot & dry, hang the clothes indoors - evaporative cooling will cool the house and add just the tiniest bit of humidity, which can feel good in the desert.  3 functions in one!   

Great idea I'll remember that on dry/hot days though we don't have too many up here...mostly muggy in the summer.

I'de imagine you could save quite a lot not using a dryer, unfourtunately we have a neighbor who feeds the pigeons and they in turn leave "gifts" on anything I attempt to hang outside I miss being able to do that.

We sold our dryer and got some good money for it.
They are among the MOST expensive and energy consuming appliances one can use.

They cost a lot in electricity.
If you notice they need a special plug with double the normal voltage (USA).

They greatly shorten the life of clothing because of the heat and agitation.

Fabric softeners are among the most toxic chemicals that enter a home.

Attached are two photos of what we use to dry clothes.  One is a rack over the stairway.
The other is a walnut wood rack I made from the urban timber we cut on our sawmill.

Dryers use a tremenduous amount of energy.  They also quite inefficiently heat up the house.

I got a new washer and dryer after getting this house many years ago, but always hang my clothes outside and never use the dryer.  The 2 heavy duty metal (T) poles were originally where I wanted the garden, so I dug them out, smashed the 120 pounds of concrete on each pole (they'd overdone it), and moved them to the other side of the yard.  If it's going to rain, then I wait till it's dry to wash clothes.  I rinse my running togs in a shallow bowl in the shower before washing, and hang them on a 6 foot rod at the top.  I had put one of these rods across the top of each shower/tub, and can use them for drying any other clothes but that's rare.  Usually I use the clothesline outside.  The purchase of the dryer was a waste, as I never use it.

The total cost for electricity this past month, the bill came today, was $5.93.

I would rather have solar, but haven't yet found it to be cost effective.

Campy,

Did you make the pulley thing?

Yes, I made the pulley thing and fastened it to the joists in the ceiling over the stairs.
These are common in some parts of Europe as that space over the stairs is large enough to dry sheets in.

The pulley parts came from a big box store.

we hang our clothes up

but still run the dryer with the gass off to get some off the lint off. Hot showers are great unless your "clean" towel covers you in dog hair and lint .

Campy in Nashville, Tennessee, USA wrote:

They cost a lot in electricity.
If you notice they need a special plug with double the normal voltage (USA).

The plug being a 220 plug does not affect the amount of electricity used.
1000 watts at 220 is the same as 1000 watts at 110, its still 1000 watts..they would use the same amount of power just a different voltage. Many countries use 220 for all residential wiring, and they are not using twice as much electricity just because they have a funny looking plug.

I like to hang out clothing (outside) whenever possible.  I still have an electric dryer.  Sometimes I have to use it.

One of the the things I have to use it for is sheets I use for massage.  It is considered not safe practice/good hygeine to hange them out in case someone were to have some sort of contageous skin condition so they are to be dried in a hot dryer. 

other times I just use it to get the wrinkles out of shirts then hang them on a hanger.  Another reason to HAVE to use it is if you had a mountain of laundry you Had to get done and it was raining outside. 

I have set up a small indoor clothesline above my washer and dryer.  It can dry the small stuff like hand towels, t-shirts, socks, underware.  This also is nice as I don't have to worry about the neighbors seeing my undies out to dry in the warm months
I will to post a picture of my indoor dryer.

Anyone know anything about the GiraDora clothes-washer-dryer that uses no electricity? is it viable?
https://www.minds.com/blog/view/437645348047949824/this-pedal-powered-washerdryer-costs-40-and-uses-no-electricity
or the hand-washer "wonder washer"?

https://www.lehmans.com/p-1470-pressure-handwasher.aspx?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&utm_campaign=1152405&zmam=32933335&zmas=1&zmac=1&zmap=1152405&gclid=CPmkrfiOhckCFUmPHwodFokDUg

sounds like a pressure-cooker for laundry.

Thoughts?

You don't need sunshine or anything fancy to dry clothes. A simple line in the basement is what I use when it's raining or during winter when it's too cold out.

True, Chris, but there may be a problem with adding more humidity to a basement that is already mold-prone. I dry them in my room sometimes, outdoors if it's nice. I wish the washer would do its job better first, however, and really ring out the clothes. I found out part of the problem was just that it was a little broken and needed to be jiggled back into place so it would wring properly.

Caitlin Elder wrote:I'm looking at switching from my dryer to using a drying rack/clothes line, and I'm wondering how much energy would I save? Even if I have the energy efficient dryer? 

Dryers use about 700 kWhr per year. At $0.15 per KWhr you'd save about $100 per year, or $0.26 per load.

Joshua Myrvaagnes wrote:Anyone know anything about the GiraDora clothes-washer-dryer that uses no electricity? is it viable?
https://www.minds.com/blog/view/437645348047949824/this-pedal-powered-washerdryer-costs-40-and-uses-no-electricity
or the hand-washer "wonder washer"?

https://www.lehmans.com/p-1470-pressure-handwasher.aspx?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&utm_campaign=1152405&zmam=32933335&zmas=1&zmac=1&zmap=1152405&gclid=CPmkrfiOhckCFUmPHwodFokDUg

sounds like a pressure-cooker for laundry.

Thoughts?

I recently got a Wonder Wash. I have a friend who lived in a converted school bus and she used it for her family of 5 plus two dogs; she recommended it. I bought it on Amazon (and got a 17% discount by using purse). It was easy to put together with almost no instructions.

It is pretty easy to use. So far I've done two loads and I like it (mostly). Add the soap, add the water, add the clothes, spin it at one revolution per second for two minutes, drain it, fill with rinse water and spin for 30 seconds then drain, repeat the rinse.

I do have two small issues with it (and probably any hand washing & drying) which is why I came to this thread.

First, it did leave lots of small wood chips/splinters in the socks (from when I was cutting and splitting firewood). I would guess that the use of a dryer would transfer that to a lint trap, but I'd like to find a better/cheaper solution.

Second, for heavier clothing it is pretty much impossible to wring it out by hand enough that it doesn't drip off the clothesline. Since my clothesline goes above my RMH and the mass bench seat I need a solution. A better way to wring out the clothes (that doesn't take up a lot of space - small cabin here) would help, especially if it cuts down the drying time from two days.

The Wonder Wash doesn't hold a lot, but I was able to do 20 socks in the first load. The second load was a hoodie, a sweatshirt, a pair of socks, and a kitchen towel. In both cases, the load filled up my clothesline so the size is just about right. The hoodie and sweat shirt dripped a lot.

Ron H. : Beware any enterprise that requires you to buy new clothes ! That being said you can lay out a Big Fluffy All Cotton Beach Towel,* and

then layout your wet garment and roll it up like a big burrito. Place each burrito on a stack of newspaper which can get recycled for this job

practically forever. this leaves you with two items to dry but with your small washer this should not be a problem !

For the crafts ! Big AL

* Hospitals and nursing homes use bed sheet sized but rather thin ''Bath Blankets" that get used for bed baths, just knowing what they are when

you run into them you can often find them at estate sales, yard sales, or probably at a Craigs list clone ! A.L.

Ron Helwig
"..heavier clothing it is pretty much impossible to wring it out by hand enough that it doesn't drip off the clothesline. Since my clothesline goes above my RMH and the mass bench seat I need a solution. A better way to wring out the clothes (that doesn't take up a lot of space - small cabin here) would help, especially if it cuts down the drying time from two days"


Perhaps a clothes wringer? http://www.amazon.com/Behrens-Galvanized-Bucket-Rollers-3-Gallon/dp/B0014CP6GG/ref=pd_sbs_265_6?ie=UTF8&dpID=51iiX906ivL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0AN6HJJTZ6K3ET8WJA33

Or a cheaper option, mop bucket with a roller wringer. https://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-968-76-3-lake-city-handwringer.aspx

A clothes wringer that could be mounted in the shower on the wall might work if it was cheap enough - say $20 or less. Can't really afford anything more than that right now. No space for storing a bucket model. Heck, the Wonder Wash only has space because it is taking the space that was formerly required for dirty clothes

Brilliant! reviews?

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:
Ron Helwig
"..heavier clothing it is pretty much impossible to wring it out by hand enough that it doesn't drip off the clothesline. Since my clothesline goes above my RMH and the mass bench seat I need a solution. A better way to wring out the clothes (that doesn't take up a lot of space - small cabin here) would help, especially if it cuts down the drying time from two days"


Perhaps a clothes wringer? http://www.amazon.com/Behrens-Galvanized-Bucket-Rollers-3-Gallon/dp/B0014CP6GG/ref=pd_sbs_265_6?ie=UTF8&dpID=51iiX906ivL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0AN6HJJTZ6K3ET8WJA33

Or a cheaper option, mop bucket with a roller wringer. https://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-968-76-3-lake-city-handwringer.aspx

mop bucket reviews from amazon users
l wash clothes by hand,my wringer needs replacing, will this wring clothes so I can hang them out to dry?
Answer: In my opinion, not very well. The bucket is small, so you wouldn't be able to fit anything like jeans. The rollers and attachments aren't that strong, so I'm not sure you would be able to apply enough pressure to really extract the water from the clothing.
I think you would be better off hand wringing your clothes than trying to use this or any other mop type bucket. see less
By Dan Lovejoy on January 3, 2015
Maybe-maybe not because you will have to pull the clothes through the wringer. I'd say "ok" to towels (or something similar w/ no buttons/snaps/zipper) but anything else the fabric/seams may be torn when you put pressure on the wringer & pull. Also buttons/snaps/zippers will not go through it or will damage the wringer (also the wringer can easily damage them). I personally would not use it for clothes & I hope I helped you. good luck. see less
By Lily B. on January 4, 2015
This system is awkward to use in my opinion and it does not wring satisfactorily to me.
By questioner on January 4, 2015
This bucket is for mopping floors & using a mop. Too small for a wringer for clothes.
By icanoewenonah on January 3, 2015
This question does NOT apply to a MOP PAIL! However, the pail is PERFECT and exactly what I wanted and expected! I realize that there are wringers for washing clothes, but this DOES NOT APPLY to this request!
By Mata Hari on January 4, 2015

Awesome job with the walnut wood!

Hi Maria;  Big Welcome to Permies!
You are correct that was a beautiful job  of turning his own wood into a drying rack!
This is a very old thread.
May I suggest you making your own introduction post  and telling us a little about you and your home!
If you wanted we have a forum called INTRODUCTIONS for saying hello to the community, we would love to hear more about you there!

Stay as long as you like and come back often!
We will leave the light on for you!