CAN YOU LINE DRY IN THE WINTER?

Love hanging your clothes to dry outdoors? Don’t let cold temperatures get in your way. Heat is not the only factor that contributes to your garment cleaning and drying process. It might take some extra thought, but line-drying your clothes in the winter is possible.

 1. Why go through all the trouble?

Maybe you are just here because your dryer broke and you need to find a way to dry your clothes without the summer heat. This is the perfect occasion to give the line-drying method a try.

We could go on and on about the benefits of line drying your laundry.

• Line-drying uses less energy.
• It means you’ll be using fewer chemicals on your garments.
• It is also very good for most fabrics — no agitation.
• The UV rays of from the sun act as a natural disinfectant, deodorizer, and even whitener to your garments.

 2. How can garments dry without the sun?

We have less sunshine to work with during the winter. The days are shorter and cloudy skies tend to linger.

Line drying is still possible. Heat isn’t the only factor that is involved in drying your laundry. Wind is an important factor in getting your clothes dry. Clothes can get dry with even a gentle breeze. Humidity is also an important factor. In Arkansas, we deal with plenty of humid days. While the winter still has humidity, it has less than the summer.

Less humidity and maybe a little more wind from changing climates will help your clothes dry faster.

 3. Does this apply to Arkansas?

Arkansas has a unique climate — even during the winter we deal with humidity — so we take this laundry advice with this in mind. You might find that the air is too humid to dry your clothes without heat. Or the process is simply taking too long. Then it is time to dry your clothes indoors.

Line drying indoors isn’t ideal. It still has similar benefits to drying outside. While you will have less sunlight, you will have comfortable temperatures, and you can create artificial wind with fans.

Consider moving your humidifier to the room where you are line drying your clothes. This will speed up the process. Spread each garment out so it has enough space to dry efficiently.

Don’t forget to keep wet garments away from the walls.