Advantages of Using a Clothesline
Posted by Tom Delaney on May 24th, 2016
Doing your laundry may feel like a drag or it can be quite relaxing. It is easy to get a sense of accomplishment after a laundry few loads, especially as you hang them on a clothesline to dry. The fresh smell and soft feeling of freshly done laundry which has been left to air out on a clothesline are comforting and satisfying at the same time.
On a warm summer day, hanging the washed laundry out to dry on the clothesline can be quite enjoyable. It is one of those simple pleasures of life to watch the clothes flutter in the breeze and shine brightly in the sunlight. It is an image that reminiscent of an idyllic age. It is an image that has almost disappeared from most suburbs. Yet, more responsible citizens are waking up to the reality of the situation. Drying clothes naturally is good for the planet.
Commercial, industrial, and residential clothes dryers use a whopping 15-20% of domestic energy in the U.S. Clothes dryers in U.S. homes emit huge amounts of greenhouse gas - CO2. Using a clothesline will not only reduce the need for energy derived from fossil fuels but also save you lots of money. Hanging laundry outside on a clothesline to dry is a cost-effective and environment-friendly way of finishing off the family wash.
There are many advantages of using a clothesline. Some of them are listed here:
It’s simple and inexpensive to install a clothesline in your backyard or purchase a drying rack from your local department store. One can opt for the old-fashioned backyard variety or set up a rack on one’s balcony or porch. This way, one can get rid of the electric dryer for as long as one wants.
Hanging clothes on a clothesline helps you save money on your utility bills and on laundry product purchases. It is also environmentally friendly at the same time. Electric laundry dryer is the second-highest electricity-consuming appliance after refrigerator. They typically cost the average household about -0 to operate annually. This number is much higher for large families. Instead, if one dries the laundry on a clothesline, the utility bill can be considerably lowered. Using a Laundromat is not an ideal solution. It may save you some on the cost, but the energy consumption, and consequently, the fossil fuel costs are just being transferred to industrial grade machines that consume even more power.
There are some other great benefits of using a clothesline. One can spend more time outdoors in the sunshine and take advantage of the quiet, meditative moments. Doing a routine, calming activity is therapeutic and is good low-impact exercise. While hanging clothes on the clothesline, one feels at peace with oneself and sometimes, it also presents the opportunity to ponder freely.
The sun’s heat and the breeze act as natural antibacterial and deodorizing agents. Hanging your clothes on a clothesline ensures your clothes are clean and smell great too. Free sunlight is much more effective at whitening whites and removing stains than bleach and pricey stain removers. Hanging clothes on the clothesline is also gentle on your clothes than an electric dryer can be, despite what claims you may hear. This helps the clothes last longer without much wear and tear.
Operating a clothesline is a very small investment as it just requires two essential elements, sunlight, and the wind– all of which are free and available in abundance. Unlike the monthly electricity or gas bill that accompanies a dryer, one does not have to pay to air-dry the clothes beyond the initial investment for a clothesline.
About the Author
This article is written by Tom Delaney, an engineer with electronic and mechanical experience in various industries principally the petroleum industry. Breezecatcher Clotheslines are a specialist producer of high quality rotary clotheslines. It was established in 1992 and sell their products directly through the Internet. They now distribute their clothes dryer from bases in Bloomington CA, Lancaster PA, Sydney Australia and Wellington New Zealand.
