Dawn, unless keeping clothes in the machine for too long or using too high a temperature. dryers are generally pretty gentle on clothes.

If you have a top loading washer, that's the more likely culprit that's causing damage because they're known to do that.

Forgot to mention that is 45 degrees here today so they shouldn't be frozen

We are all tall and clothing likes to shrink in the dryer. All clothes are steamed for 5 minutes in the dryer and then hung to dry. Outside in the summer and on a clothesline in the gameroom in the winter. Towels, sheets, socks etc are dried in the dryer. Once in a while I will dry the sheets outside.

Dawn I am with you . I think the heat and tumbling is hard on clothing.

Haha, well, I didn't know there was a height component to consider. I'm over 6 feet and all my clothes are washed in a front loader and then into a gas dryer. My clothes don't seem to shrink. I throw away and replace items that I get tired of having for years and years, especially things like underwear, t-shirts and socks that last so much longer than they used to when we had a top loader.

In Venice, I made special gladiator outfits for me to wear when doing laundry, as no one could see into our back yard anyway, and it made doing laundry more fun.

Sorry, but his line made me smile so big, I just had to re-post in case anyone missed it. You are so much fun, Lars.

If clothing is mostly cotton (unless pre-shrunk by the manufacturer) it is prone to shrink in the dryer. Yes, polyester, nylon, spandex, and acrylic doesn't shrink and you can dry it all you want in the dryer.

All my clothes, towels, and bedding that go into the washing machine are 100% cotton.

ALL my laundry goes on the line, all the time. I don't own a dryer. Such a waste of money... :)

I recall stiff clothing from my child hood. Now a days, I only wash on windy and dry days. The windier, the more likely towels get washed. ;)

Moni

Moni, that'd be just about everyday of the week in Oklahoma! ;-)

I use a dryer and have not ever had a shrinking problem with my cotton clothing, sheets or towels as long as I follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

I wouldn't mind hanging sheets outside, but between the insects and birds.......it can't be done where I live. Some insects, beetles and stinkbugs in particular, are attracted to white or light colored siding or sheets where they leave stains that are very difficult to get out.

Back in my ancient days, my mother did the same. There days when we'd bring in frozen laundry to finish drying inside on lines strung throughout the kitchen suspend by door frames. We had to be careful not to bend the frozen laundry else it could be 'broken'. On colder days, the laundry did not go outside, but was dried in the kitchen. It did drip some on the floor, but that was linoleum and no harm was done. A mop was kept handy. It certainly helped to humidify the air.

Hanging laundry outdoors is one of life's greatest pleasures! Oh how I wish Lars was my neighbor!

i love hanging my clothes outside!! in the winter i just air my bed pillows and comforter outside for the day, oh that smell!!!

spring, summer & fall, clothes go out on the line. not socks, undies or towels they go in the dryer...

We are all tall and clothing likes to shrink in the dryer.

I'm willing to bet it's the refrigerator, not the dryer. :)

No lines here, HOA and deed restrictions prohibit line drying, and I'm fine with that.

Our dryer is gentle on clothes. A multitude of settings...you can't go wrong.

I watched my mother haul basket after basket of clothes up the basement steps and then outside to dry. Not happening here! And I sure don't miss those rough bath towels when they line dry!

I don't have a problem with shrinkage and I have lots of 100% cotton.

Michael, so it is the refrigerator that is making me tall. My pants turn into flood pants and my long sleeve shirts don't reach my wrists anymore is because I eat to much and I am growing. Not because my clothes shrink in the dryer. Wow, now I am going to eat less so my arms and legs will be shorter. You hear this everyone. If your short and want to be taller just eat more and vice a versa. Thank you so much for your wisdom.

I love the freshness of clothes hung to dry! Some things are better machine dried- towels, socks undies, jeans. Lots of other things are hung out on the patio. This works for me

I have never owned a dryer except for a brief period when I lived in upstate NY, had a son in middle/high school, and it rained sometimes for weeks at a time. I love hanging out my clothes, and it's so much easier on them, especially anything with elastic--think panties and bras. And nothing runs up your electric bill like an electric dryer (except electric baseboard heat).

I have memories of visiting my relatives overseas. It must have been the summer of 65 or 66. I was 3 or 4.

At that time the farms had little modernization. Close to nothing. I remember my aunt and cousins doing the wash. What labor! My aunt had a small workroom outside of the main house. The well was right outside. The water had to be drawn up by hand a bucket at a time. She boiled the whites in a big cauldron type of thing. Her whites came out really white!

The next time I went, I might have been 8, there were many changes, but still no washer. They had some type of pump to bring up the water.

I can’t ask my mom to reminisce with me. She’s 90 and easily agitated. Her mind immediately goes to the sad memories and I can’t right now.

I have very happy memories of my time spent there.

I've always had electric dryers and they don't add much to the electric bill. I have a "smart" meter so I can view my usage on an hourly basis and there is only a small increase when using the dryer, less than using the oven.

I wonder if the actual cause of those with increased bills is the placement of the dryer is causing the HVAC to run more. My dryers have always been located in unconditioned space such as the garage or basement.

Hubby and I both have some cotton clothes and ours don't shrink in the dryer.

I do not use the highest heat on my dryer. I let it tumble longer at a lower temp as I think it uses less electricity that way and is gentler on the clothes. I often hang my tops to dry as that is what the label recommends. They probably would shrink if dried.

I did not have HVAC when I lived in Venice with the electric dryer, and my electric bill decreased by more than half when we stopped using the electric dryer. We did not need air conditioning there, as we got cool ocean breezes, and we only had a wall furnace that we used December through February, as it never got cold there either. We did open windows when it got warm, and that was enough, with fans.

wind is great at drying clothes.

Oh how I love to remember the wonderful smell of sheets dried in the open air. Took pride in hanging my clothes on line. We lived in Seattle in the early 60's and a tin roof was over our clothesline as it rained quite a bit. Too old now to hang on line, but it brings a smile to my face to see clothes drying in the wind.

I have never once dried my clothes outside! I do air dry one dress I own since it gets really staticy in the dryer (I don't use dryer sheets). But I just put that on a hanger and put it away since my washer gets clothes practically dry already.

I remember my Mom hanging clothes on the clothes line and because I wet the bed until I was 10 or 11 years old (thank God I outgrew that) it must have been very laborious. We didn't get electricity until I was in my teens so a weekly laundry trip downtown to the laundry mat was pretty much in the cards. I've never liked the texture or smell of clothes dried outside ... I know, strange! I love my washer & dryer! Please don't judge HaHa!

My Grandmother had an old wringer washing machine in her cellar and I remember helping her put the clothes through the wringers to squeeze the excess water out, then carrying them up a half flight of steps to the outside door and putting them to dry on the line.

We lived in a farm house for a number of years when I was a bit older, our washing machine was on a first floor enclosed entry porch. I hung clothes on the line - one of my chores. But I remember we had a large mulberry tree and the birds made messes on the laundry sometimes with big purple stains.

Would love to hang my bed linens especially outside to dry now where we live, but again I think the birds would be a bother - especially the seagulls. We also get long stretches of thick green tree pollen in the spring from pines and then oak. So - poor conditions for outdoor clotheslines.

I have stopped using any laundry detergent/fabric softener with added scents. The perfumes bother me.

I too cannot stand scented laundry products. A couple of years ago my neighbor needed to use my washer, and she used a scented soap. I have a small house, and I could smell that awful stench for weeks, even after running the washer several times with water mixed with vinegar and then water with baking soda.

And a workman who I occasionally need wears clothing that simply reeks of scented laundry/dryer products. I can hardly stand to have him in the house, though he does a great job, and I actually can smell the scents outside when he first opens the door of his truck.

And I am a person who loves real scented oils. But those artificial scents.......

I don't see how anyone can stand them.

Lacey, I'm hoping we won't have to tolerate those awful smells for too much longer. Several nights ago our local news ran a story on the dangerous chemicals(carcinogens) in personal products, it should have been the dangers of perfumes in personal products. They explained that there is no oversight on the safety of these products and that the FDA has no jurisdiction over them. I view it just like smoking, as more people become aware of how dangerous scents are (and how many people have chemical sensitivities) it will become socially unacceptable to use them. I'll be so happy to see that day.

I didn't get around to putting my laundry away the other day... and finally dumped it on my bed, to fold it all nice to fit in the shelves.

Oh, did my room smell lovely the rest of the day. :)

Moni

Raye, I've been switching over all my scented products to natural ones for that reason. I used to adore traditional perfumes but now I use organic and natural perfume. Much lighter. Same for shampoos, soaps, cleaning products...

I used to love the laundry aisle but now it gives me a headache. I think they use way more fragrance than they used to, or I'm getting more sensitive.

Raye, i hope you're right about the artificial scents, but I doubt much will change.
We've known about the danger of artificial scents for years.

I probably won't happen in my lifetime considering how long it took for smoking to go away. They called cigarettes "coffin nails" in WWII, they knew the dangers but it took into the 70's & 80's before it became there was a large decline in the numbers of smokers. Now I don't know anyone that smokes.

With the movement to more natural products and more people choosing to not use toxic products I hope this change will happen more quickly. The saddest part is all the children suffering with asthma and cancer from exposure to these products that contain known carcinogens.

Seagrass, we had mulberry trees and when the birds did their thing on our sheets, my Mom used to whip those damn sheets off the lines and take them back downstairs to the wringere washer. My Dad used to always say "Good thing cows don't fly."

Such great memories. Thank you.

If bulls were able to fly, I suppose it'd be a similar problem, do ya figger, Pat?

Our winters are getting warmer, so sometimes I can hang laundry out in the winter - had some out a few days ago, and some sitting in the washer will go out tomorrow, quite likely.

ole joyful

No way would I hang laundry outside -- one of the WORST things you can do if you suffer from seasonal allergies (aka hayfever). I'd be in misery from the effects of all that pollen stuck to the clothes and sheets. Put up a clothesline or use an air rack in the house in you want to air dry.

I live in the country. In the evening when the sun is just at the right angle, I can see the air is literally full of pollen and insects. I've never understood how hanging laundry with all this yellow green pollen and insects is desirable.

i don't care for heavily scented products. However I do know that many unscented products actually contain more chemicals than the scented ones do. They have to neutralize the odor of the product somehow and the only way to do that is use use odor reducing chemicals. How ever I don't struggle with chemophobia so I use either depending on what I find more pleasing to my senses.

I wash in a front loader. I do DH's heavy cotton tees he works in and my barn clothes on extra hot and dry on warm or hot depending. Most other stuff gets washed on hot since hot is the new warm. No shrinkage, no problems with wear and tear except from normal day to day use.

Have hung most of my clothes for 36 years & can count on one hand, how many bugs or birds soiled my laundry. Just had some out yesterday & they smelled divine. No seasonal allergies here, but do you all keep your windows closed year round? Can't even imagine.

I was thinking you could leave off the word seasonal for me. allergies year round. That is correct, no open windows. I might air it out once a year on one really mild day and that's it. Just as a treat, and then pay the price.

I have some relatively mild allergies -- sneezy, coughy, itchy eyes. OTC antihistamines settle it when needed. I don't have a clothesline for outdoor drying. I never open my windows, they have no screens to keep out insects. A heavily-traveled FM road passes by my house, there's an agriculture field up the road, hay baling in the area, etc. so several sources for odors and stirring up dust.

Well, move to the city for some fresh, clean air. We are city people who use a clothesline.

I too dry my clothes outside all year round. Summer on the line, and winter out on the balcony on a rack. This one was taken on a spring day. On the rack they come in frozen solid and it instantly brings the temperature down in the apartment!

My house is approx 3/4 mile from the city limits (and the middle school).

I live in Texas, in the country surrounded by hay meadows and cows but I have my windows open every chance I get. The north and east windows are open right now. It's 67 degrees in the house with 31% humidity. I'm in heaven! But that's short lived. This will be the last month of open windows till usually late Oct. Last year it was Nov. East Texas is hot and steamy. Hanging clothes out to dry is different than opening your windows. I don't know how, but it is (g)

Jasdip, that is an awesome photo! Very Americana.

I do leave the windows open in nice weather, and I'm aware that stuff (pollen and dust) does get in through the screen. That doesn't seem to affect my allergies to any great degree that I've noticed, though, maybe because it settles down to the floor/surfaces, I'm not sure. With line-drying clothes, though, the pollen sticks to the fabric, then you're walking around with that all over you but that's not quite as bad as it sticking to pillowcases and sheets -- then you're laying your head on a literal bed of pollen and breathing it in all night. Along the same line of advice that allergy suffers should at a minimum rinse down including their hair at night to rinse off/out the pollen -- again, so the pollen that sticks to you, especially hair, isn't being breathed in all night once you hit the pillow. My mom used to line dry stuff and it was misery during high season when I was a kid...

I grew up in the swish neighborhood of a small town -- no clotheslines there. I live in a Manhattan high-rise -- no clotheslines here, either. But I once visited a friend who lived out in Queens. She had been telling me about her house, garden, pool, etc. It was like visiting another world where everything was in miniature. The rooms in the house all seemed oddly smaller than expected. The yard was tiny with a postage stamp garden. The pool turned out to be one of those above ground kind, about 10 feet in diameter. But the most "foreign" thing was her clothesline. One pole was in the yard and the line went to her kitchen window. She could sit at her kitchen table and string up the clothes, then pull in into the yard! And looking across her yard I saw her neighbors' sheets and underwear. At the time, I lived in a tiny third floor studio walk up and hauled my laundry five blocks to the laundromat. By comparison, her set-up seemed rather luxe. But I still wouldn't want to see my neighbors' underwear.

"But I still wouldn't want to see my neighbors' underwear." Hahaha, I hide my undies and bras on the middle line behind the sheets.

I remember Mom telling me how mad she'd get when she tried to take the pillowcases and sheets off the line in the winter. They were frozen solid, and the corners would snap off!

Even now bringing in everything frozen solid (jeans, sheets, towels) from the balcony, I'm careful so that they don't get caught in the edge of the sliding door or chair and break!

I can't remember the last time I saw a clothesline. They're quite rare in my area.