# Hanging laundry out to dry in winter???



## Little_Bit_Red (Nov 19, 2010)

Hi all - forgive me, I never really post, and if this is in the wrong place, I apologize (I didn't know where else to post it!:shocked

I have read that some folks who frequent the boards hang their laundry to dry instead of using a dryer. How does one do this in the winter? 

Like, are you hanging it all outside?

Or

Are you hanging it all over the house to dry???

Thanks.....


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## ldc (Oct 11, 2006)

When I lived in Iowa, the laundry would "flash freeze dry" in the winter when it was sunny! Here in Louisiana, it's too wet parts of the year, so I dry in front of a fan.
Depends on "your" winter climate.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I try to hang out from Feb 14 to Thanksgiving, but don't always make it. In the cold, cold winter, I do use the dryer at times, plus hang what I can on hangers around the house or racks.


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## Helena (May 10, 2002)

I'll hang most of our laundry outside even during our very cold northern winters here. Yes..it will freeze but if the wind is blowing you will be surprised at how things will dry. Sheets and undies are no problem. Heavy items like towels and jeans I will bring in and hang near a wood stove for a few hours. If you have a dryer you can toss them in for about 10 minutes to finish them up. rememberin hangin baby cloth diaapers in the cold and having them freeze to the clothes pins way back when...


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## psinatra414 (Nov 1, 2012)

I hang my laundry on indoor drying racks. I do it in the evening and put them in the living room by my wood stove


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

It's great to dry stuff inside during the winter because it adds moisture to the air, fighting off that arid air and making it feel just a little warmer.

You can start stuff outside during the day and then bring it inside, hanging it on racks to finish out. It's really easy to do!

We're fortunate in that we have a small basement with a big old gas furnace. The basement runs in the 80s and is dry so anything I hang down there is dry in about 6 hours.


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## StaceyS (Nov 19, 2003)

The basement! Why didn't I think of that?? lol It's the perfect spot, nice and cozy due to the furnace...


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

StaceyS said:


> The basement! Why didn't I think of that?? lol It's the perfect spot, nice and cozy due to the furnace...


LOL - You're welcome! Ours is too small to use it for anything but storage so I put up a few hooks and hung two lines - enough to hang a full load of laundry. I can do at least 2 loads a day down there without any fuss.


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## Little_Bit_Red (Nov 19, 2010)

oh, wow, ok.....Thanks!


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## notbutanapron (Jun 30, 2011)

I live in Australia. You ever seen winter here?













Once, it got so cold I had to wear a jacket.


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## Janette1 (Jan 24, 2013)

I live in Missouri and the winter weather is variable. I haven't used a dryer for a long time. You just have to be a little picky about which days you do laundry. If it sunny and windy it won't take long for the clothes to dry, even if it's freezing. You have to be prepared to leave them out there for more than one day, though. Also, you may want to wear gloves while hanging all those small white clothes out. It'll freeze your little fingers off!


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Mark Twain said the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. (Yeah, we can't get enough of that old hardy-har) He probably hung his longjohns by the woodstove too. I do.


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## Bluebird (Feb 1, 2006)

My mom hung it in the basement when we were little. I have the old steel radiators in my house. I drape a towel and then the wash. I can drape a number of things on top of each other and everything dries very quickly. Also puts moisture back in the house.


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## wanda1950 (Jan 18, 2009)

I try to watch the weather to know if I have a clear day or so to hang outside. Otherwise, I have an inside rack I use plus hanging some from the less frequently used doorways. If I get in a pinch, I use the dryer but electricity is so expensive we try to avoid it.


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## mrsjez (Nov 4, 2010)

I've seen Amish do it. I haven't tried it myself. But I don't see why it wouldn't work.


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## whodunit (Mar 29, 2004)

In the stove room thats in the basement. Clothes dry in a hour normally.

Saves us around $30 a month


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## Peggy (Feb 14, 2010)

I hang my clothes out in the winter. love the way the sheets smell. sometimes the stuff is alittle damp just hang it over the shower curtain for about 1/2 hour and it is dry.


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## ajaxlucy (Jul 18, 2004)

We have a dryer but rarely use it. Line-drying works fine even in winter so long as it's a dry day.

I have a friend who lived in Newfoundland as a child. She remembers her mother beating the ice out of clothes hanging on the line.


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## housewife (Mar 16, 2006)

When we lived futher North I hung almost everything out all year. During the really cold parts of winter I didn't hang little things. Hanging socks at -40 is not impossible but a pain. The big thing to remember during the winter is it takes longer and to hang so that there aren't folds or pockets to fill with snow. They sure do smell nice when you bring them in. I miss that line.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

We were off grid in Colorado for several yrs. I would hang the stuff out. It would freeze stiff and I'd watch till it went limp and flapped in the breeze. That was my cue to bring it inside to finish with the wood stove.


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## BKB HOMESTEAD (Mar 25, 2013)

I hang clothes that I can on hangers and put them on a clothes rack hanger over my furnace vents in the floor. What I can't hang on hangers I use a wooden rack to hang them on. I can usually do a couple loads a day, and I put them in a room we don't utilize a lot so they're not in the way. It is a good way to add moisture to the air in the winter time, and also seems to make the house smell good! I hardly EVER use my dryer.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I'm just thankful that winter is almost completely over, and is just having a few last hurrrahs. It's much easier, and more fun, to hang clothes in the warm sunshine. It is one of my favorite parts of the day.


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