The Dos and Don’ts of Clothes Drying

Introduction

Dryers consume a lot of power for drying your clothes and often give unsatisfactory results. If your dryer is broken, you can hire a professional to look at it by searching for “dryer repair near me” or consider air-drying your clothes. It can save you a lot of money and hassles. Let’s check out the dos and don’ts of drying your clothes:

The Details

1. Do start with the largest items – People usually do their laundry in bulk instead of a few items of clothing at a time. That means you have everything from bed sheets and blankets to shirts and hand towels. In such cases, you need to hang the largest items first so that you can make the best use of the space available to you. For instance, you can’t start with the bedsheets, hang heavy towels, blankets and then hang your clothes. Also, make sure to leave a gap of at least an inch between each item to promote good airflow. 

2. Don’t hang your clothes without a raincheck – Most weather apps provide a lot of information about the local weather, and you should check them before you hang your clothes. You want to avoid the rain so that your dry clothes don’t get wet, and you don’t want strong winds to rip the clothesline and make a flying carpet out of your sheets. Apart from that you also need to check for pollen if you or any family member is susceptible to pollen allergies. Weather apps usually have that information and if yours doesn’t, then you go to Pollen.com for your local pollen forecast.

3. Do keep the clothesline clean – Installing a clothesline is supposed to be a temporary affair. However, people don’t bother bringing it down since it’s such a hassle. However, your clothesline gets dirty very easily from dust, bird droppings, and other sorts of contaminants. Make sure you wipe that off before hanging your clean clothes. It’s also important to bring down clothespins after they have served their purpose. If you leave them on the clothesline, they can easily get rusted due to high humidity and other external elements. Eventually, that rust leaves a residue on your clothes, and you get the most awful surprise before an important date or interview.

4. Don’t hang heavy garments – If you have clothes made of wool, jackets, or any other heavy clothing item, you shouldn’t hang them dry. Heavy clothes are usually absorbent materials, and the extra water weight pulls down on the shoulders and sleeves to misshapen your clothing and ruins the fit. Instead, you need to flat dry them on a mesh or a drying rack. After some time, turn the garment over to the other side to speed up drying.

5. Do hang different items properly – When you dry laundry properly you don’t have to deal with wrinkles and long wait times. For instance, skirts, tee shirts, and other such thick knit fabrics should be hung upside down to reduce sag and avoid shoulder marks. For small garments like swimsuits, children’s clothing, innerwear, and socks, you can hang them any way you want unless there is a heavy side that may sag. The most effective way for drying pants is to pin aligned inner seams to the clothesline or use drying racks. Allow the waistband to hang off the rack so that the extra tension can pull away wrinkles.

6. Don’t forget to shake the clothes before hanging them – After air-drying, your clothes may become stiff and hard to manage. Prevent that by giving them a good shake before you hang them. Shaking helps you fluff the fibers of the garment so that the clothes don’t stiffen up by sticking to themselves. Also, make sure to fully stretch out your clothes while drying. Don’t leave any crinkles.

7. Don’t forget to use towels while machine drying – While air-drying is most cost-effective and environmentally friendly, it needs a bit of planning. So, when you need an important garment for a quick-approaching yet unplanned event, you need to rely on the dryer. However, did you know that you can hasten the already quick machine drying process if you throw in a towel? Towels are fluffy fabrics that can absorb a lot of moisture and it helps to absorb the moisture from the wet clothes quickly inside the dryer.

8. Do use customized settings – When you’re machine drying your clothes, you should also use the custom settings for different fabrics. Dryers with custom settings for cotton, synthetics, and mixed load have different drying cycles for maximum efficiency.

9. Don’t dry dark and bright fabrics in direct sunlight – Direct intense sunlight with ultraviolet rays can destroy the chemical structure of the dyes on the fabric and cause fading. That’s why you should always dry those fabrics in a warm spot in the backyard under a tree or somewhere they can get sufficient shade. 

10. Do use the fan while drying indoors – Bad weather, pollen, and numerous other factors can prevent you from drying clothing outdoors. When you have to dry your clothes indoors, turn on the ceiling fan or use a portable fan to create a gentle breeze. High air circulation helps to move dry air more effectively so that the moisture can be moved away from the fabric faster. 

11. Don’t air dry down garments – Down garments like jackets, comforters, and vests are unsuitable for air drying due to the uneven weight distribution that is further amplified when they absorb water. They tend to form lumps after air-drying. That’s why machine drying them is the best solution to keep them fluffy.Conclusion

The above-mentioned tips should help you dry your clothes perfectly and also reduce your energy bill. Moreover, it also helps to reduce your carbon footprint. While air-drying is encouraged, dryers are still a quick and convenient way of getting rid of moisture from your clothes. If yours is broken, search for “dryer repair near me” to hire a professional.