Solar Clothes Dryer

yes, it is legal in many places to ban clotheslines, and homeowners associations across the country do just that.

Why? They don’t want to look at your underwear. That’s the long and short of it, although cited reasons include safety, property values, and public nuisance concerns. Of course there is a tangle of class and cultural prejudice at play as well.

So for the 60 million or so Americans whose lives are governed by homeowners associations (HOAs), clotheslines are likely to be truly unmentionable. The advocacy group Project Laundry List is building a list of known bans, and our friends at the Sightline Institute have started a similar and fast-filling Google map.

The good news is that several states have passed laws prohibiting such prohibitions, your Sunshine State among them. In fact, Florida is widely considered by the growing right-to-dry movement to be a role model for such legislation. (And if your neighborhood group is trying to institute a ban, you should flap your state law in its face.) In recent years, other states have followed suit in some fashion, including Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Utah, and Vermont; up north, Nova Scotia and Ontario have banned bans as well. Oregon, Virginia, and North Carolina have considered, but failed to pass, similar legislation (read this eye-opening account of how one debate devolved into snickers over knickers).

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While this might appear to be a minor issue, the clothesline brouhaha ties into a broader battle over clean energy, since HOAs often prohibit the installation of solar panels too. (So unsightly, don’t you know.) The state laws I mention above are intended to promote all forms of solar power, including the low-tech type represented by clotheslines. The New York Times has dubbed HOAs the “enemy of solar,” and there have been stabs at federal legislation that would forbid prohibitions on solar installations — including this year — but so far, no dice.

So what can you do about your duds if your HOA hasn’t seen the light? One approach is to broach alternative solutions. Some associations are open to retractable clotheslines. And some people have built a three-sided latticework pergola sort of structure and put the clotheslines inside … the structure is attractive (and can be used as a trellis for cucumbers or tomatoes or flowers). Problem solved!!!!!” Points for creativity, and for enthusiastic use of punctuation.

If your HOA won’t budge, don’t give up: Clothes dryers burn a full 6 percent of our home energy and are the second-hoggiest appliances after our refrigerators. So string a clothesline in your basement or garage or bedroom, or see my previous advice on various types of drying racks. Drape your clothes on hooks and chairs and bookshelves.

You would be thinking that what is the rocket science behind drying clothes. You put them up in a line to dry and they dry. I wish it was as simple as that; ask an experienced homemaker and she will tell you how difficult it is to wash and dry clothes in winter. The sun is on a holiday and without bright sunshine your jeans and woolens take ages to dry. Modern lifestyle requires the quick drying of clothes because you have to catch up for work the next day.

Even if you are a guy staying alone and unfortunately doing your laundry by yourself, it isn’t exactly comfortable to slip into moist jeans with the mercury already dropping. To dry clothes that are partially or totally damp, you can try some of these alternatives at home.

How To Dry Clothes During Winter?

• First of all, try to hang your clothes on a clothes line after you take it out of the clothes dryer of your washing machine. If you pile clothes one on top of the other then none will dry because they will absorb the moisture from each other.
• It is always better to give it a try outdoors before turning to indoor alternatives for drying. If not sunlight then at least fresh air helps take away the damp moldy smell from garments. However if it is cloudy outside you better make arrangements indoors.
• Even if you are drying clothes indoors it is important to hang then in a line. In fact it becomes all the more important because your clothes need more space to dry indoors. Tie up cords to form a make shift clothes line and leave the fan on.
• Not all clothes can be put into the clothes dryer of the washing machine. Some delicate clothing like silk or chiffon need more soft handling. So if you need quick drying for such clothes then the best way is to squeeze them as dry as you can. The lesser water they retain, the faster they will dry.
• If you need a method of drying clothes that is quicker then you need to take help from machines. Not to worry, these are very very common house hold machines that will come to your aid.
• The hair dryer that dries your dainty locks can be used to dry small items of clothing like socks, undergarments and handkerchiefs. Air conditioners do not dry anything other than your skin; it will make the clothes damper but you can experiment with a room heater.
• If you are in a hurry and your jeans is only partially dry then you can try an instant solution that always works. Iron it with a warm clothes iron. Ideally you are not supposed to iron jeans because it spoils the elasticity so don’t over do it.

Use these home improvement tips to dry clothes at home during winters faster and better than before.