Using the Moisture Sensor on the Dryer
OK, I know any post that talks about dyer habits really isn't that green. But as I've mentioned before, our HOA prohibits clothes lines, except for on the side of our house that is totally shaded by pine trees. And I'm going with the assumption that replacing all of our clothes on a weekly basis due to pine sap damage would be a bigger energy suck than using the dryer. Also.... I'm lazy.
So anyhow, I don't know what type of dryer you have, but if it was manufactured in the last, oh I don't know, 20 years or so, it should have a moisture sensor. Check out the picture I snapped of mine:
I always use the Auto Moisture Sensing side of it. However, I only recently learned (ok, about six months ago, but I was slow to post about it) that clothes weren't meant to be dried in a dryer to the point of being 100% moisture-free. It's really hard on the fabrics to be exposed to that drying heat source after all the moisture is gone. So now I set the dial closer to "less dry" than "normal dry". Sure, some stuff needs to hang on the back of a chair for a while before being folded, but that's really not any extra work. Plus, it will keep my clothes looking and feeling new longer. Added bonus? No more static electricity - that only comes from super dry clothes.
Savings:
Bringing the clothes out early cuts about 15 minutes off the drying cycle. I do roughly one load of laundry per day, so that equates to about 39 kWh per month or almost 500 kWh per year.
Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5
Oooooh, it hurts my wrist to turn the knob the extra 1/10 of a turn. Just kidding. This is another very simple change to make. Try it. You'll like it.
8 comments:
I do hang-dry my clothes - some of them even outside, and those ice crystals sure are hard on my chapped feet :). Seriously, though, I also use a wooden drying rack indoors, which works very well and wouldn't violate any HOA rules ... which we don't have (thank goodness! I'm positive an HOA wouldn't like my chickens, either ;).
If you ever need a cheap thrill, and have nothing better to do, and want to watch your electric service meter wheel go around really fast, and then really slow, turn your dryer on, go look at the service meter, then go turn off your dryer, and go back and look at the meter.
I, too, have a clothesline prohibitive HOA. In Arizona. Where it's sunny and DRY.
I put up a rope (not a clothesline, it's a rope ;) ) dry my bedspread and sheets, and furtively take down my rope as quickly as I can.
What rope??
I actually wanted to send you a private message but can't find a way to do that.
I am suggesting that you place a very large 'WARNING" label on your blog due to the danger it may pose in someone's life when reading it.
Your writing is so dang funny it is dangerous. Now, I am not saying that this happened but it is just one possible side effect of reading your blog.
It just might be possible that someone just wakes up on a lazy weekend day and is sauntering around their house in nothing but a t-shirt (thank god for the invention of window coverings or unsuspecting neighbors might go into some sort of seizure activity). Sitting down to "enjoy" this blog, it might be possible that someone is munching on 100% natural coconut macaroons. It might be possible that someone unexpectedly laughs so heartily while reading, that they inhale a stray piece of coconut down their airway. It is also possible that this would cause eyes to bug out, complete panic sets in and start a fit of violent coughing. While a person might start to lament their dying alone in a t-shirt in front of a computer they are brought back to the here and now when the violent coughing results in peeing! This might cause the victim of your blog to be brought immediately back to their senses because they for sure don't want to be found in a puddle of their own pee with a can of "Jennies Coconut Macaroons" beside them - Mama Cass anyone?! This might result in the victim runing to the shower to clean up, all the while continuing to cough violently, so as to at least die clean for the paramedics and their own legacy. Then this might be followed by throwing up - yes, throwing up from coughing so much. Once they are cleaned up they of course go back to your blog and...
eat a macaroon!!
It may seem far fetched, crazy, never gonna happen but let's just say, it might!
Leslie --
First off, you know I'm ALWAYS looking for a cheap thrill. Secondly, shhhhhhh... but I'm planning to hang a secret rope this spring. It'll run from the kids behemoth playset to the giant oak tree. And if a squirrel even THINKS about crapping all over my clothes, I'm gonna be eating a 100 foot stew, if you know what I mean.
ChristyB,
Oh my gourd. If you laughed even half as hard at my post as I did at your comment, then we should probably both have the paramedics on speed dial! I recommend switching to a less dangerous snack. Try Fluff straight out of the jar. It's a family favorite.
Now I'm really in trouble...there are two of you jokesters out there :)
I have always said this is the funniest blog on the puter.
Mmmm ... fresh stew with frozen tomatoes...that'll work!
Ok, DANG, I am not even going to try to be funny after those comments!
Just wanted to say that I too am inherently lazy, but I've found a folding drying rack to be not bad at all in the "extra work to save the planet" department. You can usually get a rack on Freecycle or yard sales (or I've seen usable ones in the trash, ahem, just sayin'), or buy one if need be for about $10. I dry my clothes for about 10-15 mins to fluff and get some of the extra moisture out. Woven fabrics go on hangers and knits go on the drying rack. No wrinkles, either!
And I just use them in the house - frozen clothes are hard to wear, and hubby has bad bad seasonal allergies in summer. They don't take up much room, and the drying clothes add some humidity in the winter.
Heh, I *do* have a clothesline, but it's under a large oak tree, and though I can't vouch for sap problems, birds did mess our clothes TWICE this past summer. That's what we get for putting the feeder right next to the line, eh?
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