Depending on your age, chances are good that you remember your mother or grandmother hanging clothes on a clothesline outside instead of using a dryer. You may even remember the fresh aroma that clothes and linens had once dried. Of course, dryers have become a very important appliance in the home and for some situations, a necessary appliance. However, most of us have become so locked into time-saving and convenience that we sacrifice by using more energy and spending more money on utilities.
For example, in the wintertime, the dryer makes it possible for clothes and linens to be dried since hanging clothes outside would not be a viable option for most people. In addition, dryers are a great option when in a hurry to get something dried. If you need to use the dryer, choosing to operate it late at night or early in the morning would still provide you with the convenience wanted but at a lower price. Since these hours are off-peak, the amount charged by the utility company would be less than during peak hours.
On the other hand, if you could learn to use the dryer only when necessary and take advantage of free sunlight, you would use significantly less energy. As a result, the money paid to the utility company would decrease each month. In addition to this, cutting down on energy consumption means that you would be doing your part in supporting a healthier planet. With growing concern about global warming and the ozone layer depleting, hanging clothes outside to dry and using the dryer only on occasion certainly helps.
To put this in perspective, consider some of the facts. According to the California Energy Commission, the cost to operate a dryer throughout its expected 18-year life span is around $1,500, whether gas or electric. Another statistic comes from the United States Department of Energy that states for electricity used within the home on a monthly basis, the dryer accounts for 6%. While looking at the numbers broken down as costing you $7 a month for doing one load of clothes each day may not seem significant, when this is added to all the other expenses it becomes a very big deal.
Keep in mind that along with the cost for energy to operate the clothes dryer, other expenses have to be calculated in such as dryer sheets, fabric softener, laundry baskets, etc. Now, the $7 per month price to dry one load of clothes a day now increases to about $33 a month with one load a day for electrical dryers and approximately $24 a month based on one load a day for gas dryers.
Okay, having the facts about what it costs to operate the dryer, the question becomes “How much energy and financial savings exists by drying clothes outside?” Well, sunlight and UV rays are free. You would no longer need dryer sheets or liquid fabric softener, and if you typically do your laundry at a local laundry mat, the cost of gas, as well as wear and tear on the car has been eliminated, not to mention your time being wasted while waiting for the laundry to finish. Obviously, it becomes clear that drying the clothes outside saves you exactly the same amount you spend for using the dryer but then some.
Remember, along with the obvious costs of drying clothes in a dryer, there are a number of unseen expenses. For instance, because clothes shed lint when being dried in a dryer, fabric wears out quicker. That means drying clothes outside would actually help your clothes and linens last longer. In simple terms, making the switch to drying clothes outside as often as possible would cut down on the amount of energy being used and save you money. When you couple this change to others you could make, simple savings now turn into serious money.
