Line Drying Can Save You a Lot of Money and Save Your Clothes!

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8 min read

Last updated Updated October 9, 2026

Last updated October 9, 2026: corrected the dryer energy figures, updated the cost math and shopping links, removed the old product screenshot clutter, and added a starter plan, a FAQ, and a reader poll.

My mother hung the laundry out in the sun even though we had a mostly unused dryer sitting right there for rainy spells and quick lint removal. As a kid I thought that was just how laundry worked. As an adult paying the power bill, I understand she was running a quiet savings program. There is still nothing on this earth that smells better than sleeping on sheets that dried outside, and line drying clothes is one of the few money-saving habits that also makes the laundry better, not just cheaper.

Here is the honest case for giving your dryer some days off, the objections I hear every time I bring this up, and how to start this weekend without turning your yard into a laundry museum.

Professor Winston Wants to Know

Our resident watchdog is taking the temperature of the room.

How do you dry most of your laundry?

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How do you dry most of your laundry?

Always the dryerLine or rack whenever I canA mix of bothI would line dry if I had the space

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Want to say more? The comments below are open.

The Real Math: What Line Drying Clothes Saves

The first version of this article said a dryer eats 12 percent of a household’s electricity. That figure has not aged well, so here is the corrected version: energy researchers and the U.S. Energy Star program have long put clothes dryers at roughly 6 percent of residential electricity consumption, which still makes the dryer one of the hungriest appliances in the house. Depending on your machine and your rates, a load commonly costs somewhere around fifty cents to a dollar or more in electricity. Run four or five loads a week at home, and skipping the dryer for most of them adds up to real money across a year, plus wear you are not putting on an expensive appliance.

The whole system: line, pins, sun, and a little patience.

Most clotheslines and racks also pay for themselves quickly. A basic line or a folding rack costs less than a month or two of heavy dryer use, and after that the savings are just savings. My original line was homemade, wooden T-poles and strong clothesline wire, and it outlasted several appliances.

Nine Reasons Your Clothesline Earns Its Keep

1. Save money on every load. The dryer is one of the biggest electricity hogs in the home. Loads you hang are loads you do not pay to heat and tumble. It adds up faster than most people expect.
2. Save your clothes. Dryer heat and tumbling shrink fabric, fade colors, break down elastic, and thin out towels and T-shirts. I have shirts and underwear older than some of my students that have never seen the inside of a dryer, and they still look presentable. Line drying is gentle, and gentle wins.
3. Whiten your whites. Sunlight naturally brightens dingy whites. My mother knew this long before anyone sold her a detergent pod with a sun on the box.
4. A little honest exercise. Hanging a load is light movement, fresh air, and a break from a chair. Small things add up. It will not replace a walk, but it beats another hour sitting still.
5. That wonderful smell of clean. Nothing bottled has ever matched sun-dried sheets. This alone converts most people.
6. Fewer wrinkles. Hang shirts by the hem or on hangers right from the washer, smooth them once, and most wrinkles never form. A gentler final spin helps too.
7. No static cling. Line-dried clothes simply do not generate it. Hooray, as I said in 2015, and I stand by the hooray.
8. A smaller energy footprint. No speeches from me. Every load you skip is electricity you did not use, and line drying is one of the cheapest ways in the whole house to use less.
9. Fresher laundry. Sun and moving air leave laundry genuinely fresh, especially sheets and towels that can come out of a dryer smelling faintly baked instead of clean.

Sunshine is the oldest laundry upgrade there is.

The Objections I Hear, and My Answers

What about lint and pet hair?
I live with a cat, so I take this one seriously. Separate the lint magnets after they dry and give just those pieces five minutes in the dryer, or use a good lint brush once they are dry. Five minutes is a lot better than fifty.

A lint brush handles what the clothesline leaves behind. Click the photo to see it on Amazon.

Does line drying take too long?
On a hot, breezy day, a line can beat the dryer. On a cool, humid day it takes longer, and if a load is still slightly damp, ten minutes of dryer time finishes it. Ten minutes is still a win.

I have allergies. Can I line dry?
If pollen is a serious problem for you, this is a real concern, not an excuse, and it deserves a practical workaround: dry on an indoor rack, or shake and bring laundry in before peak pollen settles. Our guide to indoor air quality at home covers the indoor side of that equation.

What about stiff towels?
A half cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle softens towels without coating them, a liquid fabric softener works too, and a few dryer minutes with a dryer ball finishes the job. Stiff towels are a solved problem.

How to Get Started This Weekend

You do not need my T-pole setup to begin, although I built mine with wooden T-poles and this very strong clothesline wire and it served for years. Pick the option that fits your space:

• A yard: a fixed line between posts or trees, or a rotary clothesline.
• A balcony or patio: a retractable line that reels out when you need it and disappears when you do not.
• No outdoor space at all: a folding drying rack near a window or fan. This is also the rainy-day and delicates option.
• Every home: sturdy clothespins, a few hangers for shirts, and a lint brush in the laundry basket.

The retractable line in Winston’s picks below is the one I would hand a beginner in a small space:

Check Price on Amazon

Watchdog Approved

Winston’s Pick: Winston loves napping on line-dried sheets. He says the sun-scrubbed smell is simply unbeatable.

Jialiin 16.7 ft Retractable Clothesline
Mounts to a wall and reels out when you need it: line drying even for small patios and balconies.

Check Price on Amazon

Honey-Can-Do Easy-Fold Drying Rack
A sturdy indoor/outdoor folding rack for rainy days and delicates that shouldn’t go on the line.

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Smart Sheep Wool Dryer Balls, 8-Pack
For the loads that still need the dryer: reusable wool balls cut drying time and soften clothes without chemicals.

Check Price on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Line Drying Questions, Answered

How long do clothes take to dry on a line?
On a hot, dry, breezy day, many loads dry in one to three hours, sheets faster than jeans. Cool, still, humid days take longer. Heavy seams and waistbands are always the last to finish.

Will line drying really save me that much?
It depends on how much laundry your house produces and what you pay per kilowatt-hour. A dryer is one of the most expensive appliances to run per hour, so households doing four or five loads a week usually see the difference on the bill within a month or two. Households doing one load a week will save less money and still get the gentler treatment for their clothes.

What if my neighborhood or landlord does not allow clotheslines?
Rules vary, and some places do restrict outdoor lines. That is exactly what indoor racks and retractable balcony lines are for. Drying on a rack inside breaks no rule I have ever seen, and it still skips the dryer.

Do line-dried clothes smell as clean as dryer loads?
Most people say better. Sun and fresh air leave a clean smell that dryer sheets spend a lot of money trying to imitate. If laundry ever smells sour after drying, it usually sat too long in the washer first. Rewash, then hang it promptly.

References: clothes dryer energy share and savings are discussed by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in Are We Missing Energy Savings in Clothes Dryers? and by Consumer Reports in Energy Star Seeks Innovative Ways to Improve Dryer Efficiency. Your mileage will vary with your machine, your rates, and your weather, which is a very Georgia sentence to end a reference list with.

So tell me: are you already a line dryer, a dryer loyalist, or somewhere in the honest middle like me? What is the one thing that keeps you from hanging more loads outside? Leave it in the comments.