We finally have nice enough weather for line-dried laundry. Help.

[Crissy]

When I machine dry I never use fabric softener. Hunter's skin is sensitive, and so is my nose. He breaks out; I get a headache.

But my line-dried towels are crunchy. And the under-things don't look like they will be terribly comfortable.
Is there a way to prevent the starched feel and appearance of my laundry when I hang them outside? Or do I have another summer of scratchy towels and stiff jeans ahead of me?

[sdWTMer]

I think I've heard off adding vinegar to the rinse cycle that it would alleviate that problem. HTH

[Doran]

...is a few minutes in the dryer before you hang them out. You can also do it after they're dry. You won't see quite the same savings on energy, but those few minutes will soften up your clothes.

Mind you, we don't dislike the crunchy feel of our undies. I did not just type that! :lol:

[Crissy]

Mind you, we don't dislike the crunchy feel of our undies.

:001_huh:









You are too funny.
I imagine someone with cruchy underwear *must* develop a good sense of humor, eh?

[Amy loves Bud]

Mind you, we don't dislike the crunchy feel of our undies. I did not just type that! :lol:

There is a really funny response trying to come out of me here, but I just can't get it out. It's one of those, "I should have said..." situations.

Anyway, I feel a little closer to you now, Doran. :rofl:

[Sahamamama]

Hope this helps!

http://homeparents.about.com/od/laundryandclothingcosts/qt/clothes_soft.htm

[Sahamamama]

Hope this one is better!

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/06/06jun19a.cfm

[cin]

Vinegar. I put it in the softener cup in my washer and it is great. DH hasn't even noticed ;).

I actually got the tip here. It is SO. MUCH. CHEAPER!!!!

[Crissy]

Hope this one is better!

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/06/06jun19a.cfm

Excellent! Thank you.

[Crissy]

I think I've heard off adding vinegar to the rinse cycle that it would alleviate that problem. HTH

Hope this one is better!

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/06/06jun19a.cfm

Vinegar. I put it in the softener cup in my washer and it is great. DH hasn't even noticed ;).

I actually got the tip here. It is SO. MUCH. CHEAPER!!!!

Vinegar it is!

[Sharon H in IL]

I hope the vinegar works for you. My laundry is still crunchy; might be our extra-hard water. I use the vinegar as a rinse aid to get all the detergent out, otherwise DH's skin breaks out in hives.

We too, don't really mind the crunch factor.:D

[Crissy]

I hope the vinegar works for you. My laundry is still crunchy; might be our extra-hard water. I use the vinegar as a rinse aid to get all the detergent out, otherwise DH's skin breaks out in hives.

We too, don't really mind the crunch factor.:D

Take a look at the second link Sahamamama left. Some of the suggestions include using half the amount of detergent and not extracting as much water from the clothes.

I will be giving both suggestions (in addition to the vinegar) a try as I'm trying to completely avoid using my dryer.

[Lucy in Australia]

My laundry is still crunchy; might be our extra-hard water


Crunchy laundry can sometimes be helped by making sure the final spin cycle is strong enough to squeeze as much water out of the clothes as possible. I noticed that if I use the gentler cycle on things like towels, they dry stiffer.

However, it could also be due to hard water. And for that I have no advice, just sympathy :grouphug:

[Quiver0f10]

I second adding vinegar tothe rinse cycle. Also, give each peice a good snap before you hang it out.

[Snickerdoodle]

We like crunchy laundry. Towels just don't seem clean to me unless they are crunchy. I love the feel of jeans when they are crunchy.

[Doran]

We like crunchy laundry. Towels just don't seem clean to me unless they are crunchy. I love the feel of jeans when they are crunchy.



You can be a member of the Crunchy Undie Club! (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=335697#poststop)


:001_rolleyes:

[Snickerdoodle]

I think of my crunchy towels as part of my exfoliating skincare program. :lol:

[Doran]

For wrinkle free and softer laundry, leave it out in a thunderstorm!

This works especially well when you don't get Sunday's laundry out until late afternoon, so you leave it on the line overnight. It rains that night, hard, so you leave Sunday's stuff out all day Monday. Late Monday afternoon, when the Sunday clothes are dry, you take them in and hang out Monday's laundry. It rains that night, hard, so your Monday clothes are still hanging there all day Tuesday. And now those clothes are also soft and wrinkle free. I'm so smart, aren't I? ;)

[Colleen]

You don't have to wait until this kind of weather to line dry clothes here. Might sound unbelievable, but you really can line dry much of the year. Yeah!:)

I'm no help re "crunchy" towels, etc though. I love 'em that way. Seems somehow more real to me. Unlike the soft, perfumey-ness (can you tell I made that word up?;)) of stuff washed with Downey and tumbled. Maybe the vinegar will do the trick for you, though.

[Crissy]

You don't have to wait until this kind of weather to line dry clothes here. Might sound unbelievable, but you really can line dry much of the year. Yeah!:)



But...but...that just doesn't seem right. Hanging laudry when the sun isn't shining? :001_huh:

I do have to get a better line. The one Corky strung yesterday was nearly dragging the ground by the time my towels were dry.
Then maybe I'll give off-weather-line-drying a chance. ;)

[Ishki]

Do you dilute the vinegar or use full strength?

I always line dry clothes. Hubby grew up with crunchy towels (my mil never owned a dryer - with 14 kids:tongue_smilie:) I thought they were rough when I started line drying but don't even notice it now. My expectations have lowered somewhat....

Janet