Solar Powered Clothes Dryer

There’s an apocryphal story about a guy who made it rich in the seventies by advertising “solar-powered clothes dryers” which were, of course, nothing more than outdoor clothes lines.

Clothes lines have been around a long time. They can be as simple as a line between two trees, or as complicated as a permanent structure dedicated to line drying. I just saw a beautiful, modern design line, with a minimal tree shape cut out as the two ends. It’s pricey, but if I didn't have one already, I’d be tempted to make this one.

Clothes that are line dried last longer as well (drying clothes in a dryer is really kind of rough on the fabric, all that heat and tumbling) And of course, the energy to dry them is free.

According to California Energy Commission, “A dryer is typically the second-biggest electricity-using appliance after the refrigerator, costing about $85 to operate annually.”

In the winter, drying clothes inside can help put moisture back into the air. Collapsible clothes lines can be set up in the bathtub. If the clothes are not dripping, you can drape them over moisture resistant surfaces (I like to imagine that my ficus tree loves being decorated with damp socks and underwear).

Our outdoor line is on our back deck, and I intend to give it a cover so it will double as a patio umbrella.