6 top hacks to Maintain the Softness of Line-Dried Clothes (2024)

Maintain the Softness of Line-Dried Clothes

Maintain the Softness of Line: So you’re a fan of hanging your clothes out to dry but dislike how stiff they feel afterward? We all love the energy savings, the knowledge that we’re reducing our environmental footprint, and the fresh scent of our garments — no excessive fabric softener fragrance needed!

There is no doubt that using a clothesline saves both energy and money. On top of that, most of us prefer the fresh aroma of sun-dried laundry instead of running a clothes dryer. So how do we reduce the cardboard roughness of our towels, garments, and sheets? Hanging out to dry creates generally stiffer laundry than the fluffy stuff you take out of the dryer. In fact, they can be so crunchy and rigid that they may almost stand on their own!

But never fear. Here at Coastal Clothesline, we have prepared our top hacks to help keep your clothes soft even when line-drying them! Let’s go!

Here are the 6 top hacks to Maintain the Softness of Line-Dried Clothes:

Make use of White Vinegar

The no.1 simplest way to keep your line-dried items from becoming stiff is to use white vinegar as a natural fabric softener. Then, substitute half a cup (or slightly less) of it for your regular fabric softener in the last rinse cycle. Don’t worry; the vinegar scent will dissipate as the clothing dries. In addition, it has the extra benefits of zero chemicals and fake fragrances found in commercialized fabric softeners.

Reduce Laundry Soap Use to Reduce Line-Drying Stiffness

Our no.2 discovery for stiffness is that there may be soap build-up. The solution is washing your clothes with less soap or detergent, except for the dirtiest that will need some stain remover. Then, as usual, put them through a rinse cycle.

I’ve discovered that sometimes enough detergent is left over to wash lightly soiled items without topping up on detergent. Try it! When all of the soap or detergent has been used up, use only half the amount recommended by the manufacturer. It is simply another chance for them to sell you more products than you actually need.

Shake Your Clothes

Another easy solution to stiff line drying starts here at no.3. Give your clothing a good shake when you hang them on the line. It is comparable to how your dryer tumbles the items inside. While it’s not quite as efficient as tumbling the clothing for half an hour, snapping them before putting them on helps keep them softer.

Wait for a Windy Day

Coastal Clotheslines’ best hacks for line drying no. 4 — a slight breeze, like shaking your clothes, will help maintain your clothes suppleness. So, while it may feel more challenging to hang laundry on a clothesline when it’s windy (let’s refer to it as ‘the workout’), it helps to keep your garments and towels from becoming stiff.

After the Line, Fluff in the Dryer

Getting home from work at dusk? Let’s use no.5 and take in your garments while they are still a little bit damp and dry them for the last 10 minutes. Throwing a clean, damp washcloth in the dryer helps to create the humidity needed to soften them up. You will have saved dollars and energy compared to running a full drying cycle, and your clothes will be less stiff as a result! Winning!

Reduce Your Spin Speed

The ultimate hack for softening your line dried washing is to look closely at what your washing machine offers for rinse and spin speeds. The faster they spin, the more water is expelled from the laundry items. If it’s a cracking sunny day, you could lower the spin to 800rpm from 1200rpm and let mother nature take care of the rest. As the moisture is drawn by the sun from laundry that is slightly wetter, the less stiff that load of washing will be! Thank you, sun.

What do you get when you hang your stuff to dry?

If you have a household that washes laundry daily (welcome to my world), your clothes dryer accounts for a significant chunk of your home’s energy use and expense. According to some estimates, the clothes dryer accounts for a minimum of 6% of your total home energy consumption. That’s a minimum of one hundred dollars out of pocket per year, wasting electricity or gas and adding to the planet’s carbon emissions.

It is up to you whether you are willing to endure slightly stiffer washing in exchange for saving energy, the environment, and money. Finally, being slightly stiff could actually be cool!

Do fine line drying with one of the world’s most sustainable clotheslines, Coastal Clotheslines’robust and dependable clothing lines. Discover many types of clotheslines and select the ideal one for you. Then, visit Coastal Clotheslines to choose the perfect sustainable solution for your home!