Dryer and clothesline.

Are you purposely ignoring gas dryers? Not renewable but better than electric.

Not renewable but better than electric.

Not if your house runs on wind power.

I think this is a matter of buying the right machine. My clothes come out fine. Use homogeneous wash loads and a washer dryer with sensors. The front-load model that I have is also very stingy in the amount of energy and water it uses because it allows for soaking.

The survey doesn't give an option for mixed, either. I live in an apartment without access to much clothes-drying space. So I hang smaller, quick-drying items such as underwear in the space available and use the electric dryer for things that would mildew before they finished drying--large towels, jeans, etc.

If you dry your clothes on the low heat setting, you won't need bounce sheets or any other fabric softener, even in the winter. Worried they will have to be in the dryer even longer on low heat? Take them out after their half dried and hang them up on hangers. They'll finish drying on their own. Because they're already half dry they won't end up as stiff as a board or wrinkled. The result? No bounce, no fabric softener, half the heat. Works great.

Good point, but how many peoples house runs on wind?

Hang drying mostly. Our building has a pay-per-use electric dryer and that keeps our electric drying to an absolute minimum (like once a month or so.)

And we're not even real treehuggers. ;)

Thanks for the story about dryer balls! I thought I was doing the right thing by not using chemically-treated dryer sheets.

I like anon's suggestion to dry clothes 1/2 way and then hang them to dry. I just bought a drying rack, so I'll try that method asap!

I do a mix between the dryer and the clothesline, depending on the weather. When I dry on the clothesline I use Ecover brand fabric softener.

I toss everything into a spin dryer for a few minutes to get rid of most of the water and quite a bit of remaining soap, and then dry the rest of the way on a clothesline.

meh, i don't use fabric softeners at all. if it gets to that part of the year where things might get staticy, i throw some vinegar in the rinse cycle.

besides, people throw fabric softener into everything. half of what it does is coat the fabric with this waxy junk that stops static. that's great, now my towels are coated with wax and won't absorb as much water. great.

I send my clothes out for wash and fold. Actually I think this is a fairly green choice since they wash 'em with other people's stuff in super-sized washers and I don't have to own the machines!

You didnt include clothes-horse as an option, even apartment dwellers with no access to outside drying space can avoid using dryers

In the summer and spring I use a clothesline, and in the fall/winter I use my dryer.

I'm suprised how many peopple use these things. Just pulling a drier sheet out of the box, even unscented, feels like a chemical bath. Then to spread it all over your clothes? Gack.

Nothing like finding one of those suckers stuck to your back half way through the day :-)

If you don't want to give them up, tearing them in half works just as well as using a whole one. Obviously, any manufacturer wants you to use more of their product, but it is often not necessary. Most detergents also recommend using more than necessary. EXPERIMENT. Extra suds floating around is a good indication that too much soap is in the water. Just enough to produce a few extra bubbles on the surface is an accurate measure. Extra soap does not rinse out as thoroughly, and casues clothing to be stiffer (and get dirty faster, detergents attract dirt, it's their job).

Anyone have a suggestion to control static without "product"? (besides line drying)

Fabric softener, either liquid or sheets, slowly breaks down organic fibers. Clothes will last much longer if you skip the softeners.

I purchased a new, super-capacity, front load, Energy Star washer with a high-speed spin dry (1200 + rpms). It squeezes so much water out of the wash, that by the time I'm ready to hang the second load, most of the first load is already dry.

To solve the problem of scratchy towels, I took the plunge and bought some Egyptian cotton towels with a special weave that doesn't get stiff when line dyed. I also read about new "bamboo" towels that are supposed to be fast drying and very absorbent. I sew with bamboo fabrics and they are just wonderful. I'd like to hear opinions from anyone who uses bamboo towels. If they line-dry soft, then that will overcome a lot of objections to hanging out ones laundry.

If I have a large grid-tied photovoltaic system on my roof that generates more electricity than I use, is it "ungreen" of me to feel entitled to indulge in the convenience of using an electric dryer?

i've never even heard of these crying sheet thingies. Are they just a North American thing or am I not with the times?
We either use the clothes line outside or clothes horses inside if the weather is bad, and only ever use the dryer if we've been bad with planning ahead and need something in a hurry - which is maybe two or three times a year at most.
I understand that people live in apartments with no clothes lines, but the fact that I've managed to get through life without these drying sheet thingies makes me think that they're not a necessity and that other people can get by without them also.

An option in the quiz for mixed-use would be good. I usually use a drying rack or the clothesline, but in winter I use a dryer (no silly extras, just air). And yeah, my electricity *does* come from wind power.

Perhaps Australia just gets *way* more sun than other countries, but my understanding is that dryer use is extremely rare here. Most people don't like the way clothes coming out of a dryer, and in most of my experience, the dryer takes as long to dry clothes as they take on the line on a good day. I think it's madness to use a dryer. When we bought our house, they left the dryer here. We've used it twice when we have been desperate (in times of long rain), but if we get that sort of rain again, I'll go buy a line to put under our deck, because I dislike the way the clothes come out of the dryer, they line dry only a small amount slower even in the shade, and it's free!!! What is wrong with the world? People turn away the free option of drying in the sun, and *pay* to dry their clothes?

Gregory Williams -
I've been wondering about those spin dryers - could you (or anyone who knows) answer a question or two?

When I spin out the clothes in my washer, they come out sorta wadded and wrinkly. I can run the spin cycle an extra time and get out more water, but the clothes never stop being wrinkly. If I just hang the clothes up to finish drying without a short tumble in my electric dryer, then the wrinkles set and barely come out with ironing. (I'm hanging the clothes inside, so there's no breeze.)

I want a spin dryer, but now I'm worried that the clothes will be even more wrinkly from it. From what you're saying, that sounds like it doesn't happen. Can you tell me more about using the spin dryer?

To answer the poll, I'm a mixed-user as well. Everything gets about a ten minute tumble in the dryer with no dryer sheets (I don't use fabric softener at all) and then hang up as much as I can on my small drying rack.