Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

We're still shopping around for a dryer for our house, but we have a washer. I've been line drying our laundry and it gets so stiff that it can actually hold its shape when it's dry I've used fabric softener and I use regular Tide to wash the clothes in. What the heck am I doing wrong? Why are they so stiff? It's a little better with the fabric softener, but not enough to make the clothes not crunchy Is there a trick to it?

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

My mom used to line dry before she got her dryer.

I'm not really sure why that happens. The only thing I can think of is that in the dryer, the clothes are tumbled around, and on the line, they just hang there and don't move.

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

oh! and the worst are the towels. it's like drying yourself with sandpaper, right?

i'd love to know too.

(i thought that fabric softener would be the answer, but being that you tried that, i am really curious!)

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

I don't have any tips, sorry!!
I remember my mom used to line dry our clothes and they were always stiff!! My elderly neighbors line dry their undies. I can't imagine wearing them all stiff like that

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

Message edited 11/21/2011 3:02:37 PM.

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

Posted by Summerrluvv

I don't have any tips, sorry!!
I remember my mom used to line dry our clothes and they were always stiff!! My elderly neighbors line dry their undies. I can't imagine wearing them all stiff like that

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

Posted by prncss

Posted by Summerrluvv

I don't have any tips, sorry!!
I remember my mom used to line dry our clothes and they were always stiff!! My elderly neighbors line dry their undies. I can't imagine wearing them all stiff like that

Well, imagine it sister! I'm stiff in the undies right now, and I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be I crack myself up
Anyway, for anyone who is interested, I stopped being lazy and googled the topic. Apparently, I'm using too much detergent. Who would've thunk it? I didn't think I was, but it's worth a try to cut down!

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

I only line dry in the spring/summer/early fall. I do it because I LOVE the smell of line clothes, bedding, towels....liine EVERYTHING I don't mind the stiffness because the smell is worth it.
Here are some tips: less detergent, snap clothes before hanging, adn hang inside out or with the longest part facing away from the sun. After you take them off of the line snap them again and it will help take some of the stiffness out. Also I only use Gain original detergent and fabric soap..I swear the way the clothes smell is AMAZING!

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

Thanks for the tips, Lindi. I hung a load last night in my extra room and had used less soap and already noticed an improvement

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

I hang a lot of things up to dry on line in the basement and I find that when I iron them they get softer. I think the heat helps. Try ironing, or you could try tossing them in the dryer on either tumble dry (no heat) or just 5 minutes with heat, to soften them up.

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

I line dry and never had stiffness problems with the exception of jeans. You're probably using too much detergent.

ETA: I just read that you used less detergent...thats probably it.

Message edited 8/2/2008 3:47:45 PM.

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

I'm no help but I throw them in the dryer for 10 minutes, THEN hang to dry. Gets some of the water out. Also, as you mentioned, I never use the amount of soap that they say. I always use a lot less.

Re: Line drying clothes, what am I doing wrong?

Posted by prncss

Thanks for the tips, Lindi. I hung a load last night in my extra room and had used less soap and already noticed an improvement