Thursday, April 7, 2011

Harnessing Solar Power (for the laundry!)

Happy April! This is going to be a fun month, because not only is it Earth Month (containing Earth Day), but this blog is celebrating its one-year anniversary. Wow!


As a little theme of for the month, I decided to harness the resources of the earth and experiment with solar power to dry a load of clothes.I started with the smallest number of items I wash in one load: my jeans and sweatshirts. I hung each piece on hangers to help the drying process. I'm really lucky: I didn't have a clothesline, but there were hooks mounted on the patio for plants which I used to support the hangers. When I ran out of hooks, I linked a few belts together and used them as an impromptu clothesline.

It took about 2 hours for everything to dry at about 75 degree weather, including when I flipped a few pieces to let the sun reach a shady side. The jeans were a little stiffer than from a dryer, but the sweatshirts were great. Now, this isn't an option in many rainier places, but if you get a gorgeous day, why not take advantage? It saves you energy from the dryer, and there's nothing like the smell of line-dried laundry. 

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