benefits of sun drying your clothes

Sun Drying Clothes Promotes Energy Conservation: Sun drying laundry conserves energy and helps to protect the environment by saving precious fossil fuels. It is the pinnacle of green laundry and sustainable living. According to Pew research centre, there are more than 90 million clothes dryers in the United States and sun-drying clothes can reduce the average household’s carbon footprint 2,400 pounds a year. Experts determined that if all Americans line-dried clothing for just half of a year, it would save 3.3 percent of the country’s total residential output of carbon dioxide.

Sun drying clothes enhances freshness and helps remove strong odors: Sun dried clothes and sheets smell much fresher than clothes that are tumble dried without the use of additional chemical laundry fresheners like dryer sheets and fabric softener. This is particularly important for those sensitive to perfumes and dyes used in detergents and dryer products. And fresh air is less expensive than dryer sheets.

Sun drying is gentle on clothing: Tossing and tumbling in a dryer can cause wear and strain on clothing fabric due to stress on seams and snags from buttons and zippers. Excessively high heat in the dryer can ruin some fabrics and cause irreversible damage. When not tumbled around and subjected to the high heat of the dryer, clothing and home linens don’t wear out, fade, develop holes, or pill as quickly.Line drying prevents clothes from withering or shrinking each time it’s sent to get dried, and it will also save the cost of re-purchasing them over time.

Sun drying helps whiten and disinfect laundry: The ultra-violet rays of sunlight help to bleach and disinfect laundry. This is particularly beneficial for white sheets, towels and cloth diapers. However, for dark-colored clothes, excessive sunlight can cause some harm. So keep dark colors in the shade, if possible, to prevent fading.

Sun drying increases physical activity: Hanging up laundry is a physical activity that you can do inside or outside. Fifteen minutes of hanging laundry or removing it from the line burn 68 calories. That’s saving enough calories to enjoy a snack of 20 olives or three mini candy bars. There is something very therapeutic about sun-drying clothes outside, especially when the weather is refreshingly beautiful. Sun-drying clothes means a little extra time in the sun which is good for vitamin-d and for overall health.

It reduces wrinkles: After drying your clothes from pins on a clothesline, hang them up outside and let the wrinkles dissipate. Since the clothes are weighed down by the water, they naturally stretch to their original form, thus removing any wrinkles that may appear.