Amish Country
Well-known member
Drying Laundry
Having a washer filled with soggy laundry and the power down can be a problem especially for those unprepared. Here are some old time and Amish solutions to this problem. Please note the links provided are for informational purposes only. I am not recommending any product, manufacture or seller.
Wringing out laundry:
First the clothes will dry faster if as much water as possible is wrung out of each piece of laundry before attempting to dry it further. This can be done by hand. In winter this can be painful and lead to red, chapped hands, chilblains etc. Another option is a manual wringer a mop wringer (with rollers) will also work:
http://www.lehmans.com/store/USA_Made___Home___Our_Good_Wringer___38150#38150
These have been known to pinch fingers and anything else that has the misfortune to get caught between the rollers.
Drying clothes outside:
Once the water has been rung from the laundry it is hung to dry. On nice days it can dry quickly out on a line. A clothes line can be hung between trees or posts and the laundry attached to the line using clothes pins designed for that purpose. Another option is a pulley system such as this one:
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Home_G..._Premium_Clothesline_Kits___clothesline?Args=
Drying clothes inside:
This can be done in a similar method to outside drying. The trick is to get enough air dry air circulating around the clothing to dry it. Humid air, as found in a damp basement could cause the laundry to mildew and not dry properly. I have used line or two stretched between two support columns in the basement. The clothes did dry but did not smell as fresh as those dried outside.
Various racks have also been build, improvised or purchased for this purpose. Depending on how it is finished, wet laundry can ruin the finish if left to dry on a piece of wooden furniture. It may also encourage the formation of rust on wrought iron furniture that can stain fabric.
In one Amish home I saw an ingenious devise for drying a lot of small pieces of laundry in a small space. It was the rim and spokes of a large metal bicycle tire (without the rubber tire). It had been thoroughly cleaned and hung with cord from the ceiling. A piece of additional cord was woven in and out through the spokes around the rim of the tire frame. Smaller pieced of laundry (socks, underwear, etc.) were dried by hanging them from this with clothes pins.
In another Amish household in the basement there were pieces of metal about a foot long and 2 1/2 inches width hung from the ceiling. There was a hole in each piece that allowed a clothes line to be run through it. The line ran almost the width of the basement and there were about three lines in total that ran parallel to each other. Each metal clothes line support piece was hinged so that it could be folded up in the ceiling joists when not in use. The basement had high ceilings so only the tallest in the family ran the risk of bumping a head on the lowered clothes line support.
Having a washer filled with soggy laundry and the power down can be a problem especially for those unprepared. Here are some old time and Amish solutions to this problem. Please note the links provided are for informational purposes only. I am not recommending any product, manufacture or seller.
Wringing out laundry:
First the clothes will dry faster if as much water as possible is wrung out of each piece of laundry before attempting to dry it further. This can be done by hand. In winter this can be painful and lead to red, chapped hands, chilblains etc. Another option is a manual wringer a mop wringer (with rollers) will also work:
http://www.lehmans.com/store/USA_Made___Home___Our_Good_Wringer___38150#38150
These have been known to pinch fingers and anything else that has the misfortune to get caught between the rollers.
Drying clothes outside:
Once the water has been rung from the laundry it is hung to dry. On nice days it can dry quickly out on a line. A clothes line can be hung between trees or posts and the laundry attached to the line using clothes pins designed for that purpose. Another option is a pulley system such as this one:
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Home_G..._Premium_Clothesline_Kits___clothesline?Args=
Drying clothes inside:
This can be done in a similar method to outside drying. The trick is to get enough air dry air circulating around the clothing to dry it. Humid air, as found in a damp basement could cause the laundry to mildew and not dry properly. I have used line or two stretched between two support columns in the basement. The clothes did dry but did not smell as fresh as those dried outside.
Various racks have also been build, improvised or purchased for this purpose. Depending on how it is finished, wet laundry can ruin the finish if left to dry on a piece of wooden furniture. It may also encourage the formation of rust on wrought iron furniture that can stain fabric.
In one Amish home I saw an ingenious devise for drying a lot of small pieces of laundry in a small space. It was the rim and spokes of a large metal bicycle tire (without the rubber tire). It had been thoroughly cleaned and hung with cord from the ceiling. A piece of additional cord was woven in and out through the spokes around the rim of the tire frame. Smaller pieced of laundry (socks, underwear, etc.) were dried by hanging them from this with clothes pins.
In another Amish household in the basement there were pieces of metal about a foot long and 2 1/2 inches width hung from the ceiling. There was a hole in each piece that allowed a clothes line to be run through it. The line ran almost the width of the basement and there were about three lines in total that ran parallel to each other. Each metal clothes line support piece was hinged so that it could be folded up in the ceiling joists when not in use. The basement had high ceilings so only the tallest in the family ran the risk of bumping a head on the lowered clothes line support.