• Hang your laundry to dry whenever possible – it is better for your clothes and saves you money. There are many types of  washing lines for both  indoor and outdoor installation.
• Do not place too many items in the dryer - Just as the clothes need room to circulate in the washer to be cleaned completely, the clothes will need room to circulate in the dryer in order dry properly and to avoid wrinkling, especially permanent press and synthetic fabrics.
• Read care labels for proper drying temperatures.
• Always clean the lint filter before drying every load, for safety and efficiency.
• Do not over dry your clothing. Over drying causes your colors to fade, increases wrinkling and shrinkage. Try to fold your laundry right after the drying cycle has ended to minimize the need for ironing.
• Regarding Dryer Safety – Do not dry anything containing rubber on a heated setting. Do not put anything in the dryer that has been in contact with flammable chemicals, for example turpentine, acetone, cleaning solvents, wax, etc., until you know that the chemicals have been removed completely. To be safe – line dry these items.
• Even though many of the newer dryers have features for delicates, you should always hang items like bathing suits or bras (especially underwired) to dry.  Sweaters and some other items instruct you to “dry flat” or “reshape and dry flat” so you will need to either use a drying rack or a towel in order to maintain the item’s shape while air drying. Be sure to turn the item over during drying, to save drying time and circulate air evenly. Clothing that needs to be line dried should be removed from the washer as soon as possible in order to reduce wrinkling.

This advice will save you money even if you partially dry your laundry outdoors and then finish it in the dryer.

In some parts of the world – particularly in the USA; line drying can be the exception rather than the norm, with gas/electric clothes dryers being the preferred method.

Figures from the USA department of energy show that around 90% of American homes have a clothes dryer, with the average family using it an incredible 400 times a year.

Aside from the obvious reasons for the absence of a clothes line, such as apartment dwellers not having the space; the reasons for other households in the USA can be a little more obscure – such as neighborhood associations banning line drying  under restrictive convenants for aesthetic reasons.

While a clothes line may never be a work of art; I think in this day and age of environmental awareness and issues relating to climate change; banning line drying from back yards is .. well… just plain silly.