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Clothes Line. Which direction is your set?

I have two portable clothes racks and I'm hoping to set up an actual permanent clothes line in the spring. I have great southern exposure and was thinking that I should have it set up so the lines run North to South. Does that sound right? Or should it go East to West because I have clear southern exposure? I consider myself a huge advocate for line drying, yet I feel completely lost when it comes to this. Your thoughts are much appreciated!

Tags: clothes, conservancy, drying, energy, line

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Permalink Reply by el vigilante on January 18, 2011 at 3:50pm

Hi, Tory. My clothesline is in the north part of our yard, just right off the back door. It runs north-south and seems to catch a good amount of sun and wind in the warmer months. Part of it is shaded from October through Spring, so I only use the other half during fall and winter.

I use a wooden clothes rack too -- it sits directly behind our wood stove, so the clothes dry really fast.

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Permalink Reply by Shellie A. Gades on January 18, 2011 at 5:28pm

Hi Tory...My lines run east-west on the north side of the house. Does okay. They were here when I got here. Some day when I plan my own lines, I think I'm going to run them NE-SW directions. Keep at it!

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Permalink Reply by rachel whetzel on January 18, 2011 at 7:36pm

Wow. I didn't even think about it that much when I set mine... I have a laundry "umbrella" and I have it on the south facing side of the house because there is a spot there that pretty much gets sun all day. Everything dries really quickly on it.

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Permalink Reply by JoyfulC on January 18, 2011 at 8:03pm

I should think prevailing wind direction would be just as important. We put up a couple of those retractable 4-line things inside the house too for really cold days or rain days -- or even for things we'd prefer not to have the birds dive bomb. We have a couple drying racks too. We have a dryer -- two actually. Ours and one that was here when we moved in -- but we rarely use that.

If you're very worried about UV rays bleaching colours, consider turning a garment inside out for drying. Also, remember to turn out pockets and other pieces of garments that might dry more slowly than the rest.

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Permalink Reply by Shellie A. Gades on January 18, 2011 at 8:04pm

Joyful - The indoor lines are as awesome as the wooden drying racks. I love mine!

JoyfulC said:

I should think prevailing wind direction would be just as important. We put up a couple of those retractable 4-line things inside the house too for really cold days or rain days -- or even for things we'd prefer not to have the birds dive bomb. We have a couple drying racks too. We have a dryer -- two actually. Ours and one that was here when we moved in -- but we rarely use that.

If you're very worried about UV rays bleaching colours, consider turning a garment inside out for drying. Also, remember to turn out pockets and other pieces of garments that might dry more slowly than the rest.

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Permalink Reply by Lucy Goodman on January 19, 2011 at 6:43am

My clothes lines have always run North to South

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Permalink Reply by Kim Hutcheson on January 19, 2011 at 11:04pm

I would think that east to west because that is the tracking of the sun. The sunshine not only helps to naturally whiten, but it would be in better contact for the heat, for drying....just my opinion :)

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Permalink Reply by pelenaka on January 22, 2011 at 5:37pm

Mine run East to West but the poles also doubled as my children's swing set so I had to put it were it made the most sense.

Go for the full sun area in your yard.

Come wash day I usually run out of space on the line dispite having 5 rows of 15' each so I will put wet laundry on any vertical object that is clean. Bikes, patio tellis & furniture, limbs on the peach trees. My neighbors always ask if my washer blew up.

No worries my electric bill is always so much lower.

~~ pelenaka ~~

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Permalink Reply by Grace on February 13, 2011 at 9:55pm

My line is an umbrella line so it faces every direction and even turns with the wind, lol. I can fit 3 whole loads on it at at time ~ I love it!

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Permalink Reply by Juli on February 19, 2011 at 4:48am

I've lived all over the place and my lines have run in every direction. Right now I have four, 2 east/west and 2 north/south and all my laundry is equally dry at the end of the day. Where ever works out best so that they get the best sun or that's easiest for you to use.

I also have indoor racks which i use year round.

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Permalink Reply by David P. McMillen on February 2, 2012 at 9:40pm

Hi! mine run behind my house, attached from the workshop to the outbuilding, North to South. I get pretty good use of them for about 85% of the year, especially since it has been so dry here in Texas. With electricity costs going up all the time, I know it saves a bundle! I got used to doing it when I was in the Army over in Iraq, and honestly, I like the smell of the fresh line dryed clothes.