How to keep air dried clothes mostly wrinkle free?
September 5, 2020 12:18 PM   Subscribe

I prefer to air dry washed clothes on both an indoor and an outdoor clothes line. Not much wind here to flap the outdoor clothes that are drying.

However, I seem to have to iron everything dried on a clothes line, whereas, if I use my clothes dryer with it's cool down cycle, I don't need to iron anything.
I can't/won't use fabric softeners due to skin sensitivity.

Any secrets to to having less-wrinkly clothes when dried on a clothes line?
posted by luvmywife to Home & Garden (13 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Have you briefly tumbled them in the dryer (no heat) after they're dry?
posted by seanmpuckett at 12:26 PM on September 5, 2020 [3 favorites]


I dry my clothes on hangers in the bathroom. Wait by the machine for the cycle to finish, grab them instantly so they don't have time to wrinkle, shake or "snap" them out as you grab them, and put them on a hanger right there in the laundry room. When you get to where you're actually hanging them, shake them again while still on the hanger and straighten out the collars, etc. Don't hang them too close together.
posted by 8603 at 12:54 PM on September 5, 2020 [4 favorites]


What exactly are you trying to dry? Personally, I throw socks and underwear in the dryer, but I hang shirts and pants on an Ikea Mulig drying rack in my garage. I have never had an issue with wrinkles. Like 8603 said, you have to take them straight out, and snap them before hanging, but other than that, I never have an issue.

YMMV.
posted by Master Gunner at 1:15 PM on September 5, 2020 [1 favorite]


The spin cycle in my washer creates wrinkles that I can't shake out. I put my damp, wrinkle-prone shirts in the dryer for 5- 8 minutes to get the wrinkles out, and then let them dry on hangers. I did see that you don't want to use the dryer, but a few minutes is way better than the full drying time.
posted by wryly at 1:53 PM on September 5, 2020 [2 favorites]


Shake them before hanging, do not let them sit in the washing machine. Hang shirts on a hanger not on a rack or on a line. Hang tshirts from the bottom not the top and pants from the ankles the weight helps pull them to be less wrinkled. Dry delicate items flat on mesh, lay them out how you want them to dry. Use strong pegs so items cannot slide together & dry wrinkled. Basically you want to hang the item so it looks how you want it to dry.

Shaking out & hanging the items as soon as the machine stops are the key.

Some materials just need an iron no matter what you do. There comes a point where you have to way weight the pros & cons of material choice when buying clothes to avoid any ironing at all. Careful shopping has meant I don't even know where my iron is right now as I haven't used it in years, despite air drying everything but underwear, socks & sheets.
posted by wwax at 2:26 PM on September 5, 2020 [5 favorites]


I've had success by first putting clothes in the dryer for 7-10 minutes with 1/2 of a fabric softener sheet.
Then I shake'em before hanging & smooth out manually once hung up.

It is tedious when I am not in the right mood but meditative & pleasant when I am. I've also skipped the dryer & just done the shake & smooth.
posted by i_mean_come_on_now at 3:50 PM on September 5, 2020 [1 favorite]


A pants stretcher can reduce wrinkles in trousers hung to dry.

I hung my clothes dry for years. Even WITH fabric softener, I always had to iron my “good” clothes. As for pajamas, around-the-house clothes, and linens, I got used to the idea that they would be a little wrinkled and imperfectly shaped. A good, crisp fold, with a lot of hand-smoothing, does help quite a bit.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:00 PM on September 5, 2020 [1 favorite]


If you too have a washing machine where the spin cycle leaves wrinkles, check whether you can set the spin at a lower speed.

Seconding the advice to remove clothes right away and hang on hangers.
posted by trig at 10:09 PM on September 5, 2020


Buy a chemically treated wrinkle free shirt and put it in the wash. The dewrinkling chemicals seems to help other clothes in the same load.
posted by metasunday at 6:29 AM on September 6, 2020


I should add, I don't get job-interview-worthy crisp results--for that you'll always need an iron--but I do get clothes that are suitable for a business casual office.
posted by 8603 at 3:54 AM on September 7, 2020


When I lived in a house with a sun space, we installed a used dryer whose heat element had burned out. Tumbled dry in solar heat left no wrinkles.
Fabric softener chemicals are toxic.
posted by Mesaverdian at 1:09 PM on September 7, 2020


Have you considered installing a strong household fan and pointing it at the hanging clothes? It will also significantly speed up the drying time. One that changes direction will be more effective in removing wrinkles. Will work better on lighter weight items.
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:57 PM on September 7, 2020


Have you considered installing a strong household fan and pointing it at the hanging clothes? It will also significantly speed up the drying time. One that changes direction will be more effective in removing wrinkles. Will work better on lighter weight items.

People use household fans outside on their porches all the time as they are effective for keeping the mosquitoes off. You have to make sure you don't leave it out so it gets damp with dew or precipitation, of course.
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:59 PM on September 7, 2020


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