Project Laundry List- Frequently Asked Questions

Project Laundry List gets a lot of questions. We hope to provide you with easy to find answers to all of your laundry questions, but encourage you to get in touch with us if you cannot find what you are looking for or want us to add information to our site.

Can you hang out clothes in the winter?

What is happening for National Hanging Out Day?

Is my contribution to Project Laundry List tax-deductible?

How do I search the Project Laundry List site?

How much energy is actually used by the electric clothes dryer?

How is Project Laundry List different than other environmental groups?

Why are dryers dangerous?

What does vinegar have to do with laundry?

What do I do about stiff jeans and towels?

What are the effects of hanging clothes indoors?

I have allergies, and my doctor told me that it's not a good idea to line dry my clothes as many allergens will attach to them. Do you know how this can be avoided or of an energy efficient alternative to line drying that doesn't involve buying a new dryer?

Why is cold water washing important and will my clothes really be as clean?

How do I care for cloth diapers?

How much energy is used by electric and gas commercial laundry facilities (Laundromats, prisons, hospitals, hotels, dry cleaners)?

Do you have any suggestions for minimizing wrinkles on line-dried clothes?

What is a suds saver?

Can feminists hang their clothes?

Who is Mrs. Tiggywinkle?

Can you hang out clothes in the winter?

In northern climes, people often ask, "What do you do in the winter time?" Because of sublimation, it is possible to hang out on many below-freezing days. As long as it's sunny, your sheets and other laundry will dry quickly. You just need tough fingers!

We suggest purchasing a wooden drying rack or getting an apparatus for indoors.

sublimation (sŭblĭmā´shen), change of a solid substance directly to a vapor without first passing through the liquid state. The term is also used to describe the reverse process of the gas changing directly to the solid again upon cooling...Sublimation also occurs when air saturated with water vapor is suddenly cooled below the freezing point of water. Frost and snowflakes are thus formed by water changing directly from the gaseous to the solid state.

What is happening for National Hanging Out Day?

Any information that we have about activities planned for April 19th can be found on our National Hanging Out Day page or on our calendar.

Is my contribution to Project Laundry List tax-deductible?

Yes! 100% of your gift is tax deductible. As soon as we process your check or online gift, we will send you a receipt in the mail. We are a 501(c)(3) organization. Special Note: Anything you buy at the Real Green Goods or CafePress store is not tax-deductible.

How do I search the Project Laundry List site?

In the Google™ search box in the left-hand column, enter your search term(s) and press enter.

How much energy is actually used by the electric clothes dryer?

Six to ten percent of residential energy use goes towards the electric dryer. If Americans, or even just New Englanders, would use the clothesline or wooden drying racks, the savings would be enough to close several power plants. The 5.8% of residential electricity use number is way off as a measure of energy used by drying clothes in an appliance. It does not take into account the millions of Americans who do their wash at commercial Laundromats or gas dryers.

How is Project Laundry List different than other environmental groups?

Our approach—”a positive approach to change”—does not point fingers or create unnecessary distinctions. Project Laundry List empowers by giving people something important that they can do during their daily routine...and we make it fun!

Why are dryers risky?

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that in 1997, there were an estimated 16,700 fires, 30 deaths and 430 injuries associated with electric clothes dryers. Some of these fires can occur when lint builds up in the filter or in the exhaust duct. This fact is from www.eclothesdryers.com.

According to the Fire Analysis and Research Division of the NFPA, clothes dryers are responsible for an estimated 14,100 home fires in the US annually causing over 65 million in direct property damage and 7 civilian deaths. The leading cause of clothes dryer fires was lack of maintenance (lint build-up in the exhaust system).

What does vinegar have to do with laundry?

Adding 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle of your washing machine saves you from buying a separate laundry softener. Vinegar works naturally to soften your laundry and has the added benefit of breaking down laundry detergent very effectively. This added benefit means less detergent sensitive allergies for families that struggle with sensitive skin. Don't be put off by the fragrance of vinegar. The odor disappears when vinegar dries. So go ahead and try a bottle of vinegar in place of your laundry softener. (See http://housekeeping.about.com/cs/laundry/qt/vinegarlaundry.htm)

Also, you may want to learn the other benefits of vinegar in the laundry room. Visit The Vinegar Institute for a great tips sheet.

What do I do about stiff jeans and towels?

Read about the benefits of vinegar above.

Alternatively, a quick run through the dryer or a hard shake before hanging fluffs clothes up. Even towels will stay soft after they're hung to dry. They just need to be in the dryer long enough to get them puffed up. The dryer does need to be set on a heat setting, and it's a short amount of time.

What are the effects of hanging clothes indoors?

Hanging indoors can be a great way to provide added humidity in the winter for cold and arid climates; however, in the Pacific Northwest and other locations prone to indoor mold, you should be careful before erecting a clothesline or rack in the basement.

We cannot give medical advice specific to any one person's condition, but dry your clothes indoors on one of a variety of available racks, if outdoor allergens are your problem. One woman reports that her eczema disappeared when she started using a clothesline instead of the dryer.

Why is cold water washing important and will my clothes really be as clean?

Visit our education program, called We Are All in Hot Water...If We Don't Use Cold!

How do I care for cloth diapers?

The Maine Cloth Diaper Company has all of the answers, please visit their website to read all of their great instructions.

How much energy is used by electric and gas commercial laundry facilities (Laundromats, prisons, hospitals, hotels, dry cleaners)?

No. "Unfortunately, we don’t have enough dry cleaners/laundromats in the CBECS sample to make statistically significant estimates of their energy use. And for the other building types that you mentioned, there is no way to tell how much of their total consumption is accounted for by laundry facilities," writes Joelle Michaels, a

Survey Manager with the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) of the US Dept. of Energy's Energy Information Administration.

Do you have any suggestions for minimizing wrinkles on line-dried clothes?

"Snap" the clothes. This shakes off debris and prevents wrinkling. You want to shake them one time so hard that they make a cracking sound.

What is a "suds saver" or water saver?

A suds saver was an option on many washing machines at one time. The suds saver allowed to save the wash water from the first load of wash to reuse for the next load or loads. Suds-savers reuse most of the sudsy wash water for a second load. By beginning with the cleanest clothes and reusing wash water for at least one load, suds-savers can cut water use by 30-50%.

Can feminists hang their clothes?

Here is one woman's view: "I imagine the cooking of food is a lot like laundry. It is not normally considered a proper subject for conversation, particularly among intellectuals, but if you start asking around, you will find that people take it more personally than you might imagine...Laundry, liturgy, and women's work all serve to ground us in the world, and they need not grind us down. Our daily tasks, whether we perceive them as drudgery or essential, life-supporting work, do not define who we are as women or as human beings" Kathleen Norris, The Quotidian Mysteries (Paulist Press, 1999).

Who is Mrs. Tiggywinkle?

The mother of Project Laundry List founder and executive director, Alexander Lee, calls herself Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle after the Beatrix Potter character.

A little girl named Lucie loses her handkerchiefs and goes on a search for them. She discovers a little hedgehog washerwoman, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, with her handkerchiefs freshly laundered, along with many other interesting articles such as stockings for a hen.

Read the whole story.