Our dryer broke down this past winter and we've since moved to line drying. Not really too much of an extra hassle, other than the stiffness. All winter I have been drying them indoors, usually with the windows cracked open and a box fan blowing at them, but they dry fine anywhere.
This past month has seen plenty of sunny, 70-80 degree weather, so I've tried several times to line dry outside. The heavy materials, like towels and blankets, do okay, but the clothes REEK. It's an overpowering musky smell that takes about a week to fade, and I can't figure out the cause. I've tried washing in both hot and cold water, I use the lowest line on the laundry detergent caps, I've tried adding vinegar to the rinse cycle, antibacterial soap, three different kinds of detergent, extra rinse cycles, oxyclean, but nothing prevents the clothes from smelling like gym socks when they're dried outside.
I'm worried about the summer because we get very high humidity and line drying indoors won't be much of an option without inviting mold problems.
If anyone has an experience on this issue, I would greatly appreciate any advice!
March 20, 2019 at 01:49PM
