Air dry your clothes to:

Saving money on your utility bills is great!

According to the Public Utilities Service of New Hampshire, an average electric clothes dryer uses 5000 watts of power, runs 24 hours per month, and adds $218.00 a year to your electric bill.   Ouch!

Drying your clothes on a rack indoors during the winter will also add much needed humidity into the dry air of a winter home, which allows you to turn down your thermostat by a degree or two. In fact, you can save up to 4% on your heating bills for every degree you lower your thermostat. So instead of spending the money to run a humidifier simply hang dry your laundry in your home and you will add much needed moisture into your home to help lower your heating bill.

Adding this moisture in the winter also has health benefits. Increasing the humidity in your winter home can reduce the chance of upper respiratory problems and save you even more money on doctor's visits and missed time from work and school. The added humidity will also help to keep your skin from drying out, which will make you feel more comfortable.

Protect your home and family.

This next statistic is very sobering. In 2010 an estimated 16800 reported U.S. home fires involved clothes dryers or washing machines and resulted in 51 deaths, 380 injuries and $236 million in property damage. The 2012 article from the NFPA titled "Home Fires Involving Clothes Dryers and Washing Machines" states that in 2010, clothes dryers and washing machines accounted for 4.5% of all reported home fires. We know that we can not put a monetary value on our lives and health. Using a laundry drying rack removes a large fire risk from your home.

Live lighter on the Earth.

So what does it cost the environment to wash and dry a pair of jeans? The Levi Straus Company says,

To determine where even greater environmental improvements could be made, the company studied every stage in the life cycle of a typical pair of 501 jeans. The findings indicated that one of the greatest opportunities for reducing climate change and water impact happens after consumers take their jeans home. That's why, in addition to asking consumers to donate used clothing to keep it out of landfills, Levi's is encouraging consumers to wash less, wash in cold water and line dry when possible - all of which together reduces your climate impact from washing and drying your Levi's jeans by more than 50 percent.

Simply by changing your habits to washing jeans less frequently, washing them in cold water, and air drying our jeans we can reduce our climate impact. That reduction in energy usage will also show up on your monthly bills!

Click to read even more Benefits of Air Drying your Laundry