Our new house doesn’t have a washer and dryer. Well, it does now, but they aren’t included with the house. I knew that I wanted to get a front loading washing machine once we moved. I love that they use far less water, and the ones I’ve used (at friends’ houses) seem to spin things out much better than my top loader, so that clothes don’t take as long to dry.
I had been checking out Craigs List, but the few front loaders that I found were usually at least $500. New, they typically start at $800, although I sometimes see sales where they get down around $600. Still a lot to pay, but I was considering it.
A couple days ago, my parents were in their local Habitat for Humanity thrift store, and called me to say that they had found a front loading washing machine for $250. The manufacture date on it was September 2003, and it came with a pedestal that raises it up off the floor. The washer is now in my parents’ garage, and they have tested it to make sure that it works.
Just on a whim, I went to the appliance section at Home Depot yesterday to see what the pedestals that go under washing machines cost. $219. I couldn’t believe it – I actually went and asked an associate if I was understanding the sign correctly, and he assured me that I was. That makes our $250 washer even more of a steal, since it came with the pedestal.
There was a matching dryer at the thrift store, also for $250. But we’re going to try not having a dryer, and see how it goes. I can’t remember the last time I used our dryer, and I think that we’ll be just fine without one. We’ll be installing a clothesline right away, and we have our drying racks to use indoors if the weather is bad. I stopped using our dryer about two years ago, and have made it through two winters without using it (summers are easy). And that’s in a 1300 square food home where I have to set the drying racks in the dining room and bedrooms. In our new house, I can set them in the basement where they’re out of the way. So overall, I’m thinking we can get by just fine without a dryer.
Have any of you given up your dryer to the point of not having one?
Jane says
I could almost go without a dryer because I have an awesome Ikea drying rack that holds a few loads and extra space above the tub to hang things, but towels and sheets are the exception. We have a king sized bed, the sheets are very large.
chacha says
I actually grew up without a dryer (and without a washer until I was about 6 years old – my mother did the wash in the bathtub with one of those big ribbed boards). It’s doable, but I just remember it being a royal pain in the butt. But it was normal for my mother who grew up in Italy where no one really has a dryer. But during the winter the clothes were in the basement and it took quite a while to dry and occasionally had a musty smell. Nevermind all the ironing since everyone came out wrinkly.
Honestly, I’ve had it both ways, I much prefer a dryer. Same goes for the dishwasher. My mother still refuses to use the one in her condo, but again, I have had my share of dishes to do in my lifetime and I’ll conserve elsewhere but dishwashers and dryers are musts for me.
FrugalBabe says
I know what you mean about sheets Jane. For the past couple years I’ve been folding ours in half and draping them over drying racks. I’m really looking forward to having a real clothesline where I can hang them!
And Chacha, I’m totally with you on the dishwasher thing. I lived in Africa for two years (no running water, obviously no dishwasher or washing machine) and I was so grateful to have those things again when I came back to the US. I run my dishwasher every day, and wouldn’t want to be without it. And, just for the record, I don’t iron. Ever. :) I hang clothes that would wrinkle on hangers and put them on the shower curtain rod as soon as I take them out of the washer. Everything else goes on the drying racks, and that’s as good as it gets as far as wrinkles go around here!
FrugalBabe says
One other thing that helps us with the dryer thing is that we live in a pretty dry climate. If we lived somewhere with a lot of rain or humidity, I might have to rethink the dryer thing.
Carmen says
I live in Australia and have never owned a dryer. It is more usual here for people to line dry clothes and dryers are seen as a luxury.
Where I live we have cool winters, warm summers and quite a bit of summer and autumn rainfall. On the days that clothes can’t be dried outside we use indoor drying racks.
H says
We rarely use the dryer. We live in an apartment and have to go down to the basement to get to the laundry room so asides from saving money, not using the dryer saves us another trip down. But if I had the option, I absolutely would love to have one, for the sheets and for the humid summers.
Betsy Bargain says
Congratulations on your great find! I tend to compromise on using the dryer. I will hang dry things like tshirts, socks, towels, etc., but I like to dry sheets and jeans for a short time to soften, then hang to dry the rest of the way.
Sara says
Wow! What an awesome deal for your washer! I really enjoy the Habitat for Humanity stores, but the ones near me have only recently started to carry appliances. We’ve had great deals on other items, though.
I also use my clothesline as much as possible – well, when it’s not winter, anyway. ;) I doubt I’d be able to go without a dryer altogether, but I almost always use it briefly and hand everything up while it’s still damp. I hope to get front loading machines someday, too. If you have a Sears scratch n’ dent outlet, that’s a great place for deals on appliances, as well. :)
Money Beagle says
When we bought our washer/dryer set a couple of years ago, I remember thinking what a rip off the stands were. Just to avoid bending over a little bit to get your stuff out, they want $400+. Wow!
Good find for you, congrats!!!
Jessie says
I don’t think I could do without a dryer! I live in Alberta – with three roomates… far too much clothing going around and not enough space to hang everything up…
becca says
I am just starting to move away from my dryer as much as possible. I haven’t been convinced about the sheets on the line thing, because I like soft sheets. How do you get around that? But I do have a clothesline that I strung up between two of our wooden fence posts and I hang diapers and some other clothes out there. It’s usually really really hot here in the summer, but it’s been super rainy, so I haven’t been able to use it as much as I want yet. I can’t see me ever being without a dryer, but I am trying to save energy as much as possible.
Kay says
What a wonderful deal! I’m happy for you, FB! :)
We have huge comforters and that’s pretty much the only things I use the dryer for. We use an indoor clothes rack to dry the clothes because I think the dryer ruins the clothes (and also, it is greener to do so!).
I might get a couple of those duvets with covers, so I can just wash the duvet covers alone.
FrugalBabe says
Becca,
I think we’ve just gotten use to line dried fabric. Personally, I love the feel and smell of sheets that have dried in the sunshine and breeze. I guess I would prefer my towels to be a little softer, but not enough to make me go buy a dryer.
Kay,
I adore our duvet covers. I got one at Ross or TJ Maxx a couple years ago, and the other was a Craigs List freebie that happened to be in our neighborhood. They are awesome. Every few months I just take the comforters out and wash the covers. They dry super fast (just like sheets) and I get them back on the bed a few hours later. When we just had comforters, I would have to take them to the laundromat, because our top loading washer wouldn’t clean them.
Gypsie says
You must live in a great place! Our Habitat Store is only open once a quarter (every three months) for about 4 hours and they only have such delightful things as pink toilets which are so old they can only be sold as boat anchors. Our Goodwill store is almost as expensive as Wal-Mart! I tried to buy a couple of old blankets (to use for my dogs outside) and they were $7 each! I can buy new for that!
Alicia says
I have lived in Japan for the past year. The vast majority of people do not own a dryer at all,everyone line dries. The dryers I have seen for sale are the size of a large microwave…which doesn’t seem worth the machines cost or the cost of running it when electricity here is so expensive.
I love line drying my clothes now. My husband and I don’t plan on getting a dryer when we return to the states. It just doesn’t seem as necessary now as it did before our year abroad. Plus it will be a great way to save some money and decrease our energy useage…dryers are energy hogs! =)
Debbie M says
I wouldn’t say I’ve given up my dryer “to the point of not having one,” but my house has no dryer connection (just a washer connection in the kitchen), so I haven’t used a dryer in 13 years.
Hanging things outside gets clothes dry very quickly on a warm or breezy day, sometimes as soon as the next washer load is ready. However, I don’t actually like that fresh aroma which to me smells like wet dogs, so I only do that when I’ve really gotten behind on the laundry. Normally I hang things indoors and, if it’s winter, make sure to turn on the ceiling fan. Ceiling fans greatly reduce the drying time. Even in winter, things can be dry in less that 24 hours, especially if you flip them over when they’re halfway through.
becca, I use jersey knit sheets in the summer and flannel sheets in the winter, so they are always soft. I don’t know how to keep towels from going all stiff, but the thin ones I prefer do better than the thick ones everyone else prefers.
Kay, can you wash your comforters one last time and then get (or make?) duvet covers that fit them (instead of buying both duvets and duvet covers)? Maybe duvets are different sizes than comforters.
I miss having a dryer to warm up my clothes when it’s time to get dressed in the winter, but I wouldn’t buy one for that. I do kind of want one to “fluff up” things or to dry jeans and towels more quickly. But I think that remodeling to add a screened-in porch in which to set my drying racks would make more sense than remodeling to make a laundry room (separate from my kitchen with both washer and dryer connections).
Kay says
That’s a great idea FB and Debbie!! Duvet covers for Comforters!! I’m going to do just that. Wash it all one last time and go the duvet cover way.
Kelly says
We just recently purchased a new washer and dryer. The impetus was our dryer would literally take three hours to dry a load. Now we have a front loading washer and dryer, but we skipped the ridiculous add on of the pedestals. I can bend down, it isn’t really that big of a deal. I had to bend down with my old dryer. I would love to get away from using the dryer, but I do so much laundry (at least it feels like!) and only have two drying racks and very limited space to put them as it is. In otherwords…I pretty much have to use my dryer to avoid having to maneuver (and keep my daughter from pulling down) around drying racks 7 days a week. As it is, I hang a bunch of my husbands shirts for work, all my diapers (inserts and wipes usually go in the dryer…my new dryer has an antibacterial setting, so I figure diaper inserts is a good use for it!) and most sweatshirts and fleeces. In the winter I tend to hang more items…the moisture helps combat the dryness in the air. But in the summer, the humidity can make it so it takes a long time to dry things. So while I haven’t gotten away from using a dryer, my new one is so super efficient I feel I have made a step in the right direction.
Ginny says
I have just started to use an outdoor line this summer and love it. I don’t know what I will do this winter. Does anyone have suggestions about the type of indoor rack I might use? I don’t live near an Ikea etc. Also, do the clothes drip on the floor at all? Is there even an indoor type that would hold as much as an outdoor? The kind I have is Y shaped and holds about 3 loads.
( I am new to this blog and really enjoying it.)
FrugalBabe says
Ginny,
I haven’t used a dryer for more than two years, including two winters. I use basic wooden folding clothes racks that I purchased at thrift stores for a few dollars each (they’re available in most big-box retail stores for about ten dollars). I’ve seen fancier racks, but I don’t have one myself. I have three basic racks, each one holds about one load of laundry. During the winter, I set them up in my dining room, or outside if it’s not snowing. I always put our son’s diapers outside to dry, even if they freeze solid, because I like the bleaching action of the sun. Then I just bring them in to thaw out.
I’ve never had anything drip on the floor – most washing machines spin clothes out so that they don’t drip. Our new (from a thrift store) front loading washer spins stuff out so well that the clothes are nearly dry when I hang them up!
Ginny says
FrugalBabe;
Thank you so much for your response. I am truly a newbie to all this. But in anticipation of winter, I was trying to come up with an indoor solution.
My DH did. And it took no money or supplies. Best yet, it only took him 5 minutes. He used rope he had in the garage and two large eye hooks. I have a large furnace/ pantry room off my laundry room in the basement which is always warm due to the furnace and gas water heater located there. So he attached a clothesline across the room today, so I should be good to go.
Thanks for telling me about the no dripping part, which of course now makes sense when I think about it.
Congrats on scoring your front load washer. Both my sons have them and love them.
lt says
i don’t use a dryer. i didn’t use it even when i had in in my rental apartments. when we moved to our house, i bought a front load (that’s what i grew up with) and hang the clothes outside whenever its not raining and freezing. the sheets and the duvets are a challenge. my solution is to fold them in half and to hang them on the doors. they dry overnight, if the door is close to a heating vent. in winter it provides humidity, so we don’t need to spend money on humidifier.