Yes, but in this case there are actual measurable benefits to hang-drying besides financial cost. Unlike the dishwasher, hang drying is measurably greener. And also it tends to prolong the life of your clothes.
This is a case where “being lazy” has a real trade-off, like fixing yourself a meal from proper ingredients vs nuking a TV dinner.
Probably, but not enough to really matter at the end of the day when the vast majority of pollution is by the hands of corporations not not the general public. If every single one of us “regular folk” lived perfectly green lives, it would barely nudge the needle. That’s just the sad reality we have to deal with.
That’s not to say you should go out and do the opposite just because it doesn’t matter, just that it’s not a slam dunk argument by any means.
And also it tends to prolong the life of your clothes.
I briefly researched this to try to come up with some studies on this. There aren’t any with Hang Dry vs Dryer, although I did find one that concluded that cold and fast washing increased longevity.
The real culprit for longevity is cheap shit vs quality, the vast majority of clothing for my family is tshirts, hoodies and jeans with a scattering of “specialized” clothing (Slacks, lingerie, delicates, dress clothing etc.)
And I can say that cheap and/or fast fashion crap are the only things I’ve ever seen that actually have a significant shortened life when going through the wash/dry cycle. And usually within weeks.
Quality jeans and cotton tshirts I’ve got have been going on 5+ years just fine. I don’t even buy clothes for replacement that often, mostly just because it looks nice and caught my eye or something. Hell, I’m wearing a hoodie rn that’s going on 10 years and it’s never known a single day on the line and it’s going strong. Maybe it’s a little more faded than when it was new, but it’s been so long I can’t even remember.
And then it’s also incredibly subjective to each person, where’s the line of what’s “unwearable” is it the second elastic starts being a little deformed or can you go a bit longer? Is it when tiny holes start showing up or is it not until it’s obviously torn and tattered?
AFAIC any piece of clothing that lasts more than 4 or 5 years is on bonus time, after that point I’ve gotten my value out of it so sacrificing upwards of 20 minutes every load to maybe get another 1 or 2 out of it is an utter waste (and even that is debatable, what studies I did find on longevity pointed to quality of manufacturing (aka stop buying the cheap shit) and washing on cold)
![More like guidelines [Mr Lovenstein]](https://startrek.website/pictrs/image/6fb6d9cc-600d-4ad2-94dc-efc669e8bac9.png){kind=link}
Yes, but in this case there are actual measurable benefits to hang-drying besides financial cost. Unlike the dishwasher, hang drying is measurably greener. And also it tends to prolong the life of your clothes.
This is a case where “being lazy” has a real trade-off, like fixing yourself a meal from proper ingredients vs nuking a TV dinner.
Probably, but not enough to really matter at the end of the day when the vast majority of pollution is by the hands of corporations not not the general public. If every single one of us “regular folk” lived perfectly green lives, it would barely nudge the needle. That’s just the sad reality we have to deal with.
That’s not to say you should go out and do the opposite just because it doesn’t matter, just that it’s not a slam dunk argument by any means.
I briefly researched this to try to come up with some studies on this. There aren’t any with Hang Dry vs Dryer, although I did find one that concluded that cold and fast washing increased longevity.
The real culprit for longevity is cheap shit vs quality, the vast majority of clothing for my family is tshirts, hoodies and jeans with a scattering of “specialized” clothing (Slacks, lingerie, delicates, dress clothing etc.)
And I can say that cheap and/or fast fashion crap are the only things I’ve ever seen that actually have a significant shortened life when going through the wash/dry cycle. And usually within weeks.
Quality jeans and cotton tshirts I’ve got have been going on 5+ years just fine. I don’t even buy clothes for replacement that often, mostly just because it looks nice and caught my eye or something. Hell, I’m wearing a hoodie rn that’s going on 10 years and it’s never known a single day on the line and it’s going strong. Maybe it’s a little more faded than when it was new, but it’s been so long I can’t even remember.
And then it’s also incredibly subjective to each person, where’s the line of what’s “unwearable” is it the second elastic starts being a little deformed or can you go a bit longer? Is it when tiny holes start showing up or is it not until it’s obviously torn and tattered?
AFAIC any piece of clothing that lasts more than 4 or 5 years is on bonus time, after that point I’ve gotten my value out of it so sacrificing upwards of 20 minutes every load to maybe get another 1 or 2 out of it is an utter waste (and even that is debatable, what studies I did find on longevity pointed to quality of manufacturing (aka stop buying the cheap shit) and washing on cold)
ETA: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0143720819320431
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652622010186