Another week of clothesline winners put a little sunshine in their shorts! We’re halfway through the Solar Laundry Project, and are pleased to announce the winners of the June 23rd draw: Sandra Richet, Heather MacKnee, Lynda Fisher, Bob Trudeau, Lorna Clarkson, Don Olson, Becky Kosakoski, Bonnie Watt, Betty Wood, Kandi Bell, Beth Humphrey, and Jan Hori. Congrats to all — enjoy your new clotheslines! Winners are asked to pick up their clothesline during regular business hours at Kamloops Home Hardware Building Centre.
If you haven’t entered the draw yet, here’s the link: www.bcsea.org/kamloops . We’ll be giving away 12 more clotheslines each week until July 14th. Your name stays in until you win – one entry per household please.
Many people have been discouraged from using their clotheslines because of the wet weather we’ve been having. Did you know there are several ways to save energy even if you’re using an electric dryer? Use these tips from BC Hydro for maximum efficiency for your dryer:
- Sort clothes for drying. Lightweight synthetics dry much faster than bath towels or natural fibre materials such as denim. Put items with similar drying times together. Lightweight items will dry faster hung on their own than in the dryer combined with heavier fabrics.
- Take clothes out of the dryer while they are still slightly damp. This will reduce the need for ironing. Over-drying causes shrinkage, static electricity and shortens fabric life. Use the dryer’s moisture sensor feature if it has one.
- If you are using the dryer’s moisture sensor, don’t add wet items to a load that is partially dry. This will cause the dryer to run longer. However, adding a dry towel to a dryer load can reduce drying times, and adding a damp towel to a load of lighter items can take out wrinkles, reducing the need to iron them.
- Drying full, but not oversized loads, is more energy-efficient than drying smaller loads or overloading the machine. Clothes should dry in no more than 40 minutes to an hour.
- Use dryer balls. Having two dryer balls in your machine separates items better and shortens drying times by up to a third.
- Dry multiple loads back to back to make the most of the dryer’s heat.
- The ‘perma press’ (cool-down) cycle can reduce energy. It does not use heat for the last few minutes, but drying continues as cool air is blown through the tumbling clothes.
- Clean the lint trap after each use. A clogged lint trap will reduce airflow and dryer performance, driving up your energy usage. It can also be a fire hazard.
- Check the vent to the outside. Proper ventilation is important for the proper operation of your dryer. Keep it clean and free from obstruction. Avoid locating your dryer vent next to air intakes or windows.
Of course, using a clothesline will actually save you more money than all these tips combined, but it helps when Mother Nature is on our side! Check out www.bchydro.com/powersmart for more ways to save energy.
The BC Sustainable Energy Association is a non-profit organization that works with British Columbians to build a clean, renewable energy future. To learn more about it, please visit www.bcsea.org. The Kamloops Chapter would like to acknowledge the generous support of BC Hydro Power Smart and Kamloops Home Hardware Building Centre for this project.