Drying clothes at home

[squeezebox]

I got back from a bicycle trip yesterday. I need to do some laundry. Can the wool and silk base layers go in the dryer, or should I use the curtain & towel rods in the bathroom? Synthetic should be fine in the dryer? I will wash and dry on gentle.
Thanks!!

[chknfngrs]

Any fragile piece I have, be it wool or down never touches a dryer but DYOL

[chknfngrs]

Sorry, I did put my down sleeping bag in the drier with a tennis ball on low heat and tumble

[Another Kevin]

I hang synthetics to dry if they have any amount of spandex in them - they last a lot longer that way, and in the house they're usually dry in an hour or two anyway.

Down I'll do in the dryer with the tennis ball.

Wool gets blocked in a bath towel.

I don't own anything silk but neckties. Neckties are best just kept clean. "Reputations may be salvageable, but ties very seldom are." - Judith Martin

[DuneElliot]

The only wool I put in the dryer is my socks

[Bronk]

You can usually get away with it...don't put it on the hottest setting...we're talking luke warm here.

[egilbe]

I put everything in the dryer. If a little laundering is going to ruin anything, I'll never buy it again.

[tiptoe]

I put nothing in the dryer (well, a sleeping bag, maybe) when I can hang my laundry outside. And in the winter, only bed linens and maybe jeans go in the dryer. The rest hangs festively around the woodstove.

[swisscross]

The only wool I put in the dryer is my socks

I hang my wool socks.

[HooKooDooKu]

I wash everything (wool, synthetics, etc) together in cold on the gentle cycle. Then toss it all in the dryer and run it on "air dry" (on heat) for two full cycles. If anything is still damp, I'll add another short cycle at minimal heat.

[Zach ADK]

We haven't had a dryer in 15 years. Synthetics dry very fast compared to cotton, I don't have any wool clothes so I don't know about them. Wood clothes racks that fold up are very handy for smaller things, and indoor clotheslines work well for bigger ones. In the winter the boost to the humidity is always welcome, and in the summer the windows are open anyway so it doesn't matter much.

[peakbagger]

I hang everything as I have never owned a drier. Gear lasts longer, the only downside is towels don't fluff. (I live with it).

[Hosh]

Hang on fold down clothes rack. If you use dryer, don't use dryer sheets with any synthetics or wool based clothes. The dryer sheets reduce the wicking effectiveness of the fabrics.

[Dogwood]

The only wool I put in the dryer is my socks

this. after damaging several pricey various wt 100% merino torso pieces all merino is dried flat in the shade and always washed separately on fragile setting according to appropriate label instructions. merino knits are easily pulled from unclosed zippers/zipper pulls, velcro, metal buttons, metal burrs inside a washer/dryer etc. the 150 wt and less torso pieces will pull and get holes just by being g caught up in a waist belt buckle. do as you want.since dryer hat settings can vary from machine to machine i never heat for long periods on high and check settings before drying any clothing a long time. for myself, i spend $$$ on my performance apparel and don't leave it unattended or wash carelessly, heat to death, or wash with any other hiker's gear.

[rocketsocks]

I'm a bad luanderer, that's why my shirts look like I've had em since the 8th grade, and why my wife insists on doin' the laundry...wool gets lays flat on a towel, and synthetics on gentle cycle of hung to dry in laundry room where its warm.

[Trailweaver]

All clothes come with a laundry recommendation label. It is there for a reason, & you would be wise to read it and pay attention. As stated above, these clothes are pricy, and I never just aimlessly toss them into a drier. It only takes a little while to hang them & it's worth it to have them years (instead of weeks).

[Leo L.]

Never owned nor used a dryer.
When coming home soaked the wet stuff crowds around the wood stove.
For normal household laundry our very old house has a special kind of roofed balcony facing south just for the purpose of drying clothes.

[garlic08]

A variable here is the washing machine. Since having access to a front loader, I've noticed it's quicker and easier to dry, and stuff lasts longer. Agitator machines seem primitive now.

I also never use a dryer, simple to do here in the arid West. where the extra humidity is always welcome.

[turtle fast]

Though I have a front load dryer, I always line dry wool or synthetic gear. Wool items I set on a flat slatted rack to dry. I also tend to use a mild wool wash detergent. Now in a trail town, if doing laundry I would use a dryer on low and keep an eye on it.

[Raid]

I put my wool socks, Darn Tough and Farm to Feet, plus my Smartwool shirts and base layer bottoms in the washer and dryer. I have not had any issues. I do not know if other brands would fare the same. Full disclosure though, I'm not too picky. I make two piles of sorted laundry, whites and everything else.