9 May 2008 - 12:03Q: Which is more energy intensive: the clothes dryer or the iron?
Q: I dry my laundry outside, but this often requires some ironing and I wonder would I use less energy using a dryer for those items?
Dorothy
Hi Dorothy,
A clothes dryer is more energy intensive, but a clothes iron consumes a lot of power as well. The typical wattage from a clothes iron is 1000–1800 watts while a clothes dryer is 1800–5000.
In my experience, clothing is less wrinkled from air drying than from using a dryer. Although I know some people swear by a short dry cycle in combination with air drying. Definitely some items, no matter what you do, seem to always need the iron.
To maximize the use of your iron:
Collect as many pieces as you can to press at the same time.
While the iron is heating up, press the thinner clothes that require less heat first. When the iron is hot, press the more difficult ones. If you have thinner items again you can turn off and unplug the iron and press the clothes that need less heat again to end.
2 Comments | Tags: Energy
01 Jun 2009 - 17:23
Hi, cool post. I have been wondering about this topic,so thanks for writing.
28 Sep 2009 - 19:25
[...] I inherited this severe dislike from my mother. She hates ironing too. In my effort to conserve energy, I ran across this: [...]