Multipurpose your vacuum cleaner to help dry your clothes!
Approximate Time: 15 minutes
This invention was made from necessity and God's wisdom. The dryer gets hand-washed and wrung out clothes mostly dry in about two hours, then we hang them over our homemade drying rack (re-purposed camping chair) to finish. This invention also allows you to still use your vacuum as a vacuum cleaner.
Warning: Always be careful when working around electrical machines and water. Always use safety measures with children and pets. Do not leave the vacuum on out of earshot (so you can hear if it gets blocked)
By Bonnie from Spokane, WA
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I-N-G-E-N-I-O-U-S!
I truly very much applaud your cleverness and effort but most people don't have a shop vac and I could be wrong but I don't think regular vacuums have the exhaust function. Even if they do not only the filter needs to be completely clean of dust debris but also the interior of the canister needs to be thoroughly clean if you're going to use the exhaust feature because otherwise the fine dust particles in the canister will still be blown through the filter and on to the clean clothes.
Besides that thought, I personally would rather hang the clothes on a wood laundry rack in the tub and/or on hangers hung on the shower curtain and air dry rather than all the preparation effort and use of the electricity ;-)
Very clever! Would those vacuum storage bags work? They have a dedicated hose inlet screw, but you'd have to cut open the bag and it would no longer be useful for its original purpose. I can see the problem with dust, but surely it would use the same amount of electricity as a dryer?
I am lucky enough to have a clothes line in my backyard. When the weather is too cold I use a wooden clothes rack we bought in maine while on vacation a few years ago. Also I have hung damp clothing on hangers and put it over door jambs. Since these were bedrooms there was no problem going in and out during the day. How much electricity do you use with your system?
MCW: Thank you---we are very happy with it!
Nufty: Thank you--we need some extra oomph up here in the cold north! I'm not sure about the vacuum storage bags--the key is to get good air flow inside the bag. Maybe you could try it (as long as the zippers are plastic). Our vacuum cleaner is easy to clean, and you can simply remove the dusty filter, so there's no problem with dust. As far as electricity goes, we don't use a washing machine, and the vacuum cleaner is run about 2 hours per load. I don't think the cleaner uses as much electricity as a regular clothes dryer. Our shop vac is an 8 gallon, 3-5 horsepower, and we just leave it on with the bathroom fan going.
ELSABLUE: I rejoice with you in your blessing of having a backyard AND a clothesline! We don't have a yard where we live (apartment) to hang out clothes on the days it is sunny. Where we are, the climate is very cold and winter is very long, so wet things Have to have something extra to dry or the clothes will stay wet and sour. Our apartment heaters don't do it--they are electric baseboard heaters, and expensive to run for very long. Nice blessing to be able to simply hang up clothes inside and they would dry! I don't know how to calculate the exact wattage, but our 8 gallon 3-5 horsepower shop vac runs for about 2 hours per hand washed load plus the bathroom fan. I can finally wash my sweaters without them souring, and I am sooo happy about that!
Very clever. They took away our apt. clthoesline! Ugh.
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