Americans have a strange addiction to clothes dryers. More than 80% of U.S. homes have one, a number that dwarfs ownership rates in countries like South Korea (under 30%) and Germany (around 40%). The result? A national energy tab that burns over $7 billion annually, with emissions equivalent to 27 million tons of CO₂.
Dryers quietly devour around 3% of the residential energy supply—six times the electricity of washing machines. Meanwhile, air (famously free) has been drying clothes for millennia without demanding a cent. Yet somehow, the U.S. remains hooked on metal boxes that spin damp laundry into expensive, carbon-laced humidity.
Zhu Zhu, a researcher who started this work at the University of Michigan before moving to Purdue, decided to quantify just how much this love affair costs. Alongside Shelie Miller, a professor at the U-M Center for Sustainable Systems, Zhu crunched the numbers on the financial and environmental toll of mechanical drying. The results were as predictable as they were brutal.
A household that ditches the dryer entirely could save over $2,100 across the machine’s lifespan. Even a partial switch—mixing line drying with occasional dryer use—is financially smarter than investing in an energy-efficient model. The kicker? In some cases, upgrading to a fancy new dryer won’t even pay off in long-term savings.
“We tend to focus on technological improvements, but a lot of the time, behavioral changes can have larger impacts,” Miller noted. Translation: The best way to cut energy waste isn’t buying a shinier machine—it’s using it less.
Then there’s the regional wild card. Clothes dryers in coal-powered states are far worse for the planet than those in hydroelectric-heavy regions. Same machine, different grid, drastically different emissions footprint. The geographic disparity is massive, underscoring just how unevenly sustainability plays out in the U.S.
The takeaway? Your dryer is an outdated, energy-sucking relic. Air drying isn’t just a quaint, old-world habit—it’s a quiet rebellion against unnecessary waste. And if the thought of crispy jeans is unbearable, consider this: A few minutes in the dryer after air drying softens fabric with a fraction of the cost and carbon impact.
Five Fast Facts
- The first electric clothes dryer was introduced in 1938, and somehow, we haven’t improved much since.
- South Korea’s low dryer ownership is partly due to strict energy-saving regulations and a cultural preference for air drying.
- Germany’s high electricity prices make air drying a financial no-brainer.
- Hanging clothes to dry indoors can slightly raise humidity, which may help in dry climates but spell mold trouble in damp areas.
- NASA uses vacuum drying technology in space—because even astronauts can’t escape laundry day.
