Most great ideas start with a problem. Jim Lutz, the inventor and founder of DryAwayTM had a problem with his laundry. Since college he has been hang drying his clothes but found the products on the market did not meet all his needs. There are few products available and most are similar to the common accordion style drying rack which are cumbersome, fragile, take up space, get in the way and display your clothes to everyone that comes over.
So when he and his family built a new home in 2000, he designed into his new laundry room the first version of DryAway which the family happily still uses. Like most people, the Lutz’s hang dry mainly to avoid heat damage to their clothes and save energy costs. Other design criteria he had were that it had to be close to the washer, easy to use, out of the way, and out of sight.
In 2009, Jim set out to further his idea by making DryAway fit to any ceiling or custom cabinet. He used his engineering background to design a product that had a mounting bracket that could fit in nearly all situations along with the ability to expand the amount of drying racks it could hold. In 2014 DryAway became patented and had it’s first production run. With that, we hope DryAway can help people live a simpler and easier life while being environmentally conscious.
Did you know…
- The Average family in the US does 400 loads of wash a year. Based on this usage an Electric Dryer costs $160/year and a Gas Dryer $80/year to operate.
- The Dryer is the second highest consumer of energy of appliances in the home behind the refrigerator.
- In the US 85% of the wash is done by the woman of the house.
- Heat damages the wicking ability of micro-fiber apparel and locks in odors.
- In the US alone Gas and Electric Dryers cause more than 12,000 residential fires annually.
- Although many people believe that using outdoor clothes lines are another efficient way to dry clothing, this method actually fades colors, deteriorates materials, and collects dirt and pollen from the outdoors.
- The bamboo that is used to make DryAway frames is very sustainable and can grow up to 3 feet in one day. Bamboo resists warping and twisting while being aesthetically appealing.
LAUNDRY TIPS
- Separate dirty laundry when you take it off by putting into separate hampers or baskets. Saves time and the dreaded sorting process.
- A sticky, odor causing residue can form in washing machines when too much or the wrong type of detergent is used. Soak spots with spot remover.
- Use cold water to wash and rinse unless you have a very dirty load. Up to 90% of the cost of washing clothes comes from heating the water.
- New high efficiency front load washers are gentler on clothes, get clothes cleaner and use less energy.
- High efficiency front load washers use 20-25 gallons of water per load in contrast to 40 gallons for the older conventional top load agitator style.
- High efficiency front load washers spin out more water allowing for shorter drying time.
- Soap products like WIN remove odor causing bacteria from micro-fiber exercise clothes.
