I think we could be better without washing machines and dryers because before 20th century people used their hands and I can agree that it isn't as efficent, but can reduce the carbon footprint caused by them. This topic I would say wouldn't necessarily be off the table.

An easy way to eliminate dryers is to dry clothes outside. This eliminates half of the source, and is very easy. Its much easier to buy a 20 dollar drying rack then buy a dryer worth a couple hundred dollars.

It may not be efficient but hand washing and putting things out to dry would be using less electricity and other energy that could potentially cause CO2 emissions. Just because it takes more time and energy, people tend not to do things like this that could actually have a huge effect on our home CO2 emissions. I know that at some households, the washing machines and dryers are constantly going, especially in houses with larger families.

Adding on to the drying clothes outside idea, I don't think that it would be very affective because not every single part of the year is ideal for drying clothes. But in countries that are close to the equator this idea might work because it is hot and sunny there most of the time but for people far away from the equator, like Alaska, never in a million years this would work.

I agree that hand washing things and hanging them out to dry would be better for the environment, but now a day there is not enough time to do those things.

Would there be a way to perhaps use hand technology with the washers instead of using electricity/fossil fuels/etc? Doing it with a wash board is much less efficient and much more time consuming than using a washing machine, and many families work outside of the home, unlike before the 20th century in first world countries. If we could invent some contraption that removes the dirt and other gunk from the clothing in a large way, it would considerably lower carbon gas emissions and be much cheaper than buying and maintaining an electric washing machine. Also, if it was close to as efficient as electric machines, it could be sold to third world countries to make it easier and quicker for them as well.

As for the drying, maybe we could have neighborhood drying rooms? Like green rooms, but built for naturally drying clothing during wet seasons. There are plants that suck moisture out of the air, and other ways of lowering humidity in the air. It might create the opposite desired effect however, working as a terrarium instead of a dryer.