Drying clothes outside

[PaulaSB12]

I found this story

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091118/us_nm/us_usa_laundry

Is it true people get offended by seeing clothes drying on a clothes line out side?

 

[AKL_Megs]

I found this story

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091118/us_nm/us_usa_laundry

Is it true people get offended by seeing clothes drying on a clothes line out side?

Probably.

Come spring, I plan on setting up a clothesline behind our garage. I like to hang towels and sheets in the fresh air. Sometimes it's nice to hang jeans and socks, too.

 

[PaulaSB12]

Probably.

Come spring, I plan on setting up a clothesline behind our garage. I like to hang towels and sheets in the fresh air. Sometimes it's nice to hang jeans and socks, too.

Why though? I mean I have a clothes line in my back garden and no one has ever said anything but it is done over here without problems.

 

[supercarrie]

Having lived both in the US and UK, I would say that in the US it is commonly seen as low class or simply unattractive. However, most people in the US have tumble dryers and therefore do not need to hang dry their clothes.

In the UK, the percentage of people with tumble dryers seems to be far less, so it is more commonly done and therefore not seen as so low class. Plus, the tumble dryers are not the kind like Americans have - huge machines!

 

[GeorgeG]

One of the few rules in our community is no clotheslines in the yard.

When I was growing up it was common to dry everything out on the line since very few people had indoor clothes dryers. Heck, I remember my grandmother's wringer washing machine being outside. Clothes and sheets have a much fresher smell if they've dried out on a clothesline, but we're now forced to use chemicals to get that "fresh" smell.

We do hang up sheets and some clothes to dry in our garage since we have a sliding screen door that allows fresh air and a nice breeze through the garage without exposing the laundry (or anything else) to the neighborhood. Such screens on garage doors are pretty common around here. They also make it nice for working out there in nice weather.

Green and economical will get trumped by elite attitudes every time. Our society is determined to self-destruct.

 

[FireDancer]

My grandma has hang dried clothes for years. I think if you want to do it do it. It saves energy, is probably better for the clothes, and it is your property. I could not possibly care less if my neighbors line dry their clothing. To do so would be another example of people trying to nanny other adults and it is disgusting. Provided they aren't doing human sacrifices or otherwise committing felonies I don't really care what my neighbors do. We are all adults.

There are HOAs that forbid the line drying and while it would annoy me I would know the rule when I purchased the house so it would be my own fault.

 

[disney1990]

One of the few rules in our community is no clotheslines in the yard.

When I was growing up it was common to dry everything out on the line since very few people had indoor clothes dryers. Heck, I remember my grandmother's wringer washing machine being outside. Clothes and sheets have a much fresher smell if they've dried out on a clothesline, but we're now forced to use chemicals to get that "fresh" smell.

We do hang up sheets and some clothes to dry in our garage since we have a sliding screen door that allows fresh air and a nice breeze through the garage without exposing the laundry (or anything else) to the neighborhood. Such screens on garage doors are pretty common around here. They also make it nice for working out there in nice weather.

Green and economical will get trumped by elite attitudes every time. Our society is determined to self-destruct.

Florida is one of the States that has given that right back to you!!!


http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/fight_to_legali.php

And it's why the list of states that have passed laws overriding the outdated laws of community associations is growing: Utah, Florida, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine and Vermont have all drawn a line in the sand and restored the resident's right to act in an environmentally conscious way by drying laundry on a clothesline. Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia have similar bills pending.

 

[happygirl]

When I was growing up we had a clothes line, I was so embrassed by them

 

[quentina]

There is only one house in our area that does it.........it is the trashed house. Trash everywhere, broken screens, porch filled with old toys, multiple grills in yard (some on there side), bikes lying around....you name it, it is not high on upkeep. So, in addition, when I see the laundry swinging in the wind, it does look unappealing due to all the other stuff around.

I don't think I have an issue with it normally...just the above situation is an eyesore to me.

It does bring back great memories of grandma and pop's house!

 

[perdidobay]

When I was a kid we dried our clothes outside on the line, but the clothesline was in the backyard and only the house behind us could see it.
I wouldn't want anyone walking by the front of my house to see my undies flapping in the breeze.

 

[hjd0411]

Wow - this amazes me!! I come from the country that invented the rotary clothes line and almost every back yard here has one (or something similar). In fact if you don't it is considered unusual!! Oh and they are in the back yard - not the front!! Don't think I'd like to see that in the front of a house.
I do have a clothes dryer, but it only gets used if it is raining or I am desperate!!

Good on those who go against the "rules".

 

[crazelion]

I know when my dryer was broke. I know hang my clothes outside. I think everyone on my street has a clothes line. So not a problem here.

 

[monkey68]

We've never used a dryer. The only time I used a dryer was the few times I did laundry at college instead of bringing it home. It's pretty common around here, I think pretty much all of our neighbors have a clothes line, although it's usually in the backyard. But, it's not unusual to see people hanging clothes in the front either. I don't see why I would be offending by seeing someone else's clothes flapping in the breeze. They're outside for a couple hours, and then back in the house, it's not like they leave them out there all day.

In my neighborhood, not many people have their own machines, most people use the laundromat, but they charge an insane amount for the dryers, so a lot of people use the washers, then bring the clothes back and hang them up on a line. Saves energy, saves money, and it's clean clothes! I'd rather people hang their clothes up outside so they can wear clean undies than have them walking around in stinky dirty undies.

 

[disykat]

If they really want to be "green" without bugging their neighbors, most people probably have somewhere they can put their laundry where it won't be an eyesore. In the article, the picture showed the lady hanging her laundry in the front yard. They also referenced someone getting in trouble for hanging laundry in the "openspace" at their condo. Common sense people! Pick the most private place in your yard and take it down in a timely fashion and I doubt you'll get complaints.

When we lived in an older neighborhood, we could see some clotheslines but people generally had them as far from the street as possible.

My grandma's clothesline wasn't hidden, so she had one of the big multilined ones (like an umbrella) where she could put sheets and towels around the outside and hide the underwear in the middle. On days where it wouldn't dry quickly, she hung laundry in the basement.

 

[aprilgail2]

We had a neighbor that would hang clothes outside--you would see her husbands tighty whities flapping in the breeze---really NOT an attractive sight! They moved though and I think they were the last family to hang things out in their back yards around us.

 

[Nancy]

Having lived both in the US and UK, I would say that in the US it is commonly seen as low class or simply unattractive. However, most people in the US have tumble dryers and therefore do not need to hang dry their clothes.

In the UK, the percentage of people with tumble dryers seems to be far less, so it is more commonly done and therefore not seen as so low class. Plus, the tumble dryers are not the kind like Americans have - huge machines!

I'm not low class by any means but I always hang clothes out to dry in the summer. (well maybe that makes me low class then )We do NOT hang under wear though..that is just too much. Saves me money on the gas and electricity needed to run the dryer. In the winter my clothes hang on the lines in the basement. My clothes last forever, do not fade or shrink and look new even 5 years later. I had 3 kids that shared lots of clothes and when I sold them at a yard sale I had comments made about how the clothes looked brand new and my kids must have never worn them...trust me they were worn but never thrown in a dryer.

 

[englishteacha]

I hang dry most of my work clothes. They go outside in good weather or on a drying rack in the dining room in winter/rain. In summer, I plan my laundry for sunny days to hang laundry outside. My line is in the side yard because we only have a few trees. The line goes from the corner of my house to a tree. I really, really wish it were in the backyard, but that would involve putting up posts or doing a store bought one that is on a pole. Because it's in view of my street, I don't hang unmentionables outside. I draw the line at my neighbors looking at my undies! Most everyone here has a clothesline. (We are in Maine! )

 

[DawnCt1]

Our back yard is pretty private so I hang my clothes out as long as they will dry. I hang my towels on the rail of the deck which is quite long. Cindy Lou Who told me two years ago that if you put wet clothes in the dryer for 3 minutes or so to warm them up, they will dry quicker. This works and it is good to know once fall comes. In fact, I just brought in two loads and I am getting the dampness out in the dryer. Beats running the thing for an hour.

 

[mhsjax]

I think drying clothes outside is not something I want to see, and in my neighborhood, most people don't have fences and there is no way I would want to walk outside and see someone's laundry hanging up.

On a side note, my mother did it for years and as soon as she got a dryer, she quit that "nonsense" she wanted nothing to do with it.

 

[ilovepcot]

I remember when I was a tiny child hearing my mom say that if she could ever afford it, she'd have her sheets changed daily and they'd be hung outside to smell like "sunshine". That day came years ago. She has a housekeeper that changes her sheets daily and she does hang them out in the sun. Her neighbors would throw a fit, but the way mom's house in constructed, there's a courtyard with a nice sized area where she has the sheets hung. No one can see it at all. Nice! Now, if I can just get a housekeeper like hers.