Something I've picked up over the years of being on the information super highway, is that generally Americans don't hang washing outside to dry. There must be plenty of opportunities to dry clothing on a line outside in the warmer months, but it doesn't seem to be a thing they do, even if they have a freestanding house.
I can't dry clothing outside, even on the balcony, as that is prohibited by Owners' Corporation rules. But when we had a free standing house, we dried clothes on an outside clothes line, perhaps at times having to give them a final finish in a clothes dryer for ten minutes in the winter. Truly, I could never tell the difference but people used to say how lovely and fresh their clothing, bedding and towels were if they were dried outside (in air full of traffic exhaust fumes).
Now, I and my tenants hang our washing on the clothes rack in the spare bedroom and turn on the ceiling fan. Maybe twelve hours after being under the overhead fan, the garments will dry. They never use the clothes dryer, but I do for a short time to soften up my towels once they are dryish. My worn socks and jocks are washed about once a fortnight, and dried in the dryer. I am not hanging up 42 small garments on a clothes rack. Not shown in yesterday's post of our house was a pull out clothes line attached the neighbour's brick wall, but I can't remember what it was attached to when pulled out. The clothes dryer was rarely used.
Of course the Australian invention, the Hills Hoist, dried clothes in most back yards of Australian houses. They would spin around in the wind and they were raised higher by a crank handle, or if you were posh but without staff, mains water pressure. On very hot days with a strong wind, you could almost hang your washing out and take inside as dry the first garment you hung up by the time you hung out the last garment. Strong horizontal bars on something that could spin were very enticing to children, so a number of inferior brands would have bent bars. Yes, I was guilty.
I expect if people have the space, a form of the Hills Hoist is still used, now made by aluminium and nylon cord but back in the day, galvanised steel and twisted wire rope.
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So be it Britain, Europe or America, how do you dry your clothes, and is it economical?
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Back when I had a freestanding house I got fed up of birds pooping red on my laundry, from eating local mulberries, also squirrels tearing down small stuff, so I ended up using the basement to dry clothes.
ReplyDeleteNow in a town house I air dry everything except sheets and towels. Can't dry outside, HOA rules.
Boud, I don't ever remember birds being a problem with washing. That could be my defective memory.
DeleteI use my apartment building's dryer. That's really my only option.
ReplyDeleteKirk, I wonder if that is free for you to use or do you need to pay.
DeleteThere are so few days here that allow me to dry clothes outside on the line that I tend to just hang them up on a rail in the boiler room. They dry in just a couple of hours. In the summer when the central heating boiler is not switched on I use a dehumidifier in there, or I hang them on a clothes airer upstairs in the south facing spare bedroom which gets most sun. As mentioned above, the garden birds usually poop all over my washing if it is outside on the line.
ReplyDeleteJayCee, making use of the heating from the boiler is sensible. Maybe Australia has less birds as birds don't seem to be a problem here.
DeleteYeah, I just dry it in the backyard on the stands
ReplyDeleteRoentare, and make the dash outside when rain comes.
DeleteI have a folding rack in the bathroom, but usually, I throw it in the dryer. When we return to the woods, I will have an outdoor clothes line.
ReplyDeleteI might be out of touch of what happens in Australia. I think many may just use clothes dryers and they are now more economical than they used to be.
DeleteIn the woods might mean not much drying breeze.
I use an electric clothes dryer because the weather here is so seldom conducive. However, I think taking out shirts that are a bit damp keeps their fabric in better shape. So I've taken to hanging those garments indoors and, like you, might finish them with a few minutes in the dryer afterward. It softens both the fabric and visible wrinkles.
ReplyDelete~grin~
In my youth, my maternal grandmother hung clothes outside; I have fond memories of helping her and the wonderful fresh fragrance that resulted. Thanks for the smile you've put on my face. Be well, my dear.
Darla, now I have no one to iron for me, I have learnt how to carefully hang shirts to dry with minimal wrinkling. I can actually iron, but I don't care to. Bringing in washing from the outdoor clothes line was one of my childhood jobs.
DeleteYears ago I considered dressing nicer and purchased a garment steamer. Well, that didn't happen and the steamer mostly collects dust. ~sigh~ It's fun to think how folks around the world can share some of the same experiences. :D Best wishes!
DeleteIt's interesting how different cultures have such varied approaches to drying clothes! Here in the U.S., many people do prefer using dryers for convenience, especially with busy lifestyles. It’s true that you don’t see as many clotheslines as you might in other countries. I think it has to do with a mix of convenience, space, and sometimes even local regulations, like you mentioned with your Owners' Corporation rules.
ReplyDeleteThe Hills Hoist sounds like a fantastic invention! It's not only practical but also brings back memories of childhood for many, which adds a personal touch to the chore of laundry. I can imagine how tempting it must have been to spin around on those bars!
As for drying clothes, I usually use a combination of drying racks and the dryer, especially during the colder months. It's nice to air-dry delicate items and save on energy costs, but there’s nothing quite like the fluffiness of towels after a quick spin in the dryer! Plus, in the summer, I love the idea of hanging things outside to enjoy that fresh scent.
In terms of economy, using a clothesline or rack is definitely more energy-efficient, and it's great to hear how you and your tenants make the most of that setup! Do you find any significant difference in your energy bills when you use the drying rack compared to using a dryer?
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Melody, especially for towels, I like them finished off in the dryer. I know there would be a significant difference if we used the dryer all the time, a very significant difference.
DeleteMy mother used to hang clothes outside when I was younger but then dryers became the thing and it was easier and quicker to do it indoors.
ReplyDeleteWe are the lazy generation Bob, as is already the next generation.
DeleteThere are a couple of reasons why I use my electric clothes dryer. First, I'm fairly certain our homeowners' association frowns on this, I don't see any clotheslines in the neighborhood. Second, birds.... my house seems to be under a flyover zone and why bother if they have to be washed again. My electric bill isn't terribly high so I guess it's economical enough.
ReplyDeleteThere are the birds again, Deb. Given I rarely use the clothes dryer, part of my washing machine, I am not sure of the cost, but it used to be so expensive.
DeleteI love a clothes line.
ReplyDeleteDora, they are good if you have the right climate.
DeleteIn the U.S. I am one of very few people in our town that hang out clothes to dry. But I love to see them flap in the breeze. In the winter I hang much of our washing in the basement. It takes longer to dry but it’s not a problem.
ReplyDeleteAnon, in the basement taking advantage of the heat from your boiler, no doubt. That's wise.
DeleteNearly everyone had a back yard after the war, so the Hills Hoist was perfect for most families.
ReplyDeleteBut there was another reason for not leaving wet clothes hanging in the kitchen or dining room to dry - they smelt much fresher when dried in the fresh air.
Hels, that's what I've heard so often, the freshness of clothes dried outside.
DeleteThe old clothes line, love mine thought it does take up a lot of room.
ReplyDeleteI have a clothes dryer a new one which is only used in the dead of winter or to dry the clothes off after being outside.
We have lovely clean air here in most areas of Tasmania and it's just wonderful to bring the clothes off the line dry and to be able to smell them 'fresh', yes, it's a certain wonderful smell, Andrew.
I was taught at school all those years ago how to peg clothes on the line, where to place them and so on.
I was also taught that, if your washing is neat and tidy and clean on the line so is the inside of your house, this I've found to be true over the years.
Yes Margaret. I'll go with that about the washing and the connection to the inside of the house. I'd forgotten about pegging. Waistband for underwear, under the arms for shirts, and hang a bra in the most suggestive way you could.
DeleteI much prefer the original Hills Hoist to the modern version, where the plastic lines can sag over time and need tightening. We have two original Hills Hoists here in the tiny backyard behind the T shaped flats, one is smaller than the other and over behind the stem of the T, the other is closer to where the stem meets the bar of the T but also very close to the big wheelie bins that live there, so if I'm hanging things I only hang on two sides then turn them away from the bins and wind the line all the way down so they can't spin in the wind and have my sheets blowing against the bins which are often filthy unless I get out there and wash them. Ohter times I have a clothes airing rack which opens out quite wide and I'll hang thing on that and leave them in the back porch until they dry in summer or until they are almost dry in winter when I fifnsh them off in the tumble dryer.
ReplyDeleteI really love the fresh smell of lined dried things from a windy sunny day. There are no traffic exhaust fumes, and if you do get those, then your lines are too close to the main roads.
I'd forgotten about your rotary clothes lines, River, but I am reminded that some growth had to be cut back at one of them. You have the ideal climate for outside drying. I forgot to say my bedding is also dried in the clothes dryer. My tenants spread theirs out over two drying racks.
DeleteHanging the washing to dry! In the olden days you fixed one end of the thin rope to a tree and the other to another tree (if one was around) or a pole, and you also had a pole for the middle to haul up the heavy line of washing. Now we just have a heated dryer in the kitchen and the Aga finishes the job.
DeleteThelma, during the 1920/30 depression here, desperate people used to go house to house selling clothes line props, the stick for the middle of a line. I wonder how your Aga is fuelled? See the comment below.
DeleteIt is gas, and yes does cost. But we cook on it because it is always on, keeps the kitchen warm. We don't turn it off because it is impossible to light it up again and have to get someone in at a £100 a time to fiddle round with it!
DeleteSo interesting Thelma.
DeleteWe have a whirligig outdoor airer but during the winter we put it away in a shed because starlings are so prolific any washing dried outside comes in pebbledashed!
ReplyDeleteIn winter it’s dried on top of the Aga (electric and hideously expensive to run) or, more often, overnight on airers in front of the wood burner……incidentally, my mum in law is from north of Manchester and assured me it’s not an airer but ‘ a maiden ‘!
Alison in Wales x
An electric Aga sounds rather unnatural, Alison. I haven't heard the word maiden for a clothes hoist, or was that a clothes horse? Our farmhouse had high ceilings and a timber airier was loaded with wet washing and hauled using a pulley, up to the ceiling to where the heat rose to.
DeleteWe always use the dryer. I have no idea what it costs to operate, our electric bill averages about $100 a month, and that covers heating/cooling/ laundry/ cooking/ lighting/ and entertainment. Hot water is provided by the building (included in our monthly building fee.) We run the dishwasher nearly every day.
ReplyDeleteTP, my electric bill arrives quarterly, and in my dollars is higher than what you are paying for power.
DeleteI don't have a very long laundry line, but I do have one. I love the smell of sheets hung out to dry. Mostly though, everything is dried in the dryer.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, we had a huge yard and mum hung up most everything to dry, even when it was cold, in the middle of winter though, only the drier was used.
Pixie, I suppose our winters are a bit milder and I remember washing being hung on the line but then finished off near a heating source.
DeleteDefinitely dryer. I can remember my mom hanging out clothes regardless of the weather. In fact, I think my brother got frostbite in his fingers from it. I've never had a clothes line.
ReplyDeleteGood to know where the Hills Hoist originated from.
Sandra sandracox.blogspot.com
That really is old school, Sandra, but that was how it was in my youth, minus the frostbite.
DeleteWe had one just like that second photo, growing up. But we only hung sheets, pillow cases, things that might actually dry. I grew up on the coast, the weather was never warm and it often rained in the summer too but the wind helped. I used to have a rack to set out in the driveway, but the birds fly over and poop on the clothes, even perch on the rack. Creates too much moisture to dry them on a rack in the garage, although I did for awhile when I could leave the door open (when Gigi wasn't in there) and probably will do again this summer and make sure she's inside. Saves a lot.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, you must have so many birds. It was only a very occasional problem here. Yes, I have to judge what to do with drying washing inside and not making the spare bedroom damp, but not wasting heating or cooling in the room.
DeleteI remember Muriel's family had a Hills Hoist in "Muriel's Wedding" (though I had no idea that was what it was called).
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid we didn't have a dryer and my mom always hung our clothes on a line. Even as a young adult I used to take my laundry home to wash it (myself) and hang it on the line. If I didn't live in such a rainy place now I'd still use a clothesline.
Steve, your memory of MW is amazing. It was so long ago. Yes, if I still could, I would hang out the washing to dry.
DeleteBody corporate or equivalent rules against hanging out washing should be made illegal as against public policy, also because they are ridiculously snobby. Sure the building looks nicer without people lowering the tone with their laundry on display, but the appearance hides a dark eco crime of unnecessary use of electric drying machines.
ReplyDeleteMC, I can't see how keeping the appearance of the front of a building looking nice and not like a laundry as snobbish. I would not like to travel along Melbourne's premier boulevard, admire or not the architecture and see peoples smalls on balconies flapping around in the breeze. As I said, clothes here are mostly dried on a rack inside. My neighbour HH does the same, and I would guess many others too. New electric clothes dryers use nothing like the power they used too. Mine doesn't make a power spike when I look at my consumption. Other appliances do, the basic oven being the worst.
DeleteSo prudish as well as snobbish.
DeleteLook I'm sure that, with the help of a spare room, you & your lodgers (and HH) are frugal in your energy usage for laundry drying, but the impact of such bylaws on the practices of many others in less-spacious apartments is almost certainly a large amount of electric drying. Lack of a consumption spike for your modern dryer encouraging though some of that could well be because it works long and slow, and most (in humbler apartments than yours) still have and use the spikier kind.
When we lived on our boat it was a pleasure to be able to hang things out on Deck where they would dry in the breeze quickly. Now I have an outside lanai which is called a balcony in most places and often hang things discreetly out there on a hanger to dry. I love having the availability of open air. Most of the year! We have had some vog from the volcano on the big island recently which has necessitated staying in the air conditioning or they closed. Windows. Feels like a deprivation, although I'm glad not to be breathing this sulfur which in any event will be gone shortly. as the trades return. Cheers and aloha
ReplyDeleteCloudia, the vog must be a pain. I remember the Golden Girls had a lanai. I never really knew what it was, assuming it was what we might call a patio.
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