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Well it depends on what part of the "West" you mean. Lots of people still hang clothes out to dry in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, etc. In the USA, we don't h
by peterwwillis 8y ago
Well it depends on what part of the "West" you mean. Lots of people still hang clothes out to dry in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, etc.
In the USA, we don't hang clothes out because we changed our cultural norms with the introduction of convenience machines. Once air conditioning became affordable, we all bought it. Same for refrigerators, dish washers, garbage disposals, washing machines, and of course dryers. Having a machine to do your work for you was seen as a middle-class status symbol, in addition to relieving housework.
Once line-drying became passé, people began to dislike the sight of line-dried clothes (it reminded them of being lower-class) and so was now "unsightly". Neighborhood association bylaws were passed to ban line-drying completely, and many apartment buildings also banned the practice. So now around 80% of homes in the USA have a washer and dryer, and people in apartments use laundromats or apartment facilities.
This article from the BBC mentions the millions of U.S. homeowners who were banned from using clotheslines: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-11417677 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-11417677
- dashundchen 8y ago> Why would you line-dry your clothes if you have the convenience of a dryer? Some advantages: 1. Clothes last longer with less dryer agitation 2. Less agitation means less lint 3. Lower carbon emissions and gas/electric bills I have a gas clothes dryer at home but I hang dry my clothes year round. In the summer I have a line, more delicate and fade-senstitive items get hung in the shade while towels, sheets, undershirts, socks and underwear can go in the sun. If you hang them in the morning or evening when light is less intense, or bring them in as soon as they dry during sunnier hours, there's very little risk of fading in my experience. The most delicate items are hung inside on a drying rack. In the winter or rainy periods I have a folding indoor drying rack that I hang clothes on. It takes longer but still works. During furnace weather I can leave them in front of a vent and the dry furnace air gets some humidity as well. Some tips if you haven't hang dried before: You may notice your clothes are stiff after air drying. Depending on your water hardness you may be using too much soap (most detergents recommend too much). Try using less, or add plain white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser (no commercial softener) Vinegar will soften the water, remove soap buildup from the washer and clothes, and leaves fabric soft without any other artificial softeners.
- BoorishBears 8y agoThe sun will ruin clothes much faster than a properly configured dryer
- dashundchen 8y agoYMMV - it may be different closer to the equator, but in the great lakes I don't have an issue. The brightest colors and most delicate fabrics are hung inside or in shade. With a medium washer spin speed there's very little wear on the clothes. In contrast, my experience with the dryer is clothes and up looking threadbare and worn from a high heat dryer. Just look at how quickly the lint trap fills up.
- BoorishBears 8y agoI’ve found most wear on clothes comes from people who only used timed washes on high heat I wash my clothes and dry them according to type with automatic settings which end the cycle early if the clothes are dry before the full cycle is complete On the flip side when I lived in a place where dying clothes outside was the norm there was no avoiding sun bleached clothes unless you dryer your clothes at night (which only partially worked because it was a tropical climate)
- Angostura 8y agoPossible, but I'm not convinced that this is a given. You have UV v mechanical tumbling and deformation. Line drying is also quite a lot faster on on a warm day.
- Cthulhu_ 8y agoEven on a not so warm day, the moving air really helps dry it out a lot faster. Not as fast as a dryer maybe but still. Plus, outdoor air freshness. If you don't live near a major road anyway.
- Symbiote 8y agoI've only lived at 50-55° N, and 99% of my clothes are black. They seem to last much longer without fading if I don't use a dryer. On cheaper t-shirts, the dryer gradually ruins the elastic around the neck. I use the dryer for clothes that don't matter, and line dry the nicer ones.
- fraudsyndrome 8y agoActually in Australia a lot of apartments are banned from drying clothes outside their tiny balconies too because it looks "poor". >Same for refrigerators, dish washers, garbage disposals, washing machines, and of course dryers Ime, dryers aren't the same as the others as they tend to ruin clothes used so a reliance on them is bad
- toyg 8y agoIt might also be the cultural influence of the UK, where dryers are a basic necessity (because of very high humidity and poor weather most of the year). I grew up in Italy and didn’t even know what a dryer was before I moved to England, where they’ve been ubiquitous since forever.
- Angostura 8y agofor about 8 months of the year our clothes are dried in the garden, here in London
- mike-cardwell 8y agoI've lived in England for nearly 40 years, in various different cities. Probably lived in a dozen or more houses during that time. Not one of them had a drier. I don't recall seeing one in any of my friends houses either. Always see clothes on washing lines all over the place. So I think you might be stretching it a bit to say that they're ubiquitous here.
- toyg 8y agoSeriously? In the North literally every house has one.
- mike-cardwell 8y agoI grew up in the North. I live in the Midlands now. They're uncommon in both locations.
- toyg 8y agoI just asked in my work chat, about a dozen Englishmen, based around Lancashire and Yorkshire; all have either a dryer or a washer-dryer; one guy in London has a washer-dryer. These are not rich people, just middle-class IT guys. In my experience, the only flat I've rented that didn't have a dryer was a student hole in Preston that didn't have a washing machine either. Maybe it's a sign of the times, maybe Lancashire is a cluster of dryer-lovers, but this is my anecdata.
- scotty79 8y ago> Neighborhood association bylaws were passed to ban line-drying completely, and many apartment buildings also banned the practice. Land of the free where you can shoot a person that enters your garden but you can't dry out your clothes there because it's unsightly.
- coldtea 8y agoOr collect rain water in your own yard. Or walk by police while black... There are so many similar examples, that I wonder what this "free" part refers to anymore... (Of course back in the day, even back in 1920 or so, Europe was a lot more regulated than the US).
- josefresco 8y agoOr disconnect your house from the grid (see: Florida)
- planteen 8y agoIs that true? Snopes makes me think it is just a rumor. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/is-it-illegal-florida-power-home-solar-storm/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/is-it-illegal-florida-powe...
- skc 8y agoWait, you cannot collect rain water?
- rhinoceraptor 8y agoAFAICT the only place where it's restricted (it used to be illegal, now you can collect 110 gallons) is Colorado.
- coldtea 8y agoDepends on your state: http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/rainwater-harvesting.aspx http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resourc...
- nell 8y agoThere is some sort of love of rules and law in America that other places handle very well through culture. Coming from India, I have family both in cities and villages. Rich and poor. Everyone tries to keep their home as tidy as possible for them. Zero laws on how to maintain your house. In America “You’re free to do whatever you want” Conditions apply.
- csours 8y agoWhen I was a kid (late 1980s) we had to move our clothesline from the front yard to the back yard. The other problem with drying clothes outside is pollen, pollution and other allergens and irritants.