A frost would sometimes freeze the clothes stiff overnight. And dumb kid curiosity, if you licked the clothes you would get a faint taste of detergent.
But the best small was fresh cut hay, sleeping on it in a barn
Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry
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Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry
#12Sunlight is the best disinfectant. /s and !/s
Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry
#13I can’t remember a time I ever line dried laundry outside. How significant is this smell, is it worth changing my laundry drying habits just to reproduce it?
Definitely. It affects then entire experience to such an extent that you want to go to bed early in order to lie between freshly dried sheets.
Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry
#14In Ontario, Canada, some condo boards for town house developments (like home-owner associations) didn't like people putting up laundry lines and so prevented them since backyards were considered "common elements" and under group jurisdiction.
So the provincial government had an existing law that prevented the use of "renewable energy" systems from being blocked by local by-laws and such. So they classified clothes lines as a renewable energy system so people could use "solar power" to dry their clothes as a energy conservation mechanism.
> "There's a whole generation of kids growing up today who think a clothesline is a wrestling move," [Premier] McGuinty said during his announcement.
* https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-premier-lifts-outdoor-clo...
The current Ford government repealed the law that allowed for this, so I'm not sure what the legal status is now exactly.
Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry
#15I can’t remember a time I ever line dried laundry outside. How significant is this smell, is it worth changing my laundry drying habits just to reproduce it?
Definitely. It affects then entire experience to such an extent that you want to go to bed early in order to lie between freshly dried sheets.
As soon as the weather got nice out (from Chicago), my grandmother would immediately start drying clothes outside.
Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry
#16A frost would sometimes freeze the clothes stiff overnight. And dumb kid curiosity, if you licked the clothes you would get a faint taste of detergent. But the best small was fresh cut hay, sleeping on it in a barn
> But the best small was fresh cut hay, sleeping on it in a barn
I always wonder why nobody sells fragrances based on it. And also on freshly cut grass. Or the scent one has after spending a day on the beach.
Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry
#17Related popular article, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/science/laundry-smell-lin...
Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry
#18In Ontario, Canada, some condo boards for town house developments (like home-owner associations) didn't like people putting up laundry lines and so prevented them since backyards were considered "common elements" and under group jurisdiction. So the provincial government had an existing law that prevented the use of "renewable energy" systems from being blocked by local by-laws and such. So they classified clothes li…
I have a similar clause in my rent contract in Germany, forbidding line drying, and first I didn't really understand why people care about this (I planned to use the communal dryer anyway).
But to be explicit, it's because the optics of visible laundry makes people associate to poor people who have no other drying options. They don't want the neighborhood to look like poor neighborhoods.
Maybe it will become one of those environment-conscious hip modern things and then they will start allowing it again...
Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry
#19Would it work if I installed a UV light in my dryer?
Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have done line drying and it ended up smelling not so great. Like someone who went outside on a hot day. I wonder if you need a low humidity environment for line drying to “work”.
You need sun the most. In most of the northern hemisphere it will only be viable for a couple months in the summer.
I live just outside London and manage to line dry laundry for about 6 months a year (April to Octoberish).
Save energy, smells better, and sunlight seems to result in better stain removal/whiter whites.
It's a bit marginal in Apr and Oct but I line dry close to 100% of washes May to Sept. Even most days in winter if it's sunny it works pretty well.