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Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

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41–50 of 106 posts

Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We once rented a flat, in a nice building housing mainly retired people. One day we gave the place a good cleaning and hung out a mat to dry on the balcony. Within half an hour the residents association which we didn't know existed were knocking on our door and demanding we take in the offending item.

As someone without a hope in the world for owning a house any time soon, what kind of teeth do these associations actually have to enforce their whims?

Depends on the HOA's, which I would avoid at all costs.

Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

#42
post #16

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

> 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.

https://www.perfume.com/demeter/demeter-fresh-hay/women-perf...

https://demeterfragrance.com/grass.html

Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We once rented a flat, in a nice building housing mainly retired people. One day we gave the place a good cleaning and hung out a mat to dry on the balcony. Within half an hour the residents association which we didn't know existed were knocking on our door and demanding we take in the offending item.

As someone without a hope in the world for owning a house any time soon, what kind of teeth do these associations actually have to enforce their whims?

As part of the purchase, you are given the deed restrictions and you contractually agree in the closing process to follow them. We once backed out of a purchase when we read the overly strict restrictions.

You also contractually agree that the association has the ability to fine you for violations and put a lien on your property if you don't pay. There are plusses and minuses. The minuses are obvious - PITA, picky busybodies, limited paint colors, landscaping restrictions, etc. The plusses are that in general, the whole neighborhood is typically better maintained - paint, lawn, general upkeep, etc. which affects your property value.

Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

#44

In 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 t…

Another reason is that if you do it inside your flat (which many people do in Germany) and then do not open your windows enough there will be mold. Especially in winter this can be a problem.

Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

#45
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need sun the most. In most of the northern hemisphere it will only be viable for a couple months in the summer.

> In most of the northern hemisphere it will only be viable for a couple months in the summer. This is not correct. I've done line drying year-round, doesn't work great when it's below zero (freezes) but otherwise works fine. I think low relative humidity is important so the moisture in the clothing has somewhere to go.

This has been my experience too. It’s humid all year where I live, my clothes either 1)do not get dry or 2) spend so much time wet that a musty smell develops.

Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

#46
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

Another reason is that if you do it inside your flat (which many people do in Germany) and then do not open your windows enough there will be mold. Especially in winter this can be a problem.

It’s not true. If building has any reasonable ventilation (and it must have one in order to pass inspection and norms) it should has at least 3-4 air exchanges per hour. So drying inside wouldn’t make that much of a difference to cause mold by itself. It may be different if ventilation system is not functioning properly but in that case it should be fixed anyway.

Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

#47
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

Another reason is that if you do it inside your flat (which many people do in Germany) and then do not open your windows enough there will be mold. Especially in winter this can be a problem.

That can happen (look out for dew on windows), but usually the heating season leads to the air being too dry. That's uncomfortable and can e.g. damage wooden instruments.

Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

#48
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

Meanwhile, living in Japan, if you tell people you prefer to machine dry your clothes, they’ll tell you outright that it’s wasteful. The assumption is that it’s only used when rain makes it impossible.

Most of the dryers I've seen there didn't have external vents, and were often combined with the washer. They were really lousy at drying. Do you think that's part of it?

Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

#49
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

Another reason is that if you do it inside your flat (which many people do in Germany) and then do not open your windows enough there will be mold. Especially in winter this can be a problem.

You'll probably get as much moisture in the air from a hot shower or boiling a bunch of pasta.

Regardless of the source of moisture, this is a sign of poor construction via not using proper building science. The vapour barrier needs to be on the warm side of the insulation so there are no cold spots where condensation can occur.

Re: Chemical analysis and origin of the smell of line-dried laundry

#50
post #16

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

> 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.

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