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U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

reuters.com

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Re: U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

#51

Post by henvic »

It must be a property owner prerogative to decide whether or not hang laundry to dry outside their houses.

That said, I also feel like that's a poor choice considering you can now get a A+++ heat pump dryer that's very economical and works quite fast (slightly more time than with a convention dryer, but your clothes will last much longer) anytime (as long as it's not stuck in a icy cold basement) regardless the weather.

Another mistake some people make is using an all-in-one washer/dryer: they are the worst option ever. Terrible at everything by design.

Re: U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

#52

Post by Broken_Hippo »

doublesocket wrote: post #23
buzzdenver wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you live? Winter is when people traditionally use humidifiers because the air inside tends to be dry. (Cold air outside has a low absolute humidity, so relative humidity will be low when you heat it up inside.)

London. Cold enough that anything in an old Victorian building won't dry but warm enough that the air remains humid.

I dunno about that - I live in Norway. Most folks dry their clothes inside for most of the year. They take a little longer to dry in the winter, but it really isn't an issue.

Re: U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

#53

Post by henvic »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #45
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #3

> dryer use accounts for about 6 percent of U.S. residential electricity use That's a huge amount! I didn't realize it was so much!

NOt mine! I live in the country, but the county gas pipeline crosses our property. The easement (written 50 years ago) permits us to connect as a customer. So all our appliances are gas.

Bad choice nonetheless. Get a heat pump dryer and you'll save a lot and your clothes will last longer.

Re: U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

#54

Post by refurb »

Drying without a dryer sucks big time. They call appliances "modern conveniences" for a reason.

Sure, if you're a hip cool 20-something who does a load of laundry per week air-drying is fine.

Try being a household with a couple kids and a baby under 2 and hanging your laundry everyday. It's a waste of time and frankly sucks. I've done it.

Re: U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

#55

Post by nemo44x »

mijamo wrote: post #42
nemo44x wrote: post #17

Although I get her point I think she’s antisocial and being a bad neighbor. Especially by insisting to hang it in the front yard. To live peacefully in a society you have to compromise and you can’t just do as you please. Communities have certain standards and by-laws that should be respected. If you’re compelled then bring it up at the next town meeting and rally support for your cause. What if someone decides they…

Are those things that are not possible to do in the US? That just seems so absurd. I'd be pissed if I couldn't put a sofa or a car where I want on my own property! Can your neighbors also prevent you from putting your children sculpture or garden gnome in your garden because it's not up to their grand standards?

In some lower class places or college town neighborhoods I’m sure people wouldn’t care but in most middle and upper middle class places, people take pride in their homes and communities and something like that would be considered outrageous.

Re: U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

#56

Post by JoeAltmaier »

nemo44x wrote: post #43
kergonath wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Although I get her point I think she’s antisocial and being a bad neighbor. Especially by insisting to hang it in the front yard. That’s a very restrictive view of what a good neighbour should be. Those who are offended by the view of drying clothes and insist on dictating other people’s lifestyle are much worse neighbours than she is. > To live peacefully in a society you have to compromise and you can’t just do a…

The town has a standard where you don’t hang laundry though. She’s the odd person out here and should appeal to the people of the town. Otherwise she’s just doing as she pleases and that’s antisocial behavior. As to who it “would hurt” - it could very well hurt everyone’s property values and certainly hurts everyone’s eyes to have to see a car parked on the front lawn. Again, it’s antisocial behavior and inconsiderat…

Exactly why I live in the country. No neighbors, who almost by definition exist to constrain my life. By making up laughable things like "hurts everyone's eyes to have to see a car parked on the front lawn".

Re: U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

#57

Post by henvic »

gus_massa wrote: post #32
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #3

> dryer use accounts for about 6 percent of U.S. residential electricity use That's a huge amount! I didn't realize it was so much!

At home we stopped using the dryer and the electricity bill got reduced like a 30%. It's impossible to dry all the cloth in rainy winter weeks (imagine 10°C(50°F) and 90% of humidity), so now we are hanging towels, bed sheets and similar stuff and using dryer for small stuff, probably 50% and 50%.

Get a heat pump dryer and you'll have the convenience and it'll probably cost only 30% of what it used to cost you.

Re: U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

#58

Post by Retric »

robbywashere_ wrote: post #33

I've sat in at a couple anti-dryer meet ups in my locality (big city, east coast) out of curiosity. Most of the points are valid some are a little outrageous; (dryers sheets disrupt sea turtle populations?) But after reading Sally Heathers book 'The Doomed Dryer Nation'; I decided to give line drying a try. I will say that my sleep improved and some of the daily fatigue I struggled with when I lived with a dryer most…

What do you mean 3-4 hours per load? That seems wildly outside my experience.

Re: U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

#59

Post by lloydatkinson »

I can’t imagine such a freedom limiting law in any European country or here in the UK. Utterly absurd a country that prioritises freedom so much also dictates how people are allowed to dry their laundry. I’m sure if the wind could be taxed they’d not restrict it though…

Re: U.S. residents fight for the right to hang laundry (2009)

#60

Post by nemo44x »

Karellen wrote: post #44
nemo44x wrote: post #17

Although I get her point I think she’s antisocial and being a bad neighbor. Especially by insisting to hang it in the front yard. To live peacefully in a society you have to compromise and you can’t just do as you please. Communities have certain standards and by-laws that should be respected. If you’re compelled then bring it up at the next town meeting and rally support for your cause. What if someone decides they…

What if they do? It's their lawn. What if they put a lawn chair on the front lawn, and sat out to read or play on their tablet or whatever, and fell asleep? Is that so bad? Or are lawn chairs somehow better than couches, and that's what makes it OK? (Are they more expensive? Better upholstered? Comfier? If yes to any of the above - where do you buy your lawn chairs?)

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