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

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151–160 of 329 posts

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

#151
post #4

For the entirety of my life, we've hung or clothes to dry inside. No dryer. No, they don't smell bad. Yes, even with small kids in the household. No, there is no problem with mold. No, it doesn't take forever, I'd estimate twelve hours most of the year, depending on how fast you spun them (typically 1200+ rpm). Yes, the evaporating cools down the room, though I can't say I ever noticed it. In terms of energy efficien…

Have you only lived in one climate? One type of house? There are a lot of different buildings and climates where you will have problems hanging laundry indoors. It definitely can cause mould, it definitely is a health risk without paying extra for dehumidifiers. And dehumidifiers are not great for the environment either as well as costing extra. So two good reasons to hang out rather than in. Plus hanging laundry out…

Dryer did not exists and human have been drying clothes in most climates in the last few thousand of years.

That being said : I see what you mean. I grew up in France ( dryer don’t exists ) and it’s easy to dry stuff there. Except maybe in winter.

Now I’m in Louisiana… yeah, it’s humid. But if you put things in the sun it does dry super quick too.

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

#152
post #77

Stupid people who don't read the HOA agreement they signed, and then whine after the fact that some things aren't allowed - I have no sympathy for them (and for the record, would never live anyplace that had an HOA). That said, if its not in the agreement you signed, or you live someplace without an HOA, I support peoples right do hang their laundry out to dry - shouldn't even be a question of being allowed or not.

Stupid people like the first person mentioned in the article, who apparently doesn't live in an HOA and was asked by a town official to stop hanging laundry?

There is nothing wrong with asking.

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

#154
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's 6% of residential use . Residential use is 39% of all electrical generation. So driers are 2.3%. That number doesn't surprise me in the least. Residential electrical consumption is trivial if you don't include heating. So having an appliance use 5% of all home electricity seems pretty low?

There are commercial dryers to consider too

The figure is residential use. But sure, some commercial use would be dryers, but I assume compared to say aluminum ore electrolysis, it's pretty low.

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

#155
post #77

Stupid people who don't read the HOA agreement they signed, and then whine after the fact that some things aren't allowed - I have no sympathy for them (and for the record, would never live anyplace that had an HOA). That said, if its not in the agreement you signed, or you live someplace without an HOA, I support peoples right do hang their laundry out to dry - shouldn't even be a question of being allowed or not.

I don't understand how "HOAs" are legal.

You agree to the contract. As simple as that.

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

#156

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 lived for years in Paris. Dryer don’t exists there. You just don’t have space for one … Is the weather THAT different in London ?

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

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm actually struggling to figure out the remaining 94%. I guess AC is like #1, fridge, tv/computer.... lights ... ?

space cooling: 15.5% space heating: 15.2% water heating: 11.6% refrigeration: 7.1% lightning: 3.9% television: 3.7% computer: 2.4% other: 40.7% source: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/use-of-elect...

I know it's an average, but I'm somewhat surprised that refrigeration is half of heating/cooling. I suppose gas heat offsets much of the heating requirement in some areas and some parts of the US have minimal cooling needs.

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

#158
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's 6% of residential use . Residential use is 39% of all electrical generation. So driers are 2.3%. That number doesn't surprise me in the least. Residential electrical consumption is trivial if you don't include heating. So having an appliance use 5% of all home electricity seems pretty low?

There are commercial dryers to consider too

I do not think I have ever seen an electric commercial dryer (hotels/laundromat/etc). The electric costs would be insane in comparison to gas.

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

#159
I was visiting Monaco once and noticed that no one had laundry hanging on the balcony. In Beausoleil, France, literally on the other side of the street from Monaco, they had hanging laundry. I'll bet there was a law against it in Monaco. Maybe someone on HN who lives there can confirm.

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

#160
Some aspects that seem kind of strange to me:

- The article is from 2009. Surely there's some more recent update to the situation described, which also offers context?

- The laundry was being hung in the front yard. This is really rare. While probably not entirely without precedent, it's certainly a significant and rational weighing factor.

- The owner of the laundry said she hung her underclothes/unmentionables inside the house, so essentially the neighbors complained about a feared outcome, rather than making a 100% evidentiary complaint. This is often a bad idea, no matter how good one's laundry prediction skills may be.

- The condominium resident thought other residents would be OK with their personal laundry hanging in a "common area"...this seems pretty cringe. Did he ask beforehand? Maybe we'll never know. After all, 2009.

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