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

reuters.com

231–240 of 329 posts

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

#231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

London has an interesting climate - despite being fairly far north it doesn't get that cold in winter. It is common there to not have whole house heating. Norway isn't far London, but it is enough worse a climate that pretty much everyone has some form of central heating and keeps their house warm year round. For this discussion is means that in London the indoor climate is livable, but terrible for trying clothes, w…

Note that Oslo is at 59.9 degrees northern latitude, while London is at 51.5 degrees northern latitude. Going the same 8.4 degrees south from London takes you to the Pyrenees, or Florence.

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

#232
post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Dryer did not exists and human have been drying clothes in most climates in the last few thousand of years. Yes, and most of that drying happened outside. Also, moldy rooms and people having to deal with mold were a thing in the past.

I’m sorry but I can’t see a dryer as something else than a luxury.

I used one for the first time when I was 30 something, that might be why.

Yes sometimes stuff don’t dry so well. Then hang them differently. Take advantage of the sun. Idk .

I caved in for the AC: the us climate is different, AC is needed. But for dryer I will stand my snobby European ground :p

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

#233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ?

> 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 ? Do you not have space for a washing machine either? In many apartments in the US the dryer is stacked on top of the washing machine. It doesn't consume any additional space.

Yeah I actually have one like that in my US flat.

It would not have fit in my first Parisian flat. ( to be fair… nothing was really fitting there )

Also when you rent a unfurnished place in France it’s empty-empty.

There is no frige/oven/washer/drier combo like in a US non-furnish rental.

In my personal case I saw a drier as yet another anoying piece of furniture I would have to deal with when moving

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

#234
post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree - it reads like propaganda paid for by this "Project Laundry List" organization, in the pattern of PG's Submarine article. Since when does this need to be a national issue anyways - "U.S. residents fight..."

The article establishes the national relevancy directly: > His principal opponents are the housing associations such as condominiums and townhouse communities that are home to an estimated 60 million Americans, or about 20 percent of the population. About half of those organizations have ‘no hanging’ rules, Lee said, and enforce them with fines. Millions of Americans live under covenants that prevent them from doing…

> Millions of Americans live under covenants that prevent them from doing their laundry outside, lest their neighbors see.

It has nothing to do with the neighbors seeing the laundry and it has everything to do with keeping a certain kind of people (historically, poor) from living in these areas.

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

#235

I love hanging my laundry, but wouldn't appreciate it it my neighbors front yard. It is a jerk move if they have another option. I guess it falls in the free speech category. I don't like what you say but I support your right to do it. HOA residents also have the right to make binging agreements, for better or worse.

>wouldn't appreciate it it my neighbors front yard.

I don't get it; why do you care?

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

#236
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…

I find my clothes smell nicer after having hung outside rather than inside, and e.g. towels are softer due to blowing in the wind. I only hang them outside in summer. No need for a dryer of course.

Just another n=1 anecdote.

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

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah people should be able to have bon fires on their front lawn to cook the animal carcass they have hanging in the front yard tree because they shouldn't be enslaved by fridges and stoves. They should be able to bath themselves in the front yard by pouring water from they collected from a nearby creek over themselves because showers are slavery. It's ok for people to tan animal hides in their front yard because the…

Actually, yes, in the absence of hurting other people, people should generally be free to do what they like on their own property, even if other people don't like it. And yes, forcing other people to do or not-do what you want, by force of law and without regard for their own agency, is incompatible with freedom.

OK I'm going to buy property next door to you and store hundreds of drums of crude oil on it. That's OK?

Hmmm, I think there's a thing called "reason" here, as in being "reasonable".

no, we live in communities of people. We are not atomic units but rather a part of a community and the community decides what's OK and what isn't. If you can't abide by it then you need to find another community that agrees with you or move to a rural area where you can isolate yourself. In fact, I hope there is a community with no zoning or restrictions on what you can do on your property so people like you feel like you have a place. Maybe it becomes so successful everyone wants to transition to that.

Or maybe we've come up with these rules for good reason. Ever consider that?

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

#238
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Hang your clothes outside, and you don't have to plunk down for any dryer, heatpump or conventional.

Nope. I waste barely no space with my heat pump dryer. I can have my clothes dried outside quickly. I still can use my balcony for recreation rather than as an extension to the service area. I probably spend €15 a month drying everything I use, no big deal.

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

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I should be able to build a giant ferris wheel on my front lawn because it's my property after all!

If you can't see a difference between parking a car vs building a giant ferris wheel on your front lawn, then I'm afraid that's on you. There is a line with what's acceptable - but luckily in most places and in most people's minds it doesn't lie anywhere where you think it does.

> There is a line with what's acceptable

You get it! And for me and most other people who live in cities or towns, parking a vehicle on your front lawn or other area not designed for and built for parking a vehicle (most people call them "driveways") is crossing that line.

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

#240
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Saving depends on the cost of gas and electricity, so you might be right for some locales and wrong for others (to the point that a heat pump dryer will cost more than gas dryer), but how do you imagine clothes will last longer? Do you think temperature causes more wear than a spinning drum?

> how do you imagine clothes will last longer?

From my own experience + the fact that it dries at a much lower temperature.

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