Image courtesy of kittenishkitten
Awhile back at a party, a friend of mine was involved in a conversation with another person, let’s call him Mr. Uppity. My friend happened to mention that he hung out his laundry and Mr. Uppity acted like he was shocked, appalled and mortified by the very idea. “You have to be kidding!” he exclaimed, a look of sheer horror on his face. “You really, truly hang out your wash? Good lord, do you have any idea what an eyesore that is?”
My friend’s face turned red and he then changed the subject. I myself was amazed at Mr. Uppity’s reaction as I too hang out my wash – and do so all year round (in the winter I hang the wash in the basement). At what point did air-drying your laundry outside become socially unacceptable? Growing up, my mother hung out our laundry on a clothesline behind our house, as did all the neighbors. I was probably well in my teens before I ever even laid my eyes on a clothes dryer. My parents never owned a dryer and the concept of it seemed foreign to me.
It has been only the past couple of years, however, that I have been hearing how hanging out one’s wash should be outlawed as it is offensive and an eyesore. I am aware of condominium associations banning the hanging out of wash, but recently I have been hearing about neighborhood attempting to ban this practice and residents are fighting for their right to hang out their clean wash on clotheslines. I was quite horrified that neighborhoods and homeowner associations are trying to ban the use of clotheslines. I have never considered a clotheslines an eyesore – in fact, I think there’s a quaintness in walking through a neighborhood and seeing sheets blowing in the breeze.
I have a few reasons why I believe that hanging out the wash is preferable to using a dryer:
- According to the US Department of Energy, a clothes dryer is one of the home’s biggest energy hogs (some say as much as 10%) – it draws anywhere from 1,500 to 5,000 watts of power. Not running a dryer can save money on your electric bill, some say as much as $25 a month.
- Dryers are really rough on your clothes, especially elastics. Hanging out your wash preserves the life of your clothes and they maintain their color much longer. I have read that clothes can last at least twice as long as dryer-dried clothes.
- Saves energy – hanging out your wash is green.
- Clothes and sheets smell better (I LOVE the smell of clothes that have been air-dried)
- It’s an opportunity to get out in the fresh air and sunshine.
- It’s good for the environment.
- Provides moderate physical exercise.
- Don’t have to worry about wrinkled clothes from them sitting in the dryer to long.
- No chance of dryer fires.
- Using the sun’s energy naturally helps us to connect with nature.
I don’t think that I would ever live in a neighborhood where I could not dry my clean laundry outside. I personally find the sound of a lawnmower or leafblower much more offensive and invasive (but that’s another post for another time).
What do you think? Should clotheslines be restricted or banned?
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