Attitudes to line drying clothes in the UK

[Notcontent]

But of a boring topic but…. I have been thinking about this because I grew up in a country where everyone line dries their clothes whenever possible. The climate makes it easier to do this than in the UK but I think there is more to it than that. Where I live in London very few people seem to dry their clothes outside even on hot days. I almost feel like maybe it’s seen as being inappropriate and unsightly…

Is it a London thing? A class thing? In any case, I have decided to put my clothes drying racks outside whenever it’s not raining even if it offends my neighbours’ eyes!

I have just moved from a cottage by the sea where I could peg out all my washing and in the summer could do 4 loads and dry them all in on a sunny day (inc bedspreads, coats etc).

I'm now in Scotland and have no garden (sob)
I have an old tumble drier so I tumble for 10 mins just to get the creases our then use an airer but it takes days to dry. I don't like damp clothes hanging around. Am looking into Lakeland heated airer. But there is NOTHING like getting into bed in line dried ozone smelling fresh cotton sheets.

This is a massive bugbear for me at the moment. I love hanging out washing, it makes me happy and also it’s blindingly obvious common sense that you should line dry if you can and want to, rather than use up energy tumble drying.

But I can’t where I live because it’s a private road with a shared garden and has its own rules including no hanging washing out, because people think it doesn’t look nice

I actually really, really miss it - when I used to have a garden, I found it therapeutic. I love making it all pretty and neat, and the smell of the washing afterwards. I don’t tumble dry except in an emergency, I dry everything indoors with a dehumidifier and it’s a total PITA as our flat isn’t big. I will move eventually partly because of this.

I do think banning washing should have a law against it, for environmental reasons. If you don’t like looking at it, get over yourself, it saves tons of electricity and as such should be prioritised.

@NeverDropYourMoonCup
I know an elderly couple in London who think that hanging out washing is 'common' (as is having a wheely bin, so they nip out at 6am and stash their trash in neighbours / public bins!). Their central heating is broken. They smell and their house is covered in black mould. It's a pity, in 2021

First 15 or so years living alone I never pegged out but I started this year, I'm ashamed of how much money/environmental I've wasted over the years. Its a ballache but its free so that's good.

Most people have utility rooms with racks
Do they heck!!!

Around me I said.

To grow up in London and only know other children who have utility rooms must be quite a sheltered experience!

I didn’t say that.

I wished I had a utility room ( and an extra bathroom )
It's the line, airers or tumble ( in winter time for the bigger items) although I'm aware it eats electricity and I hate using it.

I hate using the tumble dryer. I use it on wet days and in emergencies. Although pjs straight out of the dryer after a bath are bliss.

I like that it’s cheaper, nicer to the environment and I prefer the feel/smell of line dried clothes.

I hang everything out before a shift (or after night shift) and get it in when I get home (or wake up).

My mil lives in London and says she really misses seeing clothes pegged out because it reminds her of her childhood. When she stays she is always pegging out our washing! (She’s amazing).

I love pegging out. So satisfying and I begrudge anyone else in the house who does it as it's 'my job' and no one else does it correctly / my way.

Sometimes, if I'm feeling crazy, I colour blend the washing from one end of the line to the other ....ooh it's a thing of beauty. Only I can see it (no neighbours) and it gives me lots of pleasure.

It also smells lovely, uses no electricity and is free.

Bliss is a two load day

We live in a city apartment and don't have a garden, but I do see people putting their laundry on their balconies in clement weather.

Both sets of grandparents always line dried their clothes and my parents still do. I put our clothes to dry on folding airers in the living room or hallway. Apart from when I lived in the halls at university, I've never used a tumble dryer.

My parents have a utility room (SW Greater London area). I lived a bit further out but in a much smaller house and didn't have a utility room - no space for one.
I do have one now though or rather a laundry - they're common in Australia, although the size of them is hugely variable! Mine is big enough to have an indoor drying line, a double airer, washer and tumble drier, which is fortunate. Some are just big enough to get the machines on top of each other with a bit of bench space on which to fold stuff, and a cupboard or shelf for the powder/liquids etc.

Also, very happy to have learnt a new word - hiraeth - today.

[quote 52andblue]@NeverDropYourMoonCup
I know an elderly couple in London who think that hanging out washing is 'common' (as is having a wheely bin, so they nip out at 6am and stash their trash in neighbours / public bins!). Their central heating is broken. They smell and their house is covered in black mould. It's a pity, in 2021[/quote]
Yes, although at least it's their choice to smell rather like a sock worn by a wet dog has crawled inside the washing machine seal to decompose slowly. Nobody in that block of flats had any choice about it unless they owned a car to be able to drive 3 miles to the nearest launderette weekly.

I live in an Apartment that forbids hanging washing out.

@AlmostSummer21 in an apartment. The houses can dry clothes, I can't
And no, only found out v v late in the buying process

I knew someone with a large family who never line dried or had a tumble dryer. She stuck everything on the radiators and left it for days while it dried. It smelt awful. The radiators were often stone cold as well. She always said she didn't have the time to peg it out.
Her poor kids were bullied for being smelly 😔

I line dry as long as the ground is dry. I like scratchy towels as well. We're lucky enough to have a large garden and 2 lines. All of my neighbours line dry as well. Nothing like a good blowy drying day! It makes my heart sing to see washing on the line.
I've got a dryer for those awful damp and rainy days. Also use an indoor airer if I'm out and the forecast is sketchy.

I hate the thought of being banned from drying washing outside. Madness given climate change is so bloody awful. It makes no sense.

Love the poster who thinks it looks 'tacky' only on MN! I'd still dry outside even if people thought I was low rent or poor. No skin off of my nose.

I tumble dry everything. I have a heat pump tumble dryer so use very little energy and don't iron anything unless REALLY necessary (irons use LOTS of energy). I tumble dry for the following reasons

1. I do not have time to hang everything out, get it all in and fold and then iron - I have a family of 11 to wash for.
2. I wash at low temperatures so tumble drying sanitises the washing if anything survives the washing process.
3. Several of us have hay fever so by tumble drying the pollen that may survive the washing process is removed and by not hanging it out it doesn't collect more pollen! This is advice from allergy doctors.

I love to see a line of washing drying out side. I used terry nappies when mine were babies and a line of white nappies were a sight to behold. (Over 30 years ago).
I always tumble dry my towels for softness nowadays..

onlyreading with a family of 11 I’m not surprised you haven’t time to peg out washing bring it all in and iron it!

[quote NotMyCat]@AlmostSummer21 in an apartment. The houses can dry clothes, I can't
And no, only found out v v late in the buying process [/quote]
@Notcontent

I would have been majorly pissed off and probably pulled out!!

I’m in Scotland and have had a washer out every day this week as the weather has been warm. We stick it on when we get up then either me or DH will hang it out. This coming week looks good too for getting washing out.

Also I never iron, I have better things to do. I don’t care if my clothes are creased, I never look at other people and think ‘ooh her skirt is creased’

I and most of my neighbours line dry outside when the weather permits, even underwear.

[quote NotMyCat]@AlmostSummer21 in an apartment. The houses can dry clothes, I can't
And no, only found out v v late in the buying process [/quote]
tbh I would just ignore that.

Also I never iron, I have better things to do

Bingo.
I do iron. I don't like looking like a crumpled mess.

@NeverDropYourMoonCup
Indeed! (though I suspect MH issues beginning to come into play too)
I grew up in a house with no washing machine and remember my Mother putting the washing in the pram to walk it to the town Launderette (no car available). If my washing machine broke and I could not afford a replacement the nearest Launderette I am aware of is 15 miles away (and that may have long gone now).

@ThumbWitchesAbroad

Some years ago, a friend of mine went to work on the Isle of Lewis - she worked full time, lived on her own, so only really had the weekend on which to hang out laundry for line drying. Except she was made very aware, very quickly, that she was NOT to hang her washing out on Sundays as that was very frowned upon - strong Presbyterian principles, it seems!

I don't know if that's stil the case though!

I'm sniggering at it being "tacky" to hang out washing though... hahahaha!

My grandmother was Scottish but she moved down to Surrey (now London.) My dad remembers her being very scornful of a neighbour who hung Washing on a Sunday. "That Marjorie Mann has washing out on a Sunday again" This would have been a long time ago though. Probably about the 50s