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!

@ CinnamonJellyBeans

I do exactly the same. I love washing and hanging it on the line. It's the only domesticated thing I enjoy doing and won't let DH do it, I sometimes let him peg it out. I was gutted when DD moved out as I've hardly got any washing to do now.

Have always line dried whenever the weathers good enough, although undies air dry inside on a radiator airing rack. Have a full size airer in the spare bedroom & sometimes hang items to dry on hangers over doors. Have a washer drier for emergencies & considering an electric drying rack for winter.

Sister has only just got into the habit of pegging out clothes after decades of tumble drying everything & finally realising how much it was costing her in electric !

in london many flats don't have a balcony and in shared garden there can be issues with neighbours/dogs. and it's a right pain carrying wet laundry and pegs down and then up again.

We're coastal in a wet part of the country, but don't get a sea mist we rarely get the sea either due to the geographical features of our part of the coast and often the rain blows round us as well. What we do get is a lovely coastal breeze which helps to dry all year round. This is the windiest place I've lived, and I've got about a fair bit!

I did once have to sit and watch it get darker and darker and then start to rain when the washing was out as I was having an internal job interview at the time! Generally I don't have huge numbers of calls though.

Always line dry when I can and so do all neighbours in my village. Clothes feel so much fresher and cleaner. Garden is fenced/hedged all round, so for speed and to avoid peg marks, I don't bother with pegs at all. After comparing with friends, I think peg-deniers are quite rare!

Very occasionally a sock or pair of pants will fall onto the grass, but I just rewash that one item. Saves lots of time and it it starts to rain can grab it all off the line super-quickly.

I have a tumble dryer but I only use it when it's really necessary as I feel bad using that much electricity when the sun can dry the washing in an hour on a good day. I will always line dry if I can and also have one of those Lakeland heated airers for when it's raining or to use over the winter.

I put mine out whenever possible. I hate clothes being left around indoors or using the dryer. My next door neighbours never line dry. My other side do it all the time. I've been known to have washing out in November and February

I line dry everything but in the winter I do use the tumble dryer a fair bit, we have 4 kids and if we waited for it to be dry they'd be naked all the time! I put them on a clothes horse for a while then use it to top up but it's hard as we don't have room in the utility and everywhere smells damp. Also the room we have most space in is the kitchen but then the clothes smell like food!!!

I occasionally line dry and find it a pain in the arse tbh. If you don't get stuff out early enough, it's still damp by evening and then it needs tumble drying anyway. It also needs a heck of a lot more ironing. Things like towels and jeans are bloody awful when line dried; so rough and stiff, and I find it picks up a weird smell.

I love line dried washing too. So much better for white or pale clothes to dry in the sun and fresh air.
The only exception for me are towels which dry softer in a tumble dryer.
Very bad for the environment to use a tumble dryer though.

Totally a thing where I live now and was in London too.
Once lived in a humid southern American city and no one line dried. Maybe it's not a US thing anyway tho.

Some people are funny about line-drying. I have some friends who refuse to have a line or rotary airer because they think it looks common, and on even the hottest or breeziest days they dry their washing indoors with a dehumidifier. Takes all sorts I suppose.

I also have come to like ironing and after years of avoiding it can categorically say lined dried, ironed clothes look so much better on.

In winter/wet spells, I take several huge Ikea bags of washing to the launderette and use the very biggest driers. They're great as more space for the washing to circulate and dry much faster and less of the horrible electric/rubber/ hot air smell that comes from domestic driers.

Have to plan the time in for a launderette visit, but it's a pleasant area with coffee shop, deli, greengrocer, bookshop, M&S Foodhall etc, so gives me time for a browse around before folding all straight from big drier and no ironing .

Also outside makes clothes dirty IMHO but that's a side issue.

You must live in an incredibly polluted area if line-drying makes your clothes dirtier. The ultraviolet light naturally kills bacteria so it is much more hygienic.

I used to live in 2nd floor flat. I rarely dried anything outside because of the faff of having take stuff in a basket, lock the flat, go down 2 flights if stairs, unlock back gate, hang out and then reverse the process. The ground floor flats had adjoining gardens but while more accessible were constantly in shade. Now I live in a house I try online dry as much as possible

This is the first time that I've heard that its 'common' to line dry your washing. I had no idea!

I cant imagine wasting electricity on tumble drying if the suns out or its windy and the washing can dry for free outside.

If the forecast looks a bit dodgy I always check if my neighbour's have risked putting theirs out first Haha.

My mum somehow manages to dry at least 1 line of washing a day - in the UK. I'm half an hour up the road and a line of washing is still wet when I take it in at 5-6pm.
It irritates me beyond belief when it's still soggy.

I much prefer tumbled dried clothes. No crispiness (towels etc) and I hate that 'line dried' smell that others seem to love. Also the amount of spiders and webs I have to remove pisses me off.

I don't mind a bit of line drying (I actually prefer my towels to be 'robust' rather than soft and fluffy), but it greatly depends on where you live.

I once lived in Serbia, which is such a dry place, that just putting the clothes on an airer from the washing machine they'd be dry in half a day. Whereas when I lived in more humid places, they'd sit on that rack slightly damp until they started to smell (unless in direct, burning sun, or in a room with the aircon on)

Where I am now, lots of us dry on a line, but you do have to be around to whip them in if the wind gets up/it starts raining - as you absolutely can't rely on the weather report!

Oh, when I lived in a city, I did have an airer on the balcony, but I was right by a road and only on the 1st floor, and I'd find that road dirt (just this grey grime) would settle on it, so I preferred to keep the airer in-doors when I could.

I line dry when I can - 80% of the time - and so do my neighbours. The washing smells nice and it’s free! I also put blankets and duvets on the line dry every now and again, to air.

I’m a bit shocked by this thread as I thought MN was quite an environmentally-conscious space.

I line dry all year round. Even in winter it gets almost dry outside and just needs a few hours on the airer. I'm always checking the weather so I know when to make the most of it.

@megletthesecond

I line dry all year round. Even in winter it gets almost dry outside and just needs a few hours on the airer. I'm always checking the weather so I know when to make the most of it.

DH and I are forecast-watching obsessives (Met Office is more accurate than the BBC, we've found)! If the best drying time is going to be overnight, that's when the washing goes out!

I am waiting to put the sheets on the line this morning, and popped a load on the line yesterday before we went out for the day. I prefer to line dry as much as possible but it’s not always possible - the unpredictability of the weather means that even when WFH you can’t always guarantee being able to get it when it rains. And many a day goes by where I start with good intentions and then don’t manage to get up from my desk, so it sits in the machine and then has to go on the line.

I feel an amazing sense of satisfaction when at the end of the day I have managed to get several loads on the line. But it also depends what it is - sheets are quick and easy to peg up, delicates take an age!

I’ve always line dried my washing.