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!

Love line washing I’m not going to lie when I heard it was going to be nice weather over this bank holiday I was more excited about getting all my washing line dried .

Everyone line dries their clothes where I live.I'm not in London though. 😉

Line driers here too. It actually blows my mind that, for other people, tumbling is the least creased option because I think it leaves everything more creased. On the line they dry flat.

These days I also feel guilty if I use the tumble tbh. So much electricity! The line is good and free so I choose that whenever I can. Which is about 90% of the time.

I would if I had the space. Never anywhere visible, though. Looks tacky.

Tragically, my whole mood for the day is determined if I can get my washing out or not before I go to work. Puts me in a much better mood if I can, no idea why.

But I lived in London for several years and never line dried there - on balcony or garden. Probably because it was too big a gamble to leave clothes out for 12-13 hours a day, which is when I was out the flat/house each date.

Yorkshire here and I have always line dried even in winter, I only work part time though so I can choose the best days. My neighbours though both wfh have their dryer on every evening from 9 till 11pm I go to bed every evening to the sound of the dryer 🙄

I grew up in London and we always line dried our clothes.
I don't have a drier so line dry all my stuff now (on wet days I use an airer/radiators).
I don't know many people in my area that use the line to dry things - they all use tumble dryers.

My washing is out! As is my neighbours' on both sides.

Following a genius thread on here a few weeks ago, I purposely put it out the night before if I'm going to be time pressed or need to slot in another load! Darked on.

I line dry all the time. None of my neighbours do though, there's no sign of a washing line in any of the gardens near me. I have a tumble dryer but a lot of clothes say they can't be tumble dried or shrink, so I don't know how you can tumble dry everything

We never line dry I hate seeing washing in the garden

I did hear just once about it being frowned on in the U.K., but that was on an new estate of largely elderly people, some of whom evidently thought it ‘wasn’t quite nice’ or ‘ lowered the tone’. But that was a few decades ago, when people weren’t nearly so eco conscious. Residents were supposed to have net curtains in their front windows, too, so that was indicative of the mindset, give that all the houses had adequate front gardens. Glad to say that MiL and FiL ignored both such edicts.

A Dsis has lived for decades in the US, where (so she tells me) hanging washing on a line really is seen as a sign of either poverty or madness. Tumble driers all the way.

looks tacky
🤣🤣🤣🤣

@Bagelsandbrie

I tumble everything - well, apart from the things that can’t be tumbled which I hang up on hangers over doorways to dry. Just can’t be bothered with the faff of hanging stuff out and then getting it all in again. Easier to just tumble and fold up. Yeah it’s not great for the environment but neither is driving, flying, eating meat blah blah.

Ah yes, we've had this talk too at home. If the load is big stuff eg sheets, towels etc - we will hang them out. But if the load is lots of socks, underwear etc - they go in the tumble dryer.

@merrymelody

I would if I had the space. Never anywhere visible, though. Looks tacky.

Is that you Hyacinth?

Of course it doesn't look tacky

That’s odd, everyone I know has a line and line dries, my neighbours on both sides seem to as well. Love line dried clothes! I’m in the south east.

Just wasted ten minutes reading this thread seriously who cares .... I always line dry if possible- and my 60 year old DH is also perfect capable of hanging out the washing & bring it in, he WFH so tends to do it more often than me. We do have a tumble dryer but use it as little as possible. Now I think about it I rarely notice if my neighbours line dry, the way our houses are built you can't see properly into their gardens .

We line dry whenever the weather allows, even if the weather makes it a bit of a hokey cokey. I get a bit twitchy if it’s forecast to be a good day and I haven’t got any washing on ready for the line. Also remember numerous chats at the school gates about whether we could get washing out on the line that day. Our back bedroom is really cosy, so DH made an Victorian style wooden clothes hanger attached to the ceiling so on days line drying isn’t possible clothes get hung on there, with tumble drying for towels and bedlinen. DC always notice the point in the year when towels go from line to tumble dried and stop being so hard and crunchy.

Everyone used Ito. Round here most people still do.

We haven't got an outside line. Never had one put in.

We do have a fairly big utility room though so everything goes on an airer in there. Towels and underwear/socks go in the tumble dryer. I don't like crispy towels!

I line dry all the time.
I remember moving into my first flat at 18 with dd1. My elderly neighbour next door came to introduce herself her first words were someone has taught you well, you put a lovely washing out 😂😂😂

Me and my neighbour always line dry when we can. We both have dryers but I mainly use for bigger items.

I line dry as much as possible and also get the duvets out to air if the weather is right....the joy in my heart when I get the duvet out to air on a crisp sunny winter day is such a tonic :o

I had a personal best of five loads the other day.... first one out had washed over night, and the last one had to come off the line and have ten minutes in the dryer, but I felt like I should have a medal!

Line drying outside if the weather allows it, heated airer from Lakeland inside for the rest of the time, heating element only used when its a cold day. I don't have small kids so its not a disaster if a line load gets rained on, I imagine I'd feel differently with school uniforms etc.

We line dry whenever we can and use a clothes rack inside if not. We are redoing our utility and I plan on putting an old fashioned ceiling mounted pulley maid up.
In this day and age how anyone can use a tumbler for every wash because they can’t be arsed to hang it out or it’s a bit softer out the drier blows my mind. We have a tumbler and with small kids we do sometimes need it especially in winter but it’s so un environmentally friendly I don’t see how people can justify using it for every wash just because. We lived in a v small flat and had to have the hanger in our small galley kitchen which was a massive pain but still better than using the washer/drier (plus they’re expensive to run).

Its good for the environment, saves money on electric, good exercise, stairs in my case, squats lifts! good therapy, time to think and look at the garden. clothes aren't damaged by heat in dryer. I hang delicates on hangers and peg them on line no need to iron then straight in cupboard.
I do have Washer dryer and heated rack for winter. (lakeland)