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AIBU?

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Original poster

Drying washing on our balcony

493 replies

Emmabryant123 · 03/08/2019 11:37

We private rent in a block of 16 flats
The flats vary from rented to owned .
We put our washing on two airers today on our balcony
No offensive clothing etc on show
We came down to this message on the main front door
Are we being unreasonable!? Or is this person who wrote this note being unreasonable?

Drying washing on our balcony
OP posts:
Thread gallery
13
DGV · 05/08/2019 22:21

I don't think there's much advantage to drying outside compared to inside with windows open. With windows closed I suppose it may take a bit longer Errr... damp and mould @PettyContractor!

PettyContractor · 05/08/2019 22:54

Errr... damp and mould

Are you saying you get damp and mould drying with windows open? Surely humidity inside is exactly the same as humidity outside, if the window are open?

I see mould as a risk only when the windows are closed, but it's a risk I've defeated. I suppose property type may have a bearing, my flat is warm and well-built, there are no issues with structural damp, the only thing I have to look out for is humidity from washing and cooking.

DGV · 05/08/2019 23:34

@PettyContractor I used to dry inside with all windows open and yes, it caused a mould problem.

Weey1n · 06/08/2019 01:06

Just seen your story has made the daily mail

BlackCatSleeping · 06/08/2019 02:17

Are you saying you get damp and mould drying with windows open?

But, most people are drying their washing during the day while they are at work, so they probably don't want to leave their windows open all day wth no one home.

It's not so bad in summer, when it's hot and sunny, but if it's damp and overcast outside, then it definitely can cause damp problems in the house even with windows open.

BusterGonad · 06/08/2019 02:51

I think drying clothes on balconies looks awful, it looks really scruffy. I agree with the note writer.

BusterGonad · 06/08/2019 02:51

I think drying clothes on balconies looks awful, it looks really scruffy. I agree with the note writer.

feelingverylazytoday · 06/08/2019 06:18

I think drying clothes on balconies looks awful, it looks really scruffy.
I think it looks completely normal. In any case, flats and homes are designed to live in, not to look nice, and drying washing is a completely normal thing.
Hopefully the right to dry washing outside will be eventually covered in legislation as an enviromental measure, and obligatory outdoor spaces covered in building regulations.

BusterGonad · 06/08/2019 07:18

feelingverylazytoday to me it looks scruffy. If you have a really nice modern apartment block then someone's clothes blowing about it just looks messy, that's obviously just my opinion. I speak as someone who has just moved out of a nice looking apartment and yes, people dried their clothes on hangers on their balconies, it looked horrible. I understand the need to do it but it though.

TheStuffedPenguin · 06/08/2019 08:07

@PettyContractor I used to dry inside with all windows open and yes, it caused a mould problem.

Like my former tenants who used to put a clothes airer ON TOP Of the spare bed - WTF is that all about ?

PettyContractor · 06/08/2019 08:39

But, most people are drying their washing during the day while they are at work, so they probably don't want to leave their windows open all day wth no one home.

But we're talking about people in flats, as long as they're not on the ground floor it shouldn't be an issue. (Unless the window design is one that will let rain in.)

Anyway, it appears some people have different flats/laundry to me, as they do have problems even with the windows open. Unless they can get a strong enough extractor fan then maybe a dryer is their only option. I did use a dryer for about 20 years before switching to using an airer.

PettyContractor · 06/08/2019 08:44

Like my former tenants who used to put a clothes airer ON TOP Of the spare bed

I'd guess it's optimising use of floor space. As long as the clothes didn't touch the bed it shouldn't have caused a problem?

(I'm now wandering if some people have dripping wet laundry. I'm assuming laundry is always machine-washed and spun-dry so that it comes out damp, not dripping. If people are hand-washing or for some reason not spinning it might explain why they have stronger drying requirements than me.)

PookieDo · 06/08/2019 09:33

I had damp and mould and condensation. I had a lounge with French doors and no other windows. I wasn’t about to go to work and leave them open all day on the 1st floor!! Luckily I had a LL who had no issue with washing and I bought those caravan ones that hang from the metal railings
Then some neighbours moved downstairs who chain smoked and ruined all my washing/soft furnishings with their almost 24 hour smoking habits and luckily I have moved
Smoking in flats is way way more antisocial than washing and lots of people do it. Usually fag butts everywhere outside communal doors and wafting into everyone’s flats

OhMyGodTheyKilledKenny · 06/08/2019 13:06

It's all well and good saying "get a tumble dryer" but I bet most flats don't have room for one, plus not all clothing can be tumble dried anyway.

TixieLix · 06/08/2019 13:18

Well, if we're being picky you weren't washing, you were drying clothes. The petty side of me would write something equally as stupid on the bottom, eg: "If you want to have a wash, please use your bathroom, and remember to do behind your ears."

HelenaDove · 06/08/2019 15:24

Our flats dont have room for a tumble dryer They were built in the 1970s

I would have thought a lot of landlords would be bricking it over the fact that their tenants may well have one of the dodgy Hotpoint/Whirlpool tumble dryers and would have been pleased if they hadnt/havent. Which tells me the person who wrote that note is as thick as pig shit.

Ferret27 · 07/08/2019 19:52

Sbadgermushrooms@ sorry your wrong ... tenants are bound by the lease as are landlords.... flats should be designed with rooms to air clothes ... or like in the USA with launders rooms for everyone ... sadly we have architects and developers who don’t think about how real people live... that said when you walk past flats with washing and other household stuff on balconies ... you just think I don’t want to live there...
Which is way it is banned on most leases

francka · 08/11/2019 14:05

I live in a rented flat in the western Crossrail corridor and have been thinking about this lately. Everywhere you turn there are blocks of private leasehold flats going up that I'm sure,, just like the one I live in, won't allow washing to be dried on the balconies. I don't know how significant the extra, forced, energy consumption will be but given the current awareness of climate change this seems to be going in entirely the wrong direction.

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