AIBU to think drying washing outside is still normal?

[BlueyandBingo]

Just getting a load of washing in and DH has declared that no one dries their washing outside anymore and that it is ‘niche’.

Don’t get me wrong, I use the tumble dryer when I need to but surely it is better (and cheaper) to use the line, especially on a day like to day when we have had sunshine and a breeze??

I put my washing on the line outside yesterday! Last week, DH promised an old classic rugby shirt to a relative. It had a couple of yellow stains on it - I put it on the line to bleach in the sun. The stains have gone!

The sun is one of the best stain removers on white clothes imo!

It is sunny where I am today for a change so the washing is out 😀

I've put a load on to put out on my lunch break. ☀️

Love a line-dry! I actually don't peg out my own knickers though, my mum always said that was "vulgar" and for some reason it's stuck with me! Everything else goes out though, DP's boxers, my bras, all socks, clothes, linen etc. We do have a tumbler and a clothes horse so use those when needed too.

Strange. I also live in Scotland,on the coast in the north-east and I put washing out in all seasons,including winter. Even when it's cold,you can get a good drying wind.

I remember driving along the north coast between Thurso and John o Groats and the friend I was with commented on some washing that flying horizontally off the line that was out by the side of a house we past 'you'll need strong pegs to hang your washing out here'.

My hayfever is awful, i used to have injections, i use pills, nasal spray and eyedrops at least 9 months of the year because of it. I have always hung my washing out except for a time when i lived in a flat, my hayfever didn't lessen by not hanging washing out. Just give your washing a good shake as you take it off the line.

Ooh, no not for me it would be awful. 😭

Absolutely. Mine is tree pollen, so although it is bad, I know not to put washing out morning or evening.

And to be honest, the sheets make little difference to my symptoms as they're bad whether I've dried the sheets outside or not. I can't avoid hay-fever, so would rather have line dried sheets and suffer the consequences. Each to their own obviously.

I've just hung out a load of towels to dry - it makes me happy that they should be dry by early afternoon at zero cost to me!

I'm on the NE Scotland coast and some days are just too windy to put mine out as we have communal drying greens right down at the sea front.
I often joke that mine might end up in Sutherland on a really windy day.

Most days it's fine as long as you keep an eye on it,

Same. I'm allergic to grass pollen and hanging washing inside (next to a dehumidifier), keeping windows shut, limiting time outdoors, using an air purifier in the bedroom does help me, especially for that grass pollen peak in late May/early June. I wouldn't be able to smell any difference in the sheets anyway. I really hate that feeling of having to get up constantly to wipe nose, waking up feeling awful with painful eyes and totally blocked sinuses, tingly throat and mouth.

I obviously use anti histamines, eye drops, nasal spray but for that 3-4 week period being outside can be a bit miserable, unless it's raining or it's just rained. Thankfully I only seem to be allergic to grass pollen.

🤣🤣

We get strong winds here on the NW coast, often from the west. I joke with my friend near Grimsby that she might see my washing on the way past when it's out in high winds!

We do keep the poles / lines low in that weather though (thankfully we aren't right on the coast without some protection!).

I just don't want people with hayfever to feel judged in any way for drying their washing inside. Drying washing inside is a preventative measure recommended by the NHS, it might not help everyone (maybe it depends on the type of pollen?) but it does help some people.

And also, if you don't want to use an energy guzzling tumble dryer, I really recommend a dehumidifier. They can be pretty energy efficient these days and they're useful when it's raining all the time anyway.

And please don't judge your neighbours over how they dry their washing and how often they open their windows (not targeting any specific post here, just surprised by how interested some people seem to be in what their neighbours are doing). Drying washing outside doesn't make you cheap, drying washing inside doesn't necessarily mean someone is using loads of energy on tumble dryers.

Of course it’s normal.

I mean, I can’t be arsed, we don’t even have a washing line, everything goes in the dyer even in the height of summer, but each to their own.

If you offered me a million pounds, right now, to tell you if my neighbors used a washing line or opened their windows, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

Man, are there really people with lives so small that they would notice or care?

People judge how often you open your windows?!?

I love hanging out washing. Have done so this morning and feel very fresh and wholesome and green. To know that a boring middle aged woman like me doing a boring domestic thing now qualifies me as 'niche' is a bonus. Who knew I was so different and unusual?

Yes me too, I'm so glad it's not just me!

There have been a few posts on this thread by people who are wondering why their neighbours don't have washing lines in their gardens and I saw one post from someone saying their neighbours don't seem to open their windows. Maybe I misinterpreted it and I can't be bothered to go back and find it so feel free to ignore me. I just don't know why people are so interested in what their neighbours are doing.

Yeah, a lot of people seem to have too much time on their hands. I’ve seen the same comments on here many times over the years.

Imagine noticing or caring that someone else hasn’t opened their window 🤣

I wonder if my neighbours judge me because my windows are open too much 😅

Unless there's heavy rain, my bedroom windows are pretty much always open, all year round. I like to sleep in an aired room.

I don’t hang my underwear on the line very often, but on a clothes horse placed outside instead.
Please say why it MUST be dried indoors?

Us too, unless high winds blowing directly at the house and / or heavy rain.

Gosh I hang all our pants up. They’re not particularly exciting pants.