Is hanging washing on the line not a thing anymore?

[Savvyshopper81]

Interesting conversation with neighbour recently:

Him: ‘I see you like hanging your washing out to dry.’
Me: ‘Er, yeah. Doesn’t everyone?’
Him: ‘Well no, we think it’s a bit common.’

Now this was said tongue in cheek but I’ve come to realise that NONE of my neighbours have washing lines (only us!) and we all have big enough gardens. Plus a local friend recently said that they tumble dry everything because they can’t stand seeing washing hanging around.

Is this no longer a thing? Has the world gone mad?? I live on top of a very windy hill in a sunny part of the UK - unless it’s raining washing usually dries in a couple of hours. I’m baffled as to why people wouldn’t take advantage of that!

Just because it's in the tenancy agreement doesn't make it enforceable.

You have a right to quiet enjoyment of your property and putting a maiden on your balcony is part of that and it is not trumped by someone else's small minded opinion that they think it doesn't look very nice. If they don't like how it looks, they can always stop looking at it.......

When my MiL moved to a new village in the early 70s she hung washing out on a Sunday morning.
There was a knock on the door and she was told "We don't do that here on the Sabbath"

one word......pollen

I absolutely love drying my washing on the line, it smells amazing and I swear it feels softer too. It’s quite normal round our way.

I didn’t used to hang my pants out but then I moved the whirligig to the end of the garden. I don’t mind now but still peg them in the middle so they’re semi-hidden, don’t know why but I feel weird about our neighbours seeing them “on display”.

Love a line dry, but we do have a tumbler which gets used (NE Scotland so weather not always up for hanging out washing) too. I don’t hang pants though, they go on a clothes horse - my mum always did this and I don’t like the idea of my neighbours seeing my big granny pants!

I’ve never thought about it till now , so went out and did a quick garden survey and it turns out out that all my neighbours on my right hang theirs out, and the ones to the left … don’t . Why wouldn’t you ? I can get 4 loads on my rotary line on one go , imagine trying to tumble that lot , or dry it in the house !

It’s one of the small pleasures in life to be grateful for the wind blowing through clean clothes.

I'm in Melbourne. I don't have a tumble drier as it's not needed. I alternate between the line outside when it''s sunny and in the laundry, which has ducted heating, when not. To be fair, in both cases the washing is out of sight which I like, though not for "common" reasons.

Now I think of it, in my last UK house, we dried everything on a SheilaMaid in the utility room so never had an outside line, though again not for "common" reasons, just because we liked not having to look at washing.

Got to agree line-dried is best, though I never put linen bedding or fine wools out in the piercing Aussie sun.

and again, my REASON not excuse, is because I don't want pollen on my clothes or bedding

I too love hanging washing out. We're retired now and only two of us so I now have just a whirligig and no lines. I like being common.

We have a tumble dryer but it’s only used for towels and for bedding when it can’t to outside

we put as much washing outside as I can, I absolutely love it!

Gloriously sunny day here today. However I haven’t got my washing outside. I can’t put the washing line back up. And DH has gone out. I don’t have the strength (post surgery) to push the line open.

Line dry all the time

I judge my NDN for NOT drying her washing outside, she only does so when we have a freakish mini heatwave, which I think shames her into pegging it out.

I assume they think it's common because decades ago only the wealthy had facilities other than a laundry line?

I hang my laundry out every day as long as the ground is try. I'd love a long line again, those are the best!

My mum has very strong opinions on things that are common (including but in no way limited to: net curtains, ITV, saying 'lounge', 'settee' and 'serviette', patent leather shoes, microwaves, talking about money, eating in the street).

She hangs her washing out even in freezing but dry weather and often talks about how she loves the scent of line dried washing. In fact she probably thinks tumble driers are common, come to think of it.

So no, line drying is not common. This is a weird American belief that's presumably seeping in here, but many British homes aren't big enough for a tumble drier so I can't see it taking off.

They’re being ridiculous OP. Line drying is the best. Why use electricity and risk shrinking clothes unnecessarily. I LOVE hanging washing out. No-one overlooks us anyway.

I don't, there are lots of trees round here and I don't want my washing covered in sap or pollen to set off dd's hayfever.

I don't use the dryer either except for towels. I dry everything on airers, with a dehumidifier.

Invent a counter snobbery? It’s rather common to tumble dry one’s clothes, as if one is a laundrette! The Right Sort have always spread or hung their linen in the sun… etc

Everywhere I've lived in UK that I could I've hung out washing to dry and had neigbours doing the same.

Neigbour did have a USA relative visit clearly thought it odd but were nothing but polite and friendly when they spoke to us.

Tumble drier useful in winter with towels and bedding.

Stangly though my phone news items always have articles saying don't dry out side - allergies and pegs can damage clothing- don't use tumble driers due to cost and clothes damage - don't dry inside due to moisture issues - and I think well wtf are we supposed to do not wash?

We always hang ours out and so do the neighbours.

Mines out, I am doing 2 lots today as the weather is fine, rain tomorrow so none out

I cannot tell you the joy it brings me to put washing out on the line. Those neighbours are ridiculous

Hanging out washing on a line is so common.

Posh people NEVER spend money unless they have to. It would be hanging outside for them very definitely. Although, I imagine they'd have a laundry yard or something to hang it in, can't imagine it on a rotary line next to the maize!

Tumble drying is sometimes a necessity but expensive, bad for clothes and the environment. I'd argue that its rather common to use one - implies you've not got the outside space to dry your clothes :)