Stupid question about washing

[GeorginaA]

Okay, this is probably an extremely silly question, but I shall go ahead an embarrass myself anyway.

Can you hang washing out to dry all year around? Or does it get too cold at some point to do any good? It's just that this is the first winter I actually have the opportunity to hang stuff outside as previously I've lived in a flat and a house with a "no washing outside on certain days" covenant (and I never remembered which days so never bothered any day).

Just catching up, I'd still really like a hole but we are all paving so not sure I could do it myself although don't expect DH to do it either. Will have to get "a little man"

I love to hang out my washing in the spring and the summer when it's warm/hot and dry. when it gets into late autumn/winter I tend to stop. If it's a fairly nice day and very windy I'll hang the washing out as it's the wind that dries it, but sometimes the clothes still feel damp/cold when I bring them in. When it gets into the depths of winter and it's very cold and damp I don't bother. I think I've got maybe another few weeks if I'm lucky and then that will be it until next spring. I hate the cold weather anyway so the thought of going out on a cold day all wrapped up to hang out clothes just puts me off. that's what clothes horses were invented for in my opinion anyway.

dadslib, jedy is not entirely British (not at all in fact) so her English is slightly fractured (I love it, jedy!)

re washing - depends where you live - Lancs being on the damp side as well as cold in the winter, and our back yard being fairly sheltered, I don't bother - but if you live somewhere milder and your garden/yard gets blowy then on a mild day it's definitely worth it. (Unless you are allowed to burn coal and wood there, and your neighbours do, in which case your washing will smell of smoke.)

BTW, just got a new tumble dryer, old one over 10 years old, new one is AMAZING - old one was about 2.8kw I think and must have lost half its heat over time, new one is about 3.5kw, it's brilliant, dried a load of towels in about half an hour (I'm exaggerating but the old one would never have dried a load of towels if I ran it all day!)

janh i'm jealous, i imagine you have great lough sometimes and i can't see what's so funny i don't think when wtite, just throw it out. sorry

Sorry, jedy, hope you're not offended, I wasn't laughing - I really do like the way you write, I can imagine how it sounds when you're talking - I was just explaining to dadslib why it's like that. (He can't spell for toffee and he's English! But he says it's because he's an engineer - only he put "ingineer"!)

I hang out the washing all the time unless it is raining or icy.Then put them in dryer until nice and hot, saves all the ironing.

no, no i'm not offended at all, it was nice

Hanging washing outside does get it dry, even in winter, if you have enough air flow; under a car port in an exposed/windy spot, works even on freezing days, though you might want to put in in airing cupboard for a little while afterwards to warm it up. In a sheltered, shady, no-wind exposed garden, it doesn't work at all, sometimes even on sunny warm spring days. Speaking from experience.