Clothes lines

Modelworks

Lifer
Feb 22, 2007
16,240
7
76
I have one that I don't use as much as I should.
Anyone else still using the clothes line versus the dryer ?

I heard on the radio that they are going to start asking congress to make it a right in the USA. With the energy problems it makes sense.
The problem is the evil HOA that forbid it.


http://www.laundrylist.org/
10) Save money (more than $100/year off electric bill for most households). FN1

9) Conserve energy and the environment. FN2

8) Clothes and sheets smell better without adding possibly toxic chemicals to your body and the environment. FN3

7) Clothes last longer. Where do you think lint comes from? FN4

6) It is physical activity which you can do in or outside. FN5

5) Sunlight bleaches and disinfects. FN6

4) Indoor racks can humidify in dry winter weather. FN7

3) Clothes dryer fires account for about 15,600 structure fires, 15 deaths, and 400 injuries annually. The yearly national fire loss for clothes dryer fires in structures is estimated at $99 million. FN8

2) An outdoor experience that is meditative. FN9

1) Demonstrates that small steps can make a difference. You don't have to wait for the government to take action. FN10

"My #1 reason for hanging clothes: time management. When I dry clothes in the dryer (which I must do in Illinois in the winter) I need to be there when the dryer stops or everything comes out wrinkled, so I can't walk away except for short periods. When I line dry, I can walk away - go shopping, have fun, garden, whatever - and the clothes will be fine no matter how long they hang on the line after they're dry."

- Marti Jernberg, Elgin, IL





http://minnesota.publicradio.o...e_freedom_to_dry.shtml
Pity the younger people; they have no idea what it's like at night to put their heads on a pillowcase that spent the day on a clothesline. In fact, they probably have no idea what a clothesline is, rendered obsolete as they were by the luxury of dryers.

In many communities (mostly in the 'burbs) clotheslines are banned, presumably because neighbors didn't want to see the underwear of the people next door.

But as energy prices spike, the clothesline is making a comeback and the great silent clothesline lobby is making itself heard.

In New England, in fact, two states are considering "right to dry" legislation that would overturn bans on outdoor clotheslines. A third state, New Hampshire, killed the bill in committee. Go figure, the state whose motto is "Live Free or Die" draws the line at, umm, clotheslines.

There is significant opposition, according to the Boston Globe:

"If you imagine driving into a community where the yards have clothes hanging all over the place, I think the aesthetics, the curb appeal, and probably the home values would be affected by that, because you can't let one homeowner do it and say no to the next," said Frank Rathbun, a spokesman for the Community Associations Institute, a national group based in Virginia that represents thousands of homeowner and condominium associations, many of which restrict clotheslines.

In Hawaii, the issue is so hot that the Honolulu Star Bulletin posted an editorial supporting legislation there last Saturday.

The agency estimates that if just 20,000 households reduced tumble-drying by half, spending for oil at $90 a barrel would shrink by $1.7 million a year. Individual homeowners on Oahu could see annual savings of about $250 on their power bills, while neighbor island residents who pay more for electricity could see bigger savings.

$90 a barrel oil? Boy, those were the days.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
100,216
17,892
126
Here in Ontario, all local bylaws prohibiting clothlines have been over-ridden :) I love the smell of cloth that is sundried versus dryer dried. I hate those static sheets.
 

KB

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 1999
5,406
389
126
I do, but only for large items like bath towels. I don't like seeing undies on the line.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
100,216
17,892
126
Originally posted by: Mo0o
I prefer my clothes soft rather than cardboard-like

sun dry, then toss them in dryer for 5min with sheet if you want them to go soft.
 

TwiceOver

Lifer
Dec 20, 2002
13,544
44
91
Hrm. No thanks.

1. Debris in air (namely my neighbor's cotton tree)
2. Can take a long ass time to dry
3. I don't know where they get the "Smells better" comment. I guess if you love the smell of mildew
4. Can only use it two months out of the year
5. Maybe dry two loads a day
6. Don't want my neighbors to see my undies (and vice versa)
7. Meditative? No thanks hippie.
8. Last longer? Tell that to my Ozfest 99 shirt.
9. Bleach and disinfectant also bleach and disinfect, probably better than the sun.
 

SearchMaster

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2002
7,791
114
106
Heh - the previous owners of my house used a clothesline despite having dryer hookups (they were hippies). The first thing I did after moving in was to remove it.
 

Xavier434

Lifer
Oct 14, 2002
10,373
1
0
Making it a right will make no difference. People are too lazy to do it this way. Waste of time and tax dollars debating it if you ask me.
 

jalaram

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
12,920
2
81
I prefer it (used to have it in Delaware and Tampa), but my current backyard gets limited sun and only in the afternoon.
 

jalaram

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
12,920
2
81
Originally posted by: Xavier434
Making it a right will make no difference. People are too lazy to do it this way. Waste of time and tax dollars debating it if you ask me.

The idea is to allow those few who do want to do it. Many HOAs won't allow them. Not too different than the laws that allow one to put up a satellite dish (another item that HOAs hate).

 

Xavier434

Lifer
Oct 14, 2002
10,373
1
0
Originally posted by: jalaram
Originally posted by: Xavier434
Making it a right will make no difference. People are too lazy to do it this way. Waste of time and tax dollars debating it if you ask me.

The idea is to allow those few who do want to do it. Many HOAs won't allow them. Not too different than the laws that allow one to put up a satellite dish (another item that HOAs hate).

Meh, HOA's really suck.
 

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
Originally posted by: mugs
"An outdoor experience that is meditative."

Hippie alert!

Confirmed. Break out Slayer and Metallica.

But as far as HOAs having a fit of course they would, it's guaranteed they would. This would have to be handled at the city/town level to basically tell the HOAs they can't enforce a no clothesline bylaw.
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
26,032
4,676
126
My dryer broke 2 years ago, and I've never looked back. But clotheslines outside are stupid. It rains or dew forms and your work is ruined. Wind blows and you get dust and leaf particles on your clothes. Insects jump on the clothes and lay eggs. Etc.

Instead, I just have a shower curtain bar over my washer and dryer. When I take the clothes out, I hang them on that bar or on the laundry basket. A day later (or two for thick jeans in winter when I have the heat turned low), and they are perfect. All it means is that I have to wash a day before I need the clothes.

For sheets, I lay them wet on the bed with the ceiling fan above the bed running. They are bone dry in under an hour.

For towels, I am screwed. I haven't figured out a good method yet. They just aren't as fluffy. But I don't really need fluffy towels.

No HOA can stop me!
 

BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,353
1,861
126
I don't use clothes lines.
When my GF and her kids lived with me, we thought about pouring some cement and burying a couple of posts to run a clothes line, but we never got around to it.
Now I'm back on my own, and I don't really run the dryer all that often as it is.

That said, I have considered placing my clothes on the stones that encircle my fire pit, that would dry my clothes quickly and it would make me smell really good (like a bonfire!)
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
growing up we used clotheslines all thetime. ona nice day its great.

trouble i is i live in the country. Right itme of year going ouside you need a gas mask..last thing i want is my clothes smelling like the crap they are spreading on the feilds
 

HaiBiss

Member
Jul 26, 2008
174
0
0
Yea nothing better than sleeping on a sheets that are covered in pollen from all the trees that I have an allergy to. Makes for a great sleep.

Also, in larger cities, clothes will smell like traffic and other crap in the area, not always the sunshine fresh.

As for seeing someone drawers hanging on the line, come one people lets have some modesty
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
100,216
17,892
126
Originally posted by: HaiBiss
Yea nothing better than sleeping on a sheets that are covered in pollen from all the trees that I have an allergy to. Makes for a great sleep.

Also, in larger cities, clothes will smell like traffic and other crap in the area, not always the sunshine fresh.

As for seeing someone drawers hanging on the line, come one people lets have some modesty

err, naked people on tv is ok but cloth in the backyard is indecent?
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
Originally posted by: TwiceOver
Hrm. No thanks.

1. Debris in air (namely my neighbor's cotton tree)
2. Can take a long ass time to dry
3. I don't know where they get the "Smells better" comment. I guess if you love the smell of mildew
4. Can only use it two months out of the year
5. Maybe dry two loads a day
6. Don't want my neighbors to see my undies (and vice versa)
7. Meditative? No thanks hippie.
8. Last longer? Tell that to my Ozfest 99 shirt.
9. Bleach and disinfectant also bleach and disinfect, probably better than the sun.

This.

Also,

10. Clothes that are air-dried are very uncomfortable to wear, not soft and fluffy.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Originally posted by: TwiceOver
Hrm. No thanks.

1. Debris in air (namely my neighbor's cotton tree)
2. Can take a long ass time to dry
3. I don't know where they get the "Smells better" comment. I guess if you love the smell of mildew
4. Can only use it two months out of the year
5. Maybe dry two loads a day
6. Don't want my neighbors to see my undies (and vice versa)
7. Meditative? No thanks hippie.
8. Last longer? Tell that to my Ozfest 99 shirt.
9. Bleach and disinfectant also bleach and disinfect, probably better than the sun.

QFT...I don't know why it's an evil HOA when the owners are who vote in the rules.

If you want to live in the country go live in the country.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
Originally posted by: HaiBiss
Yea nothing better than sleeping on a sheets that are covered in pollen from all the trees that I have an allergy to. Makes for a great sleep.

Also, in larger cities, clothes will smell like traffic and other crap in the area, not always the sunshine fresh.

As for seeing someone drawers hanging on the line, come one people lets have some modesty

god forbid you might see someones panties on the line!~ ohh theo horror! won't someone think of the children!


fucking idiot.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
62,760
18,944
136
You tell me what's better than putting on something nice and warm fresh out of the dryer on a cold winter day!
YOU CAN'T BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ANYTHING!