Line dry or tumble dry - or rather, in sight or hidden?

arielgirl

Inside. I have limited out door space but the issue is the house (split into flats) is next to a really busy main road about ten minutes from city centre and not sure it be best place to dry the clothes with whatever coming from all the cars. Previous house I could dry outside in a garden away from road, although if it been a front garden i would have still used it as the road was just one through an estate. In any case I couldn't care less about what the neighbours think and frankly they need to find something more interesting to do than monitoring people's washing.

MalMonroe

Hi, Floss, many thanks for this post, what a lovely thread it turned out to be. I'm sure you were only joking but reading the comments made me laugh out loud. 

For the record I think it's better for the planet and our clothes to pop them outside whenever possible. I do have a tumble dryer but it's a bit expensive to run. When the weather's bad I dry stuff on an airer inside and then pop it in the dryer to finish off and get rid of creases.

I couldn't care less who sees my 'smalls', we all have underwear (we do, right?) and mine (not to be boasty) is really pretty. We're not living in the 19th century so there's no harm in hanging everything you have proudly on your washing line. I couldn't care less whether or not I see my neighbours' smalls. I'd be more inclined to wonder where they were if they didn't hang them out. Not that I stare at other people's washing you understand - and in the same vein, they probably don't stare at mine and couldn't care less that my 'smalls' are pretty. Which is a shame, really. 

prowla

A folding clothes rack over the bath would work.

PollyWollyDoodle

Line dry every time when possible, it makes things smell so much nicer. @landgirl you bring it in if it rains (or don’t hang it out if there’s rain forecast)!  Bird poo is a fairly rare occurrence in my experience. 

I sometimes peg my smalls out but like others, they often go on the airer not because I’m shy, but because they are fiddly to hang up. In winter I use a heated airer, brilliant and cheap to run, and the cats love it! Sheets go over the banisters and tops on hangers in the spare room doorway, they soon dry. I have never owned a tumble dryer and never intend to.

I will admit to one peculiarity though, if my washing has got rained on (and I mean soaked, not just a few spots) I would put it back through the machine again for a rinse. I feel that the rain is dirty - weird, I know, because I don’t mind walking in it 😆  

Happycas

Polly - when I lived in inner city Leeds as a child, pre Clean Air Act, rain WAS dirty.  If you left clothes out in the rain they got black marks on them.  Somehow the rain brought down the soot. Clothes that had been rained on had to be washed again - a big job in those days!
Perhaps someone told you that as a child and it's stuck

Floss

landgirl100 said:

... I did find that when I lived in houses with outdoor washing lines, the washing often stayed out for days because it kept raining, and bird poo made my clean clothes dirty again. Doesn't it just make more work?

I've been pegging my own washing out for 38 years and have never had any with bird poo, living in various suburban, coastal and rural areas.

I don't peg out when am going into work, but for the last 2 years I have been known to say to colleagues "can I call you back, it's raining & my washing is out!"

Mona_Lisa_2

What my neighbours think of me is none of my business.  

newlywed

@landgirl100 I hang clothes out when I’m going to be at home to bring it in if it rains. I don’t leave things out overnight as it just goes damp again, plus the neighbour had all his pegs stolen, so no idea what else they might take.

as for bird poop,  I can remember maybe three times in 15 years… and it was only a tiny bit on one or two items, never a whole rotary line hit.  I live in a city with an abundance of pigeons and other birds.

wort

I always choose days when forecast is good and I’m not at work , I don’t use a tumble dryer , tried a couple of times when I was bought a washer/dryer and they took so long to dry stuff I didn’t bother as was worried about the cost even then!

undies go on the octopus (ike@ are best nice and strong) easy to take out  and bring in.
I shake items as they come out of washer, I do that as soon as the cycle finishes, then hang on line if not totally dry when I bring in they go on the airer in spare room. 

I don’t iron unless something is very creased like cotton ( dgsons school shirt ), but I don’t buy things that need it.
There’s nothing better than line dried clean bedding. 

Ive pegged out all through winter, I live in the north west so not the warmest of places.

happydenial

Always line dry where possible, otherwise on an airer in the spare room. I don’t own a tumble dryer, even with two muddy kids whose PE kit/school uniform needs washing for the next day, I’ve never had a problem getting it dry with a good spin and then on an airer.

As the weather is so good this weekend, I’ve done 2-3 loads of clothes/bedding a day and line-dried. I’ve washed all the winter blankets and coats so they’re fresh and ready to be put away until autumn, such a lovely feeling.