# Clotheslines - whaddaya think? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849 "2011-02-18T20:43:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/21 "2011-02-19T04:36:14Z")
Despite world-class technology in electronics, Japan makes sucky dryers. Nearly all apartments feature a veranda with hooks to slide in a long pole to hang clothes from. The nicer places make the walls of the veranda higher so folks can hang clothes and keep them from view. Generally women are discouraged from moving into apartments on the first floor, however, because many neighborhoods feature a local [Mr. Panty Thief](http://www.japanfortheuninvited.com/articles/panty-thieves.html) who will pop over to help himself to your unmentionables. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/22 "2011-02-19T06:07:02Z")
Just about every house in this country (Australia) probably has one - in fact the [Hills Hoist](http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2010/12/17/1225972/636299-hills-hoist.jpg) is a national icon, featured at the Sydney Olympics. Ours is more like [this](http://www.hardwarejournal.com.au/hf_images/supp/thumb/10658.jpg) and can’t be seen from the street, but I would use it for every load of washing unless we’d had a few days of rain. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/23 "2011-02-19T06:07:39Z")
I have never personally owned a drier, and have no plans to do so. The bigg-ass [Hills Hoist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hills_Hoist) in the backyard of our current place was a big selling point with us. I have known flats where you were explicitly not allowed to have clothes drying outside, but it would be a rare standalone house, in my neighborhood, where there was not some clothesline provision, and the idea of banning it … just wouldn’t happen. The fact that basically all Australian backyards are fenced probably helps there. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/24 "2011-02-19T07:03:55Z")
I can’t believe there’s a kerfuffle in some neighbourhoods about having a clothes line. I can understand the objection to people drying their clothes on apartment balconies but in your own backyard? What else do the fun police want to ban? Barbecues? Sheds? Kennels? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/25 "2011-02-19T07:31:57Z")
If you can’t hang clothes on the line, you’re not really home. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/26 "2011-02-19T09:23:48Z")
I liked having a clothesline too, and would always hang my sheets and blankets on it. My towels would get crunchy hanging on a line but i would still like to have one again ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/27 "2011-02-19T11:35:53Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > If you can’t hang clothes on the line, you’re not really home. No, you’re in a Home Owner’s Association… :rolleyes: Apparently some folks seriously believe such visual travesties affect property values. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/28 "2011-02-19T12:23:02Z")
There are HOAs here that forbid the flying of flags. HOAs are nothing but quasi governments with pretty much zero representation. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/29 "2011-02-19T12:55:37Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > Just about every house in this country (Australia) probably has one - in fact the [Hills Hoist](http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2010/12/17/1225972/636299-hills-hoist.jpg) is a national icon, featured at the Sydney Olympics. Ours is more like [this](http://www.hardwarejournal.com.au/hf_images/supp/thumb/10658.jpg) and can’t be seen from the street, but I would use it for every load of washing unless we’d had a few days of rain. Same here in New Zealand. We are always astonished to learn of restrictions overseas against hanging out washing. I assume it is for aesthetic reasons but I predict that with the growing environmental awareness of our children, hanging washing will become normal again. Growing up in the 60s many older homes still had coal-burning ranges (stoves) and above them was a clothes rack, attached to the ceiling which was lowered by pulley for hanging clothes. It gave off a nice smell. Ah nostalgia; it ain’t what it used to be. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/30 "2011-02-19T13:55:50Z")
I can’t use one myself, since I don’t have any outside space, but I would if I could. The people in the flats nearby all hang their washing on their front balconies and it makes for a beautiful colourful display. Funnily enough, I was just this morning thinking about my childhood best friend whose Mum would, if line-hung washing got rained on, always rewash it because she thought the rain made it dirty. ---
**Author:** ![Mariemarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mariemarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mariemarie)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/31 "2011-02-19T14:01:54Z")
I like hanging the clothes out on the line, even in winter. I do not understand the objections to clotheslines. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/32 "2011-02-19T14:03:55Z")
i’ve heard that some people would put pillow cases over people’s scanties to not have them observable. ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/33 "2011-02-19T14:28:42Z")
There’s no better smell in the world than line-dried sheets. I can use a clothesline where I live now, but in a previous neighborhood, they were banned by the HOA. It really sucked for people along my street, because we backed to woods, and the only ones who would have seen our unmentionables blowing in the breeze would have been the neighbors on each side. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/34 "2011-02-19T16:10:17Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > What else do the fun police want to ban? Barbecues? Sheds? Kennels? We have a stupid ordinance in our city that says: if you have an attached garage, and you convert it to living space, you must then construct another garage of the same size as the original to hide your cars in. Oh, and keep your garage door closed if you actually, you know, put stuff in it. We don’t want to see your stuff. Also, all boats and RVs must be parked in a garage or in the back yard out of view of the street. No overnight street parking, either. > [@Ken001](#): > > I predict that with the growing environmental awareness of our children, hanging washing will become normal again. I hope you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/35 "2011-02-19T16:36:58Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > Despite world-class technology in electronics, Japan makes sucky dryers. Nearly all apartments feature a veranda with hooks to slide in a long pole to hang clothes from. The nicer places make the walls of the veranda higher so folks can hang clothes and keep them from view. > > Generally women are discouraged from moving into apartments on the first floor, however, because many neighborhoods feature a local [Mr. Panty Thief](http://www.japanfortheuninvited.com/articles/panty-thieves.html) who will pop over to help himself to your unmentionables. Japanese driers are the sorriest excuses of appliances ever made. It takes 2 hours to dry a load, and this often won’t get them completely done. This is another reason we never use the dryer feature of our combination washer/dryer, which wasn’t a problem until we had two kids and the increase in laundry requirements hits the logistics of two working parents and the physics of doing laundry in rainy days in Tokyo winters, when it would be nice to have a turbo powered dryer. A long way of saying that I’ve been using clotheslines for 20+ years and it looks like it will continue for the foreseeable future, along with the rest of our neighborhood, and city, and adopted country. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/36 "2011-02-19T16:51:56Z")
The refreshed smell is worthy the time. Sheets , pillow cases, blankets smell nice after air drying. However my goofy dog will yank on something that hangs low enough. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/37 "2011-02-19T17:00:57Z")
We refused to even consider looking at homes with HOAs, partially because a lot of them around here seem to ban clotheslines, and I knew I wanted one. Regarding the towel issue, if you want to line-dry the towels to save money but avoid the “stiff as a board” issue, just take the towels and throw them in the dryer for about 5 minutes after you bring them in from the line. It fluffs them nicely and only costs you 5 minutes of running the dryer instead of 40 (or whatever). ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/38 "2011-02-19T17:12:26Z")
My family has never had a clothesline. I’ve never lived where I’ve ever seen anyone actually use a clothes line. I’ve pondered using on now and then, but I doubt we’ll actually put one in. I was trying to imagine how I’d feel I about them if one of the neighbors started using one. But that’s not going to happen. Our HOA doesn’t have any rule about them, and is pretty benign in general, so I don’t think they would get involved. ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/39 "2011-02-19T17:51:07Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > We refused to even consider looking at homes with HOAs, partially because a lot of them around here seem to ban clotheslines, and I knew I wanted one. I’ve heard that in many areas its getting more and more difficult to buy good housing without an HOA. I’m not sure the what the definition of “good” is. I think I heard that all new development in Arizona (or maybe it was the city of Phoenix) requires an HOA. It’s a big hassle for anyone into ham radio. Many have a total ban on any sort of antennas. I’m not just talking about big ugly towers but often even the simplest wire up a tree or a thin vertical metal stick on a roof is banned. ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849/40 "2011-02-19T17:57:32Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > Just about every house in this country (Australia) probably has one - in fact the [Hills Hoist](http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2010/12/17/1225972/636299-hills-hoist.jpg) is a national icon, featured at the Sydney Olympics. Ours is more like [this](http://www.hardwarejournal.com.au/hf_images/supp/thumb/10658.jpg) and can’t be seen from the street, but I would use it for every load of washing unless we’d had a few days of rain. I heard a representative from Hills on US public radio a few years back. I don’t know how well they’re doing now but at the time they were trying to break into the US market. He said it was really tough going because of the restrictions many Americans live under. The whole situation makes me angry. I can’t argue directly with the fact that home owners sign these agreements voluntarily but… it’s just not that simple. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clotheslines-whaddaya-think/571849.md?page=3)