My husband uses the clothesline regularly since he is a bit beyond frugal (my friend at the power company told me about 7-8 years ago that he is saving about 32 cents. But maybe that has gone up). I don’t use the clothesline since it is strung between two trees. We live in rural Florida. He gets lizards in his clothes, chiggers in his clothes, ticks in his clothes, and one time when a pair of jeans was out all day, a wren built a nest in a pocket (front pocket, puffed open to dry faster), so he had to leave those jeans out till we were sure the nest wasn’t going to be used. Thanks, but I think I will use the critter-free dryer…
Voluntarily should be put in quotes since there’s no way to buy the property without agreeing to the covenant establishing the HOA and in many parts of the country it’s all but impossible to find a house without an HOA. HOA are basically privatized local governments, except they aren’t bound by the same constitutional restrictions real governments are (for starters the whole 1 vote per property owner thing).
If I am not mistaken Federal Law prohibits the prohibition of ham radio antennas; I have seen where HOAs have been powerless to prevent radio ops from putting in some pretty enormous towers.
Live in an apartment so most of this doesn’t apply to me. I do hang up a few things (nothing like sheets but more like skirts, shirts, pants, or anything delicate). (I use the shower curtain rod or the towel rack or wherever I can find space.) I do notice that the ones that I hung up to dry always smell super.
This is how I feel about it. I can do without my clothes, sheets, and towels covered in pollen, mold, and all the other stuff in the air I’m horribly allergic to. (And also without random bird droppings). But if other folks want to dry on a line, no objection; it seems to work well for many people. It’s just not for me.
That is simply not true (thank Og). I have never even heard that mentioned anywhere.
I think so, too. The sun and air are still free.
When we looked for a house, we avoided HOAs too, and not just because of the clothesline issue (which wouldn’t surprise me if they were forbidden in HOAs here, too), but because I just balk at the idea of anyone else telling me what colour I can paint my porch or trim. We already have city bylaws to take care of junky cars and uncut lawns - I don’t need more control over my neighbours than that.
I wanted to hang my laundry out today, but we’ve got gale warnings, of all things. I wasn’t too keen on chasing my clean clothes across the yard, and I don’t have enough clothespins to hold my clothes in such wind. So I used the stupid dryer. At least I was able to leave my bedspread out yesterday - it smells good anyway…
No I don’t think so. I think there’s a federal law which requires municipalities to make “reasonable provisions” or some such wording for amateur radio antennas in their local laws but it doesn’t stop a private HOA having whatever restrictions they can get someone to sign. I’m not sure how those that you’ve seen got away with it.
I’ve heard that there’s a federal law saying that you’re permitted to have a satellite TV dish. I think that even applies to HOAs. When satellite TV became a reality the providers lobbied Congress for that because antenna restrictions were being used to shut them out.
I believe there is also a federal law entitling anyone to have a flag pole of “reasonable height”. I’m not sure if it specifies what flag you’re allowed to fly. Of course flag poles can have a secret wire inside them to act as an antenna. 
I’ve been using my foldable clothesline rack for about four years now. During the summer I put it out on my backporch, and during the winter I move it into my spare bedroom. It has five lines in parallel and is about five feet long. So it definitely has enough room for a whole load of laundry.
That, and my washing machine that hooks up to my kitchen faucet, has made laundry a very “zen” thing for me.
People who hate clotheslines are what’s wrong with this country. If we all used clotheslines, think of all the energy we could save.
I don’t have a line, but I will wash a quilt and pillow shams and hang these over the railing of the deck on a sunny breezy day. Mainly because the quilt is so heavy, I often have to put it in the dryer at the end of the day. Or hang sweaters and cotton or linen shirts on hangers (secured with clothespins) and hang these on the lower branches of a tree in the backyard. And hope that that will be the day the throng of songbirds we have out there will fly elsewhere for a while.
Our block was built in the 1950s, and apparently our house is the only one that still has its clothesline (the standard, American kind with wires strung between two T-shaped steel poles). We have more lines in the unfinished half of our basement.
I much prefer hanging clothes outside. Cottons smell much better, and I figure that I’m sticking it to the electricity company with every load I hang. Even in winter we’ll try to do most of the laundry one load a night, and hang it up to dry downstairs.
Our neighbors have commented, saying that we must be so ecologically concerned. I don’t explain that saving energy has little to do with it.
WRT homeowners associations, I recall a Wall Street Journal article a few years ago about a homeowner in Oregon who was trying to use a law that forbade HOA regulations against solar energy installations to get her clothesline legalized.
I wonder if there are still blocks in New York City where clothes lines are strung from one building to another?
I always thought that looked really cool.
Quasi
Incredible. I can see why the neighbourhood would be against people having junk in their yards or piles of old tyres but cars?
I grew up doing it, it’s not a big deal imho.
In korea, I learned a new way: hang wet clothes on hangars first, then put them on the line. It makes laundry ridiculously easy.
They also useindoor drying racks.
I think they are trying to appear “upscale” but don’t know how. So they pass weird things like that.
I don’t care if other people use them or not. That said, I’ve always preferred dryer-dried cloths and especially towels over line dried ones. They’re softer, and less of a pain to bring in when dry.
I have always used clotheslines. They satisfy too consuming passions in me: saving money and reducing energy consumption. On the occasions when I have had neighbors object to this practice, I tell them that they can pay to have my laundry done if they wish to remove the horrifying image of my clotheslines from their view. They never mention the subject after that.
My sis-in-law has heard (and seen a photo) of a new stainless steel clothes drying unit that is wall or fence mounted with 3 or 4 rigid rods each about 8ft long I think, but she said they can be shortened, that extends out and folds back against the wall, concertina fashion and she said it will hold 75 kilo’s of washing! I cant wait as we have a small ‘patio’ garden area and space is at a premium and its near the sea! But she said it wont be avail till the Melb (Vic. Aus) home show next month. April.and she said at Sydney home show, where she lives, in May. I’ll be at the front of the line… no pun intended…I hate the daggy saggy string line things and these look great…I hope she is right!
You won’t be selling many of your clothes lines at the Melbourne Home Show to the majority of this board who live in America. Although for a reasonable fee I could be persuaded to wander down and pick one up for anyone interested - shipping will be a bitch though!