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February 28, 2011 at 6:46 am #598120
KM2ParticipantPlease someone tell me there is a law against hanging your clothes out the window to dry? A resident across the alley from me washes the same clothes daily and hangs them out the window. I find it really disturbing to see everyday as my view from my window.
February 28, 2011 at 7:00 am #718799
MousePotatoMemberWashing the same clothes daily and hang drying them outside in the winter? Sounds a little OCD to me…
February 28, 2011 at 7:07 am #718800
KM2ParticipantYou hit the nail on the head.
February 28, 2011 at 7:48 am #718801
WSBKeymasterNo, there’s no law. Unless you live in a development with covenants/restrictions that prohibit such things, in which case you would want to report it to the homeowners’ association. If the clothes-hanger is in a multifamily building, you could certainly find out who owns/manages the building and let them know about it. Might be eccentricity, or might be a sign of a larger problem like … the building’s dryer is broken, perhaps …
February 28, 2011 at 8:20 am #718802
acemotelParticipantMaybe they are immigrants, from a country where this practice is the norm, i.e. China.
February 28, 2011 at 1:37 pm #718803
cyclemomMemberOr…you could choose to be less disturbed.
February 28, 2011 at 2:07 pm #718804
wsgolferMemberWhat cyclemom said. It is an energy efficient way to dry clothes, why would you be disturbed?
February 28, 2011 at 2:25 pm #718805
redblackParticipantFebruary 28, 2011 at 3:51 pm #718806
datamuseParticipantI think I saw a Colbert Report like this once.
February 28, 2011 at 3:52 pm #718807
JoBParticipantunfortunately a prohibition against hanging your laundry outside is built into the standard house rental agreement in Seattle… i am not sure why.
and it seems landlords do enforce it.. at least mine does because we had a discussion about exactly where i could hang my the laundry i drip dry and came to the agreement that on the back porch under the roof would be acceptable
kelmalloy… has it occurred to you that the person across the street may be washing those clothes nightly because they are all they have?
perhaps you could improve your view with a random act of kindness….
February 28, 2011 at 4:30 pm #718808
SueParticipantThis was something I grew up with in NYC – it seems everybody in our neighborhood had a clothesline hanging in the backyard, usually from a window. I still hang half my clothing that I don’t want in the dryer, although I do hang them indoors on hangers on racks, not outdoors. I got a little spooked about outdoor drying after my brother put on a pair of pajama pants that were dried outside, and the wasp that got caught inside of it got kinda angry and took it out on his leg.
February 28, 2011 at 6:31 pm #718809
bsmommaParticipantMaybe it’s a uniform that they have to wear every day to work. It’s much more sensible to hand wash and air dry vs. probably paying $4 a day to wash and dry. Plus it keeps the clothes looking new longer as well as saving water and energy. Not everyone is as fortunate to have more than one set of clothes and/or can afford to wash clothes every day. If they didn’t get washed everyday, you’d probably complain that this person stunk or can’t believe they’re wearing dirty clothes………… Right?
February 28, 2011 at 7:07 pm #718810
squareeyesParticipantI was having a conversation about hanging clothes outside just this morning. I spent several years in a country where virtually everyone had a clothesline and used it, even small neighborhood apartment buildings had communal clotheslines.
While on vacation in Rome, a week spent in an apartment found a clothesline and clothespins hung outside the window, and all the apartments in the building had the same. I’d say, in the case above, it’s either a cultural thing or economic necessity or both.
February 28, 2011 at 8:23 pm #718811
JoBParticipantSue..
i too migrated to an indoor clothesline…
i use the shower rod which was thoughtfully secured in studs…
my new goal in life is to have a bathroom that i don’t have to share as a laundry space …
February 28, 2011 at 8:37 pm #718812
bebecatMemberI grew up with clothesline in our back yard here in West Seattle. I loved the smell of the sheets when I went to bed on laundry night..they were crisp cotton too! My mom dried outside anytime it was warm/dry enough here. Would I hang my laundry out for my Condo mates to see? NO! a private/semi back yard is one thing but we must respect our neighborhoods and not let them get slum looking as that is when property values can begin to slide. As for the person hanging it out the window…It will dry just as fast inside. But I personally have no problem driving down a residentual street in the summer and seeing neatly hung laundry on a clothesline blowing in the wind! Fresh!
February 28, 2011 at 8:40 pm #718813
JoBParticipantBebecat..
not trying to be confrontational…
but why do we equate laundry hanging outside with slums?
When i think of slums i think of filth.. and rats.. and drugs.. and apathy..
not what i think of when i envision clean clothing hanging in a breeze…
February 28, 2011 at 9:04 pm #718814
bebecatMemberOh I was just picturing unattended things hung over deck railing in multi-family dwellings. I’ve seen things left out in the rain long after it should have been brought in. I was thinking aesthetics…as I said I like the freshness of clothes blowing in the wind. Maybe slum was just a poor choice of a word. Messy may have been a better word.
March 2, 2011 at 10:19 pm #718815
KM2ParticipantThank you all. Sorry, but it does bug me. We’re not third world, we’re not in china. It lowers my property value, even more, if it’s energy efficient, then Inside makes more sense to hang them. I appreciate all the comments and found most of them funny. I will look In to the standard house rental agreement as well as contact the landlord. If nothing else, I’ll enjoy a different view of my yard and try to move through the bother. It could be all they have, inside drying would be better.
March 2, 2011 at 10:56 pm #718816
datamuseParticipantHanging laundry is third world? When did this happen?
March 2, 2011 at 11:49 pm #718817
cyclemomMembermuch of the “western” world hangs clothes to dry – italy, spain, france, germany, england, the netherlands, austria… sometimes inside, sometimes outside. If you really want to live in a place where you don’t have to see anything belonging to your neighbors, I’d suggest a very rural environment. Besides, it’s clean laundry we’re talking about here – not a meth lab, crack house, brothel, or some other “unsavory” establishment. Clean laundry.
March 3, 2011 at 12:28 am #718818
sam-cParticipant..a rural environment, or a gated community.
that’s what I tell the other half when he starts complaining about paint color choices that neighbors make. I guess I have more tolerance for the bright house paint colors.
March 3, 2011 at 3:28 am #718819
brewParticipantYa know… Its probably a good thing that I’m not your neighbor. You would get a good view of my bare bum as I climb in and out of the hot tub!
March 3, 2011 at 4:13 am #718820
cyclemomMemberbut at least you wouldn’t be hanging your swim-suit out to dry!
March 3, 2011 at 5:03 am #718821
MindDriveMemberPlease don’t insult my family, most of whom hung laundry out to dry for many years. I give these neighbors credit for doing something environmentally friendly!
March 3, 2011 at 6:31 am #718822
KBearParticipantI don’t usually hang laundry out in the rainy season, but just for KM2, maybe I will…
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