Lowcountry Laundry Offering Line Drying
Posted by Chad Norman June 9th, 2008 .
I just got an email from Mary at Lowcountry Laundry Service. They now offer eco-friendly options to their customers, including chlorine-free bleach, plant-based detergents like Seventh Generation, and line drying.
Yeah, line drying!
Clotheslines are a holy grail for most green suburbanites, as they are often unobtainable due to covenants and restrictions. I remember reading that they are banned because of the association between hanging clothes with the poor crowded urban neighborhoods our forefathers fled from. But is that really still the attitude? Will my neighbor’s property value actually sink if sheets and towels dried in the backyard?
If you’ve fought this clothesline battle in your own neighborhood, and won, let us know in the comments.
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neighborhood associations against line drying?!?!? that’s a perfect example of what our society’s come to! what a shame! somebody should ask the mixson group if line drying will be allowed in their neighborhood.
I currently hang our son’s sheets over the railing of the back porch. Since I wash these almost daily, I can’t stand putting them through dryer daily. We also now are hanging our towels and swimwear over porch. You cannot see the railings from street, and our direct neighbors have not uttered a word.
A line from tree to tree would be seen from street. So, traffic on our little lane would notice it, and could report us to association. Chad and I may just go for it anyways.
go for it anyways. most dryers use up to 5000 watts. considering a 2.5 ton central a/c unit consumes 3500 watts, the average refrigerator consumes about 500 watts, and if you have your house outfitted with CFL bulbs, running your dryer will more than double your power consumption while it’s running!
http://www.bluewaterpower.com/rates.asp?link=7
http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html
http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4400/P4400-CE.html
I use one of those folding drying racks and put it on our screened-in porch. Not for everything, but rugs and things that take forever to dry in the machine. It doesn’t get fluffed like it would on a line, but it’s one tiny thing I can do in our HOA ruled community.
When I found out about 10 years ago that I was not sussposed to have a clothes line in my backyard; I was, in disbelief !
I had never heard of such a stupid rule. It just does not get any more environmently friendly than mother nature air purifying your clothes.
No stupid dryer sheets, no lent, no electricity generated, a clean fresh smell.
And the reason was that it “is an eyesore” to certain individuals.
We hung out clothes my entire childhood and along with the previously stated benefits, my brother and sisters and I had the responsibilty of hanging and folding the clothes when dry.
Childhood responsibility, what a concept.
Anyway, I would love to see the day “stupid” rules like this are history.
It was so nice to read the comments about laundry drying on the line. Chad’s question about the negative sterotypes associated with clotheslines did exist–mostly connected to lower socioeconomic classes who could not afford to utilize other methods to clean their “dirty laundry”. Apparently those negative sterotypes are part of the reason why some Home Owners Associations and many apartment complex’s ban clothes lines. Project Laundry List is a non-profit group based in New Hampshire whose mission is to ‘educate people about how simple lifestyle modifications, including air-drying one’s clothes, reduce our dependence on environmentally and culturally costly energy sources.’ Their homepage lists 10 reasons to hang out your clothes. Project Laundry List Advocacy Page http://www.laundrylist.org/advocacy/index.htm you can follow current challengs to present laws, THE RIGHT TO DRY legislation is pending and needs our support, additonally they are asking for others to join the STOP THE BAN Campaign.
Meanwhile if Lowcountry Laundry can be of service to you, or you have questions about our eco-friendly options and or line drying service contact us at info@lowcountrylaundry or call 843-771-3181
Mary
“We must all hang together, or most assuredly we will all hang separately.”
-Benjamin Franklin
Hi from the UK - over here, thank goodness, line drying is the norm, whatever your income even if your house is worth $1 million or more.
People like the smell of air dried laundry and it’s well…….. just the “done thing” over here and well before the environmental issues & high energy costs made it even more popular. Most people do have a dryer for use in bad weather (although I only used mine around 6 times last winter).
Popular over here are the rotary dryers which can easily be folded down and are very light so they can be easily put it away after use. I have a neat cover for mine to keep it dry when it’s not in use.
I do not enjoy many household chores, however hanging out my laundry is an exception - gives you a bit of healthy arm exercise as well!!