> Though I do think that Americans uses clothes dryers _much_ more than they should.
There are many reasons for this. Some of them are cultural, and other are legal.
Many Americans simply don't remember drying clothes on a clothes hanger outside, and aren't used to hanging them indoors as many Europeans do. And to be fair, indoor clothing hanging is time consuming in comparison to "transfer clothes from one machine to another".
But what many don't know is that it's often banned in many home owners' associations, and banned in many apartment leases, meaning that hanging your clothes outside is actually a luxury that many simply can't partake in.
> Dryer did not exists and human have been drying clothes in most climates in the last few thousand of years.
Washing machines did not exist until recently either, but no one in this thread is advocating hand washing their clothes.
> That being said : I see what you mean. I grew up in France ( dryer don’t exists ) and it’s easy to dry stuff there. Except maybe in winter.
In the US dryers and washing machines are a set pair. If a washing machine is in a location then a dryer is there also unless someone went out of their way to only buy a washing machine. For example laundromats all have dryers as does any laundry room in an apartment complex or apartments with washing machines.
> Washing machines did not exist until recently either, but no one in this thread is advocating hand washing their clothes.
This conversation is about people being denied the right to do something, the reasons why they should have the right to do so are there to justify it. No one said people should not be able to wash their laundry by hand. It is probably because doing so is unobserved. That being said, it is also a much more challenging thing to advocate for. While hanging one's clothes is marginally more labour intensive, washing clothes by hands is much more labour intensive.
> In the US dryers and washing machines are a set pair.
I understand what you are getting to, but the presence of both does not imply that both receive the same level of use. For some people, the use of driers is purely seasonal. For others, it will only be used for large items or things that need to be dried quickly. As for the examples of laundromats and shared facilities, the complimentary pair is intended to attract customers (not to mention that hauling around wet clothes is a pain).
> You have to hang-dry your clothes; you get used to that stuff.
Just FYI, hang-drying is a poor metric for comparing standards of living. It's very common all over the world, in affluent societies such as Germany, the UK and Scandinavia. It's not about whether you can afford modern dryer technology, it's about whether your apartment has the space for one. I know mine doesn't.
>Many (most?) households don't have clothes dryers, using clotheslines instead.
We have a clothes dryer in our home (in Australia), and have used it about once a year over the last 10 years. Usually only in an "emergency". Generally speaking it's always warm enough to dry laundry naturally here, which is why dryers are not so common.
> opting to just layer up when it's cold or try to use fans in the summer.
Insulation in Australian homes is generally terrible. I wish it were different. But I have rarely seen people hesitate to use a heater or AC.
Re clothes dryers - many Americans don't have much choice. Most apartment buildings in the US prohibit drying clothes on the balcony (to avoid giving the impression that poor people might live there). And some towns and neighborhood HOAs prohibit outside clothes lines even for residents of single family houses.
in the usa, most people do not dry by hanging clothes. I suppose that's what they're talking about. Not everyone is going to take the context as "the entire world" most people will think of their home country I think, I could be wrong.
It still weirds me out that people in USA are such bad neighboors (and their law so restrictive in some cases).
For the pic seems to be her home, her property and she can't even hang her clothes to dry. This coming from the country where morons want to own a gun to protect their property and all other bs excuses, it's rather comedic.
Here in Portugal the norm is this, we hang our clothes specially since usually weather allows it and saves a lot of energy (I also have a dryer to use when weather is colder or when I need something dried quickly). Nobody complains with each others for it.
Also there's this line:
> And she received two anonymous notes from neighbors saying they did not want to see her underwear flapping about.
This is very retarded even for USA's standards lol
I agree that washing dishes immediately after use reduces the effort to almost nothing. I try to do so as much as possible. Laundry is not as precise.
I can’t immediately run today’s clothes through my washer and dryer alone without wasting resources. I also need to remove my laundry from the dryer soon after it finishes if I want to avoid wrinkled clothes. For these reasons, I only do laundry in large loads and I have to schedule around the task. This is even more of an issue for people who do not have laundry machines in their homes.
A lot of developments in America these days specifically ban clothesline drying because it's associated with, well, being poor. Never underestimate the zealousness of American HOAs, condo boards, and landlords in wanting to keep up appearances.
> during the summer, clothes dry indoors in ~4h,
> drying clothes indoors has no ill effects
Maybe the first is why you think the second is always true? Where I live if I just leave laundry on a drying rack it won't dry for days, and once it is dryish it already smells stale and mouldy.
I'm glad that it works for you, but maybe the advice differs based on location, climate, maybe even architectural choices.
Yeah, they're considered crimes against both delicate fabric and the environment :) Drying racks have the added benefit of humidifying apartments in winter, when the air often gets quite dry from heating.
One peculiarity at least in Germany is that people move with their washing machines (as well as with their kitchens, very often). While I do miss my in-apartment washer a lot, I don't miss having to think about how on earth I'm going to get it to the other side of town without breaking either somebody's back or stairwell...
> If there's one thing you can do to save energy, it's probably to dry your clothes on a rack outside
Here in NM, you can take a load of athletic gear laundry outside to hang up and by the time you're done hanging it, the first items are already dry :) In winter, it takes about twice as long, indoors. So .. yeah.
>But I've seen some hang-to-dry things that could be used over a bathtub.
I have this in my apartment (Sweden). After I've done laundry I hang my clothes to dry over the bathtub, then move them onto a separate drying rack in the morning (so I have space to shower), and by that time the clothes have dried enough so there's no risk of dripping on the floor.
What does this have to do with the article? It doesn’t claim that hanging your clothes to dry is more convenient; only more economical and environmentally friendly.
Not everybody on the planet (or in the US) has selection pressures that maximize convenience. We’d probably be worse off as a society if that was our only consideration.
There are many reasons for this. Some of them are cultural, and other are legal.
Many Americans simply don't remember drying clothes on a clothes hanger outside, and aren't used to hanging them indoors as many Europeans do. And to be fair, indoor clothing hanging is time consuming in comparison to "transfer clothes from one machine to another".
But what many don't know is that it's often banned in many home owners' associations, and banned in many apartment leases, meaning that hanging your clothes outside is actually a luxury that many simply can't partake in.
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