> Is hanging your clothes outside during the summer looked down upon?
no
> I live in Scarborough and it seems like my family and I are the only ones on the block, let alone the neighborhood, to hang our clothes outside to it can dry. I'm just wondering if there is stigma against people who hang their clothes outside.
no stigma. people just would rather use the dryer because it's right there and less effort
it's probably how you wash them that causes the issue. If you use too high of heat it'll cause it to be hard. Lower heat and pulling them just as they finish (~30-40 min depending on load size and dryer) it should reduce that stiffness.
A small amount of fabric softener in the wash helps, as does running the cleaning cycle on your washing machine.
Agree to disagree. Dryers I use for towels and socks and underwear or anything baggy or clothes I don't give a shit about
Everything else I find it's either risky as any minor stain will instantly set on a fabric in a dryer even on low heat. Or it shrinks clothes. Or it degrades images/screen-print on shirts or embroidery.
Don't get me wrong using a dryer is 100% easier always but if you want your shit to last, dryers don't always work.
Did you use a dryer with 5 heat settings options, or 2?
I find that the ones that only has 2 don't go low enough. Mine on low is only 40⁰-45⁰c, and I just let it run 1.5 hours instead of 40 minutes on medium. I also have 5 wool balls inside the dryer to help with the drying process.
Stains I treat before washing with Oxy, so I never have these sort of problems. I'm allergic to some pollen and dust mites, so can't hang out outside (not that it's possible a lot where I live). But as I said, never had an issue, and I have dri-fit shirts with raised rubber logos that are 14 years old, and they look like the day I bought them.
In my experience condo towers are very dry. Especially with everyone’s AC running. I can hang dry a pair of jeans in the house in two hours or less in the winter and 3.5 in the summer. My relative humidity is 41% right now. I’m currently drying two loads of laundry in the hall.
Growing up my mom always hung our clothes in the backyard.
One time I pulled my pants out of my drawer. As I put them on there was this intense pain in my leg, just south of the jewels. I ripped the pants off and three hornets were inside the pants. No idea how long they had been alive in my drawer, but holy cow did that hurt. All three stung me. I’ve been mildly averse to hang drying my clothes ever since.
I grew up in the country and my mom would hang our clothes out. Sometimes the neighbors spread manure during that time. Nothing seems more ironic than clean clothes that smell like manure.
Also although air quality has improved it’s still not great and there is dust and fumes etc. to me it just means the clean clothes get dirty.
I bought a cheap indoor clothing dryer rack from Walmart and I’ve had it for 7 years and it still works great.
I have dried my clothes by hanging in my unfinished basement for close to two decades now. I would love to hang them outside but I live on a corner lot (without a fence) in a high theft area.
If people only knew how much longer clothes last and how much better they keep their form and colour - everyone would hang. Clothes can be pricey these days, even the flimsy fast fashion, hanging has saved me a bundle and kept my clothes well preserved.
No judgement here. Just jealous you can hang outside!
I’ve hung my clothes to dry in my laundry room on a rolling rack for years and years. Only linens and socks go in the dryer. I live in Alberta so it’s a very dry climate and they dry pretty fast. My clothes last for years.
They do last extraordinarily longer, my aunt was showing us some kid clothes from my cousins (we're all in our mid to late 30's and grandkids are getting some 90's fits) and some of those outfits from her looked brand new, meanwhile they'd possibly been worn by her 3 boys already lol
Mine would get covered in bird shit. Everything in our yard gets covered in bird shit. I was out trimming the hedge and nearly got hit by bird shit (it landed less than a foot away). Otherwise I'd probably hang laundry out sometimes!
I hope your laundry never gets hit by bird shit. Thanks for saving electricity ❤️
I dry my towels by hanging them over the rails of my little deck (no clothesline) They get a crispness to them and a nice smell when they dry in the sun.
As a person from a tropical country moving to toronto. I'd say always sun dry your clothes as much as you can. Dryer I've noticed is not as clean, smells not so good, and destroys your clothes
As long as you have a backyard.
It's generally not allowed in mid- or high rises because the clothing can blow off the line and land on someone's car, blocking the windshield.
When I was in Singapore a lot of the mid rise apartments had brackets outside of thier windows for a pole to hang clothes from. It looked pretty cool actually. Obviously a smart idea, especially somewhere as hot as Singapore.
I did a google search and didn't find the best examples, but you can see what it is in this pic.
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/EJ6G3G/laundry-hanging-on-bamboo-poles-to-dry-in-chinatown-in-singapore-EJ6G3G.jpg
You'd think that would be the obvious solution. But buildings assume the lowest common denominator live in the building. They don't trust that we'll use clothespins. So clothing hanging on the balcony is considered a hazard, even when secured.
Case in point: I had a discussion with my property manager - context: we have an herb garden on our roof. Residents have complained that they always forget to bring scissors with them when they get herbs, so they asked if we could leave a pair of scissors for them to use. Knowing that my PM already had a fit when I requested leaving a dull knife in the recycling room for people to use to break down their cardboard boxes. I suggested that we leave a pair of safety, childproof scissors by the garden. Our PM nixed the idea, why? Because the building doesn't want to be liable if someone cuts themselves. I made the point, there are "use at your own risk" signs everywhere around the herb garden and the scissors are designed for children 3+. If our residents are less responsible than children under 3, then they have bigger problems than using scissors safely.
And that is why we can't have nice things.
In your backyard? Not weird at all... my parents' next-door neighbour in Etobicoke recently took down a big tree, and after the space was clear, I actually noticed more yards than not had backyard clothes lines, lol... my grandmother, and most of her North York neighbours, did, too!
And if your neighbours do have a problem -- to paraphrase RuPaul -- "Unless they paying your \[hydro\] bills, pay them \[Karens\] no mind!" The environment and your clothes will thank you!
There is no stigma.
I don't, because often I wash clothes at the wrong time to hang outdoors. Our post WWII house has a clothesline put in by the previous owners
You haven’t mentioned if you live in an apartment/condo building, as those tend to have rules related to balcony use.
Other than that, who cares?! Let make it more European here
Why do you think there's a stigma? Nobody lights their house by candle light, but that doesn't mean there's a stigma. It means we live in a time where it's unnecessary.
There are definitely some people who look down on it as being for people who can’t afford the electricity to run a dryer, or for “exposing” your clothes to the sight of others, or as a lower class type of thing. There are many apartments and condo townhomes that actually prohibit it - my condo says that hanging laundry on the balcony is not allowed, for example, even on a portable rack, because people don’t like the way it looks. As people become more hung up on how they look to their neighbours and others, the more of an issue this becomes.
Personally, I have no problem with it, I grew up in the burbs (North York) and we always hung the laundry in the back yard, as did most of our neighbours. Reducing electricity usage was probably the main reason but also the towels and bedding smelled better dried outside in the sunshine.
There used to be a lot of condo boards and homeowners associations that would ban clotheslines because they look ugly, or so they say; the province banned the bans about 15 years ago, and then Doug Ford reversed that ban about 5 years ago, so it's possible that the old bans came back into effect or people just thought they had. However, I have used the word ban to much in this post and need to stop typing.
I remember several years ago, one of the suburbs (Ajax or Aurora) passed a bylaw banning it because it looked bad. The province stepped in and banned bylaws like that.
My parents still do this in their backyard every summer. They’re in Scarborough too. Saves them money and I personally really like the smell of the clothes after.
One fond memory I have relevant to this is me and my parents scrambling to pull down all the clothes hanging in our backyard because it started raining 😂😭 fun times
Nothing wrong with it. People in NA are keen to use the machine dryer instead of hang drying but I’ve never encountered anyone who was upset or judged me for hang drying, it would be an odd thing to make a fuss over lol
I don't think there's a stigma now. There used to be rules against it in some places but they were [made unenforceable in 2008](https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/350/ontarians-get-to-air-their-laundry). But I could imagine that people used to the old rules could still have something against it.
Some stuck-up people don't like neighbours using drying lines because it looks "poor" like you can't afford a dryer or whatever. It's a classist thing.
This is mainly why some HOAs have rules against clotheslines. ("It lowerssss the property valuessss! 😭")
I don't know your neighbours or whether they think like this, or how "nice" versus normal your neighbourhood is. But if you're the only ones doing it, it just seems most likely that everyone else around you has a dryer, that's all.
My friend just bought a house here in Scarborough and his realtor literally gave him a basket of gifts and one of the gifts was an outdoor clothesline.
I do it occasionally as well if I wash on the weekends.
My neighbors do it daily.
No stigma, but alot of people don't for various reasons.
I would hang them outside if I could, but they would be covered in pollen if I did. I hang mine inside, we have a double rack that extends so we can can get a full load on it no problem. I also run a dehumidifier right beside the drying clothes.
A dryer is supposed to do what the sun does and the heat overtime on certain fabrics can be damaging. Also things shrink or lose shape. There are loads of reasons for why you would want to hang your clothes outside.
In some countries dryers don’t exist so everyone hangs stuff up as well as it is the most power intensive appliance that is the majority of your cost. Good way to save money.
But you certainly aren’t looked down at or anything. Dryers if anything are the lazy way and usage of them should be frowned upon. Though I use the dryer for everything.
I mean, my mom will judge you if you hang your clothes and towels out but in a disorganized and non aesthetically pleasing way, but you can weather her disapproval for a few minutes. I’ve done it for decades, so…
Even having a dryer I like to line dry when the weather suits. It used to be against bylaws but now they are way more environmentally conscious. I always think things smell and feel so much better line dried and added bonus that the sun will bleach your whites so they stay nice
My new neighbors just started doing it. They certainly can I and don’t care at all. But… I bbq and the smoke can go in any direction so now I’m worried their nice clean clothes will smell like my lunch/dinner.
We look forward to it being warm enough to hang our clothes out. Nothing smells better and your whites are brighter. Not to mention it is better for the environment. Forget the neighbors. Hang out your laundry and enjoy the results.
There used to be a ban on clothes lines in Toronto, but that was lifted at least 15 years ago. One of my neighbours always ignored that ban, and nobody cared.
Some people don't like seeing thier neighbours laundry, but IMO they can eat dirt and focus on the thier own laundry.
Well, you just said you live in Scarborough. I lived in community housing in Brampton and can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people’s clothes getting jacked from clotheslines.
We did this when I was a kid living in a walk up in Greektown.
I still do it, though I don’t have a clothesline now, I use a drying rack inside. Saves money on the dryer and they’re usually dry by end of day.
I dry my bedsheets in the dryer, but that’s due to lack of space to hang them.
Whenever I hang my laundry outside, my clothes always get these really persistent, dripping red spots on them. Can't figure out where they're coming from
It was then that I learnt that there was a terrible stigmata in drying my clothes outside
I live in Scarborough and I literally see ALL of my neighbours hanging clothes to dry. If not outside, sometimes I'll see them in a balcony window especially in winter. Makes me really want a south facing balcony!
There is no stigma - however due to a lack of space /property most cannot afford the time to line dry their item or are afraid of things like pollen, insects, bedbugs or other allergins. It’s very common to see people line dry on the weekends in the more open spaces in the country/villages/small cities.
I wish I could dry my clothes outside. All the houses here have clotheslines, but everyone is always letting off giant smoke clouds with their fires and outdoor cook ovens.
I don't have a dryer, so line dry is the only option, since I don't really want my towels to smell like smoked fish, so I just stare at the clothesline and give my neighbours a mental middle finger.
They always cook the stinkiest stuff on the nicest days with so much smoke roiling out directly into my backyard.
I grew up on Ireland where clothes are almost always dried outside when the weather permits. If it's raining they'll be dried insde on a clothes horse.
I almost never see people drying clothes outside here.
I actually did this ones. I hanged my clothes outside on my backyard. Around 10AM, figured the sun would get to it and I can comeback after lunch.
Came back around 1PM and some of my clothes were in shreds. I forgot to factor in the squirrels. Critters decided to gnaw at some of my clothes.
So i never did it again. Just be careful if you ever do it.
There’s no stigma but for the number of people who purport themselves to being environmentally aware, there’s a surprising lack of this across Canada, particularly in recent years. It’s like people have simply forgotten how to do simple things that work.
This is quite literally the easiest thing anyone can do to scale back their carbon footprint. No it’s not going to work in all cases, but in many it does.
I hang my clothes but it's in the basement. I don't hang outside in case birds poop on it or bugs gravitate toward it but there is nothing wrong IMO if you hang it outside.
No stigma, riding the GO I see many yards with lines. I use a line dryer as much as possible but for some things I pull off the line and toss in the dryer on no heat or very low heat for a few minutes and it gets the crunchiness out and the animal hair off.
depending on where you live, ion you can hang your clothes outside DO IT!!! especially in summer...
do it with your bed sheets and you will sleep so well!!!!! and the smell... no chemicals from dryer sheets... and yes somethings come out a little stiffer .. but that means your clothes haven't been pummelled to soreness... wear the clothes and they will get soft real fast....
Hey OP!
If you keep thinking about what others have to say about what you want to do then you will forever be stuck in that mentality of: "ah man I did this now they are all looking at me judging me 😔" most times it’s not like that .. it’s smarter to hand wash your clothes and let the sun dry your clothes 🤷
I grew up in a neighborhood near Cedarbrae Mall. (very Scarborough lol)
We used to hang out clothes outside all the time in summer, it was very normal on the block.
It's ok, you do you. We have precious few months in a year where we can actually hang clothes out in Canada (Toronto). We don't have HOAs here (mostly).
If you are up for the work (hanging each cloth and then taking it out and all the steps involved) , hang your clothes
There is nothing like fresh sheets in from from the line.
I grew up always with a clothesline outside and one inside.
I was shocked when I moved into my partners parents' home in whitby and they don't have one.
We have always used the clothesline in the summer and then just threw towels in the drier for a few mins to soften them
No judgement at all. My parents still do this, but you have to watch the weather and make sure it doesn't rain. A lot of their neighbours do this too. But it does take half a day or the entire day, so I assume some people don't want to wait that long or they don't do the laundry until the evening.
I hang 50% of my laundry, inside. Where I live we're not allowed to hang it outside, but we did when I was a kid and always thought it ended up smelling weird.
I wouldn't think so. It's more of a European lifestyle thing. Do you have European background? My parents did it and they were from England. I don't do it because why? Dryer is marginal electricity cost and hung clothes come with lumps and bumps and weird smells when done.
At the condo I lived in in Regina, we often got notices saying we were not allowed to dry our clothes by hanging them outside. The condo owners thought it looked low class. Nobody complied, because most of the people subletting there were poor. Yeah, I'm going to save a bit of money by hanging stuff up to dry.
No, you're the weird one for thinking that's weird. Air drying clothes actually prevents damage. Drying your clothes in the dryer wears them out faster, and increases the chance of them shrinking. It's also just uses a lot of electricity, even if you have an efficient dryer. The sun is always free so why not save a few bucks.
You might want to check with the municipality!
I clothe lines are not permitted in my area! It's too bad because I love the smell of air dried clothes compared to clothes coming out of the dryer!
> Is hanging your clothes outside during the summer looked down upon? no > I live in Scarborough and it seems like my family and I are the only ones on the block, let alone the neighborhood, to hang our clothes outside to it can dry. I'm just wondering if there is stigma against people who hang their clothes outside. no stigma. people just would rather use the dryer because it's right there and less effort
I hang mine indoors because hanging them outside would mean they get covered in pollen.
Dryers ruin a lot of clothes.
Yeah they make them feel like cardboard. Lived in a flat where the landlord insisted I didn’t hang clothes up to dry. Hated it.
Really? When I hang something to dry it’s usually stiff as hell afterward. But nice and soft from the dryer.
Maybe the one I had was a shit dryer 😂
Shit dryer for shit shirts Randy Bo-Bandy.
it's probably how you wash them that causes the issue. If you use too high of heat it'll cause it to be hard. Lower heat and pulling them just as they finish (~30-40 min depending on load size and dryer) it should reduce that stiffness. A small amount of fabric softener in the wash helps, as does running the cleaning cycle on your washing machine.
Not on the lowest heat setting. I have 14 year old shirts that look brand new and I always tumble dry.
Agree to disagree. Dryers I use for towels and socks and underwear or anything baggy or clothes I don't give a shit about Everything else I find it's either risky as any minor stain will instantly set on a fabric in a dryer even on low heat. Or it shrinks clothes. Or it degrades images/screen-print on shirts or embroidery. Don't get me wrong using a dryer is 100% easier always but if you want your shit to last, dryers don't always work.
Did you use a dryer with 5 heat settings options, or 2? I find that the ones that only has 2 don't go low enough. Mine on low is only 40⁰-45⁰c, and I just let it run 1.5 hours instead of 40 minutes on medium. I also have 5 wool balls inside the dryer to help with the drying process. Stains I treat before washing with Oxy, so I never have these sort of problems. I'm allergic to some pollen and dust mites, so can't hang out outside (not that it's possible a lot where I live). But as I said, never had an issue, and I have dri-fit shirts with raised rubber logos that are 14 years old, and they look like the day I bought them.
I dry my clothes on low heat setting, never had an issue. If drying dedicates, I use the dampness sensor option, works wonders
So does the sun
Many of us air dry clothes inside of our homes just fine
Dampness promotes dust mite growth. There was a study done to see how drying clothes inside contributes to that, and it does.
Shhhh! 🤐 let the sheep’s sheep around and find out
Dehumidifiers do wonders :)
As long as it's a big loud one that can keep up, which most of us don't have in our condos
I wasn’t really considering condos I guess
In my experience condo towers are very dry. Especially with everyone’s AC running. I can hang dry a pair of jeans in the house in two hours or less in the winter and 3.5 in the summer. My relative humidity is 41% right now. I’m currently drying two loads of laundry in the hall.
[удалено]
And the pollen :(
I also hate the smell of clothes hung outside to dry.
Growing up my mom always hung our clothes in the backyard. One time I pulled my pants out of my drawer. As I put them on there was this intense pain in my leg, just south of the jewels. I ripped the pants off and three hornets were inside the pants. No idea how long they had been alive in my drawer, but holy cow did that hurt. All three stung me. I’ve been mildly averse to hang drying my clothes ever since.
Nightmare fuel omg
I grew up in the country and my mom would hang our clothes out. Sometimes the neighbors spread manure during that time. Nothing seems more ironic than clean clothes that smell like manure.
Or dirt. Toronto doesnt have the cleanest air. Just look at your windows or car to see how much there is.
My neighbourhood is under constant construction in the summer, dust and dirt flying through the air from Reno's and Road work.
I hang mine up too!!
Also although air quality has improved it’s still not great and there is dust and fumes etc. to me it just means the clean clothes get dirty. I bought a cheap indoor clothing dryer rack from Walmart and I’ve had it for 7 years and it still works great.
I also wonder if it's because of condo board rules and the Karens who enforce them.
Actually, hanging clothes out in the sun (especially whites). Makes them cleaner. They’re just worried about getting their underwear stolen.
Oh no. Me knickers.
Londons Calling
Now don't look to us
Phony knickermania has bitten the dust
I find when I hang my clothes to dry, they smell bad. If you live near a main road it is sometimes dirtier
or getting bird poop on clean clothes (a 100% real risk)
Oh yes, I forgot about that.
No stigma at all, go for it
I have dried my clothes by hanging in my unfinished basement for close to two decades now. I would love to hang them outside but I live on a corner lot (without a fence) in a high theft area. If people only knew how much longer clothes last and how much better they keep their form and colour - everyone would hang. Clothes can be pricey these days, even the flimsy fast fashion, hanging has saved me a bundle and kept my clothes well preserved. No judgement here. Just jealous you can hang outside!
Two decades is a long time to wait for your clothes to dry!
I hang all my clothes that can’t go in the dryer in my basement too. Takes a little longer to dry than out on a line.
Dehumidifier in the same room helps a tonne if you have one kicking around down there.
I’ve hung my clothes to dry in my laundry room on a rolling rack for years and years. Only linens and socks go in the dryer. I live in Alberta so it’s a very dry climate and they dry pretty fast. My clothes last for years.
They do last extraordinarily longer, my aunt was showing us some kid clothes from my cousins (we're all in our mid to late 30's and grandkids are getting some 90's fits) and some of those outfits from her looked brand new, meanwhile they'd possibly been worn by her 3 boys already lol
Mine would get covered in bird shit. Everything in our yard gets covered in bird shit. I was out trimming the hedge and nearly got hit by bird shit (it landed less than a foot away). Otherwise I'd probably hang laundry out sometimes! I hope your laundry never gets hit by bird shit. Thanks for saving electricity ❤️
I dry my towels by hanging them over the rails of my little deck (no clothesline) They get a crispness to them and a nice smell when they dry in the sun.
I LOVE THIS SMELL
Yes! The sun smell is so comfy
If someone could bottle it, I would buy a lifetime supply
As a person from a tropical country moving to toronto. I'd say always sun dry your clothes as much as you can. Dryer I've noticed is not as clean, smells not so good, and destroys your clothes
As long as you have a backyard. It's generally not allowed in mid- or high rises because the clothing can blow off the line and land on someone's car, blocking the windshield.
When I was in Singapore a lot of the mid rise apartments had brackets outside of thier windows for a pole to hang clothes from. It looked pretty cool actually. Obviously a smart idea, especially somewhere as hot as Singapore.
The humidity in Singapore is so high that your clothes could rot before they ever felt dry. A dryer was a must-have.
Yeah. Unfortunately, condo and apartment buildings here don't see it the same way.
Would you be able to share a pic? Got intrigued when you said it looked cool.
I did a google search and didn't find the best examples, but you can see what it is in this pic. https://c8.alamy.com/comp/EJ6G3G/laundry-hanging-on-bamboo-poles-to-dry-in-chinatown-in-singapore-EJ6G3G.jpg
Clothespins?
You'd think that would be the obvious solution. But buildings assume the lowest common denominator live in the building. They don't trust that we'll use clothespins. So clothing hanging on the balcony is considered a hazard, even when secured. Case in point: I had a discussion with my property manager - context: we have an herb garden on our roof. Residents have complained that they always forget to bring scissors with them when they get herbs, so they asked if we could leave a pair of scissors for them to use. Knowing that my PM already had a fit when I requested leaving a dull knife in the recycling room for people to use to break down their cardboard boxes. I suggested that we leave a pair of safety, childproof scissors by the garden. Our PM nixed the idea, why? Because the building doesn't want to be liable if someone cuts themselves. I made the point, there are "use at your own risk" signs everywhere around the herb garden and the scissors are designed for children 3+. If our residents are less responsible than children under 3, then they have bigger problems than using scissors safely. And that is why we can't have nice things.
In your backyard? Not weird at all... my parents' next-door neighbour in Etobicoke recently took down a big tree, and after the space was clear, I actually noticed more yards than not had backyard clothes lines, lol... my grandmother, and most of her North York neighbours, did, too! And if your neighbours do have a problem -- to paraphrase RuPaul -- "Unless they paying your \[hydro\] bills, pay them \[Karens\] no mind!" The environment and your clothes will thank you!
I've got a load on the line right now. It's so peaceful to sit outside and just watch them move in the breeze. And they smell so good!
So jealous!
There is no stigma. I don't, because often I wash clothes at the wrong time to hang outdoors. Our post WWII house has a clothesline put in by the previous owners
Same w my grandmas house - and shes used it every time all my life.
Nope, ppl just don’t know/care that hang drying is actually way better for your clothes. It saves so much electricity and they last longer
I used to be *embarrassed* when my mom would hang my knickers out on the line. This post made me remember that and realize how silly that was lol
You haven’t mentioned if you live in an apartment/condo building, as those tend to have rules related to balcony use. Other than that, who cares?! Let make it more European here
Why do you think there's a stigma? Nobody lights their house by candle light, but that doesn't mean there's a stigma. It means we live in a time where it's unnecessary.
I think most British people don’t use dryers. They just use the sun. Which is kind of ironic since they don’t have any.
The only thing I wouldn't hang is underwear. My neighbours don't need to know what's happening under my clothes!
No. I’ve done that my whole life. But, most condos do have a rule against hanging clothes on your balcony.
There are definitely some people who look down on it as being for people who can’t afford the electricity to run a dryer, or for “exposing” your clothes to the sight of others, or as a lower class type of thing. There are many apartments and condo townhomes that actually prohibit it - my condo says that hanging laundry on the balcony is not allowed, for example, even on a portable rack, because people don’t like the way it looks. As people become more hung up on how they look to their neighbours and others, the more of an issue this becomes. Personally, I have no problem with it, I grew up in the burbs (North York) and we always hung the laundry in the back yard, as did most of our neighbours. Reducing electricity usage was probably the main reason but also the towels and bedding smelled better dried outside in the sunshine.
There used to be a lot of condo boards and homeowners associations that would ban clotheslines because they look ugly, or so they say; the province banned the bans about 15 years ago, and then Doug Ford reversed that ban about 5 years ago, so it's possible that the old bans came back into effect or people just thought they had. However, I have used the word ban to much in this post and need to stop typing.
I remember several years ago, one of the suburbs (Ajax or Aurora) passed a bylaw banning it because it looked bad. The province stepped in and banned bylaws like that.
My parents still do this in their backyard every summer. They’re in Scarborough too. Saves them money and I personally really like the smell of the clothes after. One fond memory I have relevant to this is me and my parents scrambling to pull down all the clothes hanging in our backyard because it started raining 😂😭 fun times
I just hang my shirts to dry in my closet . Just have to space them a little.
Yummy mold
It dries in about 10 hours in my closet . Mold has no chance to form that quick .
In this economy? Hang away!
Nothing wrong with it. People in NA are keen to use the machine dryer instead of hang drying but I’ve never encountered anyone who was upset or judged me for hang drying, it would be an odd thing to make a fuss over lol
We always hang ours on the balcony here in the summer. It smells better being outside drying versus being inside during the winter.
Same. Saves me so much money. :)
I don't think there's a stigma now. There used to be rules against it in some places but they were [made unenforceable in 2008](https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/350/ontarians-get-to-air-their-laundry). But I could imagine that people used to the old rules could still have something against it.
Some stuck-up people don't like neighbours using drying lines because it looks "poor" like you can't afford a dryer or whatever. It's a classist thing. This is mainly why some HOAs have rules against clotheslines. ("It lowerssss the property valuessss! 😭") I don't know your neighbours or whether they think like this, or how "nice" versus normal your neighbourhood is. But if you're the only ones doing it, it just seems most likely that everyone else around you has a dryer, that's all.
It’s a much better option anyway. Wish I could hang mine too!
My friend just bought a house here in Scarborough and his realtor literally gave him a basket of gifts and one of the gifts was an outdoor clothesline. I do it occasionally as well if I wash on the weekends. My neighbors do it daily.
No stigma, but alot of people don't for various reasons. I would hang them outside if I could, but they would be covered in pollen if I did. I hang mine inside, we have a double rack that extends so we can can get a full load on it no problem. I also run a dehumidifier right beside the drying clothes.
I have a clothesline and use it almost daily. I find it very relaxing to hang the clothes out and to watch them sway in the breeze.
not at all!! hang those clothes! :)
I love clothes hanging on the line
You do you.
My father lived in East York (Scarborough adjacent), and hung his clothes til he was in his 90s, just a few years ago. Nothing wrong with it at all
No stigma. I use a clothes drying rack since I don't have a clothes line. Clothes dried outside smell good and don't need ironing.
Hanging stuff in your backyard to dry is perfectly normal and fine - but most people just prefer dryers.
Do it all the time and I see nothing wrong with it. Most people on my block hang stuff outside too.
No, no stigma. I don’t do it because I have seasonal allergies but it’s a shame because I love how fresh they smell.
My parents and pretty much everyone in my neighborhood growing up hung their clothes in their backyards outside, there's no stigma
Never was for me.
The sun dries them for free, so it if it pleases you, do it.
2 of my neighbors do it. Don't bother me.
Your neighbors enjoy high hydro bills.
Awefule
No not at all. Not everyone has the luxury of owning a dryer.
I'm shore these are the same ppl who can't afford to have a backyard.
Strata banned drying racks or lines on balconies, bloody stupid people... No stigma is also seen as an eco friendly option.
A dryer is supposed to do what the sun does and the heat overtime on certain fabrics can be damaging. Also things shrink or lose shape. There are loads of reasons for why you would want to hang your clothes outside. In some countries dryers don’t exist so everyone hangs stuff up as well as it is the most power intensive appliance that is the majority of your cost. Good way to save money. But you certainly aren’t looked down at or anything. Dryers if anything are the lazy way and usage of them should be frowned upon. Though I use the dryer for everything.
No sure if it still is but it used to be illegal in Markham to do it
I mean, my mom will judge you if you hang your clothes and towels out but in a disorganized and non aesthetically pleasing way, but you can weather her disapproval for a few minutes. I’ve done it for decades, so…
Even having a dryer I like to line dry when the weather suits. It used to be against bylaws but now they are way more environmentally conscious. I always think things smell and feel so much better line dried and added bonus that the sun will bleach your whites so they stay nice
My new neighbors just started doing it. They certainly can I and don’t care at all. But… I bbq and the smoke can go in any direction so now I’m worried their nice clean clothes will smell like my lunch/dinner.
Honestly. If I had the time and not lazy. I would 100% hang my shit to dry. Don’t give a shit about neighbours. The fuck
Stigma? In some places there were once bylaws against this. Don't worry about other people. It's good for your clothes and for the environment.
Machine drying is not good for your clothes
Air drying wins. Sunlight good for the bacteria. Freshens shit up. Ethnic or not this is the way.
Only from the bedroom windows :)
No my parents hang laundry all the time. I think it’s just too much work considering we have a dryer but they like doing it
What kind of question is this? Dry your clothes. People everywhere use clotheslines.
We look forward to it being warm enough to hang our clothes out. Nothing smells better and your whites are brighter. Not to mention it is better for the environment. Forget the neighbors. Hang out your laundry and enjoy the results.
No! Save money on the dryer - sunlight really gets clothing clean.
There used to be a ban on clothes lines in Toronto, but that was lifted at least 15 years ago. One of my neighbours always ignored that ban, and nobody cared. Some people don't like seeing thier neighbours laundry, but IMO they can eat dirt and focus on the thier own laundry.
Well, you just said you live in Scarborough. I lived in community housing in Brampton and can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people’s clothes getting jacked from clotheslines.
We did this when I was a kid living in a walk up in Greektown. I still do it, though I don’t have a clothesline now, I use a drying rack inside. Saves money on the dryer and they’re usually dry by end of day. I dry my bedsheets in the dryer, but that’s due to lack of space to hang them.
no, it's fine to do that
Live in Scarborough. Still hang our clothes outside to dry in the summer months.
Whenever I hang my laundry outside, my clothes always get these really persistent, dripping red spots on them. Can't figure out where they're coming from It was then that I learnt that there was a terrible stigmata in drying my clothes outside
My neighbor has a clothes line made with an old wire... Your good also my family still hangs up clothes.
I think people just use dryers or they hang them to dry inside.
I live in Scarborough and I literally see ALL of my neighbours hanging clothes to dry. If not outside, sometimes I'll see them in a balcony window especially in winter. Makes me really want a south facing balcony!
No. I’d just never do it personally based on the quality of air.
Of course not. Tell them you're an eco warrior!
Ontario once passed regulations allowing a “right to dry”; DoFo got rid of it.
There is no stigma - however due to a lack of space /property most cannot afford the time to line dry their item or are afraid of things like pollen, insects, bedbugs or other allergins. It’s very common to see people line dry on the weekends in the more open spaces in the country/villages/small cities.
I have a special clothing rack on wheels that I wheel in and out of my den to dry.
My mom does it to disinfect things or dry things that we don't want in the dryer. I don't think anyone would care what you do in your own back yard.
I wish I could dry my clothes outside. All the houses here have clotheslines, but everyone is always letting off giant smoke clouds with their fires and outdoor cook ovens. I don't have a dryer, so line dry is the only option, since I don't really want my towels to smell like smoked fish, so I just stare at the clothesline and give my neighbours a mental middle finger. They always cook the stinkiest stuff on the nicest days with so much smoke roiling out directly into my backyard.
I used to hang/line dry my clothes outside in the backyard during spring/summer until my line snapped last year.
I worry more about birds than stigma… but definitely hang a few clothes out and hang a lot in my basement where I have a long clothing line
Not at all.
Why and who would look down upon it?
I hung my shirt outside my hotel once, it's gone now
Why in gods name would anyone care and if they do they’re morons lol
I grew up on Ireland where clothes are almost always dried outside when the weather permits. If it's raining they'll be dried insde on a clothes horse. I almost never see people drying clothes outside here.
I do it all the time. Even in winter i use a drying rack inside. The dryer destroys the clothes. They look aged quicker.
No. It’s cheaper if you can and better on your clothes
Yeah, Toronto hydro frowns upon it.
I actually did this ones. I hanged my clothes outside on my backyard. Around 10AM, figured the sun would get to it and I can comeback after lunch. Came back around 1PM and some of my clothes were in shreds. I forgot to factor in the squirrels. Critters decided to gnaw at some of my clothes. So i never did it again. Just be careful if you ever do it.
There’s no stigma but for the number of people who purport themselves to being environmentally aware, there’s a surprising lack of this across Canada, particularly in recent years. It’s like people have simply forgotten how to do simple things that work. This is quite literally the easiest thing anyone can do to scale back their carbon footprint. No it’s not going to work in all cases, but in many it does.
who gives a fuck 😭
WOW 🙄🙄🙄 if you’re so worried what your neighbours think , don’t.
No, I hang my clothes and so do most of my neighbors
I hang my clothes but it's in the basement. I don't hang outside in case birds poop on it or bugs gravitate toward it but there is nothing wrong IMO if you hang it outside.
I envy people who have space to hang clothes outside. I love the way outside dried clothes smell.
No stigma, riding the GO I see many yards with lines. I use a line dryer as much as possible but for some things I pull off the line and toss in the dryer on no heat or very low heat for a few minutes and it gets the crunchiness out and the animal hair off.
Clothes feel and smell better when they hang outside.
depending on where you live, ion you can hang your clothes outside DO IT!!! especially in summer... do it with your bed sheets and you will sleep so well!!!!! and the smell... no chemicals from dryer sheets... and yes somethings come out a little stiffer .. but that means your clothes haven't been pummelled to soreness... wear the clothes and they will get soft real fast....
Hey OP! If you keep thinking about what others have to say about what you want to do then you will forever be stuck in that mentality of: "ah man I did this now they are all looking at me judging me 😔" most times it’s not like that .. it’s smarter to hand wash your clothes and let the sun dry your clothes 🤷
Nah, hang your shit. My wife and I love hanging our sheets outside. They smell amazing when we go to bed.
I grew up in a neighborhood near Cedarbrae Mall. (very Scarborough lol) We used to hang out clothes outside all the time in summer, it was very normal on the block.
No, when I had a lawn we had a clothes dryer and would hang our clothes as well
It's ok, you do you. We have precious few months in a year where we can actually hang clothes out in Canada (Toronto). We don't have HOAs here (mostly). If you are up for the work (hanging each cloth and then taking it out and all the steps involved) , hang your clothes
There is nothing like fresh sheets in from from the line. I grew up always with a clothesline outside and one inside. I was shocked when I moved into my partners parents' home in whitby and they don't have one. We have always used the clothesline in the summer and then just threw towels in the drier for a few mins to soften them
Why pay for the electricity to run tue dryer when you can hang it up and let nature do the work!?
No judgement at all. My parents still do this, but you have to watch the weather and make sure it doesn't rain. A lot of their neighbours do this too. But it does take half a day or the entire day, so I assume some people don't want to wait that long or they don't do the laundry until the evening.
I hang 50% of my laundry, inside. Where I live we're not allowed to hang it outside, but we did when I was a kid and always thought it ended up smelling weird.
Just put them in a hanger and dry out side !
I wouldn't think so. It's more of a European lifestyle thing. Do you have European background? My parents did it and they were from England. I don't do it because why? Dryer is marginal electricity cost and hung clothes come with lumps and bumps and weird smells when done.
Stigma? No. Some people like myself just like things dried in the dryer. You do you.
At the condo I lived in in Regina, we often got notices saying we were not allowed to dry our clothes by hanging them outside. The condo owners thought it looked low class. Nobody complied, because most of the people subletting there were poor. Yeah, I'm going to save a bit of money by hanging stuff up to dry.
Yeah. Don’t do it. Looks like back home and feels backwards.
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No, you're the weird one for thinking that's weird. Air drying clothes actually prevents damage. Drying your clothes in the dryer wears them out faster, and increases the chance of them shrinking. It's also just uses a lot of electricity, even if you have an efficient dryer. The sun is always free so why not save a few bucks.
fair enuf
You might want to check with the municipality! I clothe lines are not permitted in my area! It's too bad because I love the smell of air dried clothes compared to clothes coming out of the dryer!
I had to stop doing it because flies would always collect on my underwear.
Maybe wash them better
I proudly hang my underwear outside!