Clothes say: ‘Let’s hang out’

By JOANN JONES

The 29-year-old phoned her mother to announce she was “going green.”

“I’m going to start hanging my clothes out instead of using the dryer,” she said. “What kind of rope do I need, Mom? And what are those things I need to hang the clothes?”

“You need a clothesline, and those things are called clothespins,” her mother replied with a chuckle.

This is a true story, but the fact is, clothesline drying is almost a thing of the past. On a drive from Salem to Austintown along routes 165 and 46 on a very sunny day, one could see only four homes with clotheslines in use.

Clothesline drying is good for the environment because it reduces greenhouse gas emissions caused by dryers. It is also good for the household budget because the home is using less gas or electricity.

Making a difference

According to the web site of Project Laundry List, electric dryers use five to 10 per cent of residential electricity in the United States. Project Laundry List is a nonprofit organization that “aims to demonstrate that personal choices can make a difference for the Earth and its people.” The site, www.laundrylist.org, lists 10 reasons for hanging clothes out to dry as opposed to using a dryer.

“I would think using a gas dryer for 45 minutes is equal to the output of using a furnace for the same amount of time,” said Jim Petuch, the director of the Mahoning County Green Team. “Although the energy savings is minuscule, that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t be doing it. I highly urge people to do it.”

Petuch said he personally dries about 90 percent of his clothing on a line either outside or in his basement. The only time he uses his dryer is if he needs to dry something in a hurry.

“I remember the old days when everyone had a clothesline,” he added. “Unfortunately, people in newer communities may not even be allowed to have a clothesline. They have to go by certain rules.”

What Petuch means is that many homeowners associations prohibit the use of clotheslines for aesthetic reasons. This has become so commonplace in condominium associations and municipalities that some states have or are considering “right to dry” laws to allow people to use clotheslines. Florida is the only state to guarantee clothesline drying, while Vermont and New Hampshire had bills in their legislature this year. Legislation in Utah allows municipalities to choose whether to create a right to dry.

Petuch said he didn’t know of any local communities or homeowners’ associations that prohibited clotheslines.

Not banned

Although few homes in Canfield appear to have clothelines, legislation does not prohibit them, according to the city manager’s office.

“We do have a property maintenance code,” city manager Chuck Tieche said. “If someone left clothes out for a long time and that had a blightly influence on the neighborhood, we could use that as a general code.”

For Alma and Bruce Burns, that’s a good thing. The Burnses recently returned to the area and bought a home in Canfield after living in New England for 41 years. Bruce graduated from Chaney High School in 1952, and his wife was a 1956 graduate of South High School. And Alma hangs out her laundry all the time.

“I’ve always hung out my clothes,” she said, after rushing to bring in the laundry as it started to rain. “The clothes last longer, look nicer, and don’t shrink. At one time I also had a wringer washer. It cleaned the clothes better.”

“I also hung them out in the winter when we lived in Massachusetts,” she added, “and I plan to do that here, too.”

Alma Burns said she has an electric dryer that she uses to dry towels and sheets.

Social aspect

Clothesline drying proponents also say that it gets people outside to interact with neighbors while also providing a little light exercise. Bruce Burns said they just recently met one of their new neighbors, who is a schoolteacher. He and his wife are retired school library aides, so they found something in common with their neighbor.

“I walk from one end of the house to the other to dry my clothes outside,” Alma Burns said. “But that doesn’t bother me.”