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Bring back the clotheslines!

Brad Bowers

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,187
We had a clothesline when I was a kid, used it all the time in the summer. I don't think I could use one half the year now, as my allergies are bad enough as it is without having pollen stuck in my clothes and sheets!

Brad
 

magneto

Practically Family
Messages
542
Location
Port Chicago, Calif.
I guess I am also a member of the "childhood clothesline club". I must be weird because I *hate* towels dried in the dryer! They feel mushy and non-absorbent! Now with a nice naturally dried towel, you can dry off *and* exfoliate at the same time! :)
 

Miss Neecerie

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,616
Location
The land of Sinatra, Hoboken
jamespowers said:
No way! I can remember clothesline dried towels growing up. If I want sandpaper I will go to the hardware store and buy it. :eek: :p
My mother always manged to screw up my expensive Guess T shirts back then too. Red on the front and pink on the back? Uh, no thanks.
This is, of course, leaving out how birds, dust in the air and dogs that love to eat clothes might affect your wardrobe. :eek: It has all happened to me.

Regards to all,

J


Well there's your problem right there....Guess t-shirts? oh my......its perhaps not such a great tragedy that they were all ruined.
 

Wild Root

Gone Home
Messages
5,532
Location
Monrovia California.
Oh man... when I was a teen if any clothes were lost it was a big deal! When money is tight and you want to look good, each item bought is like the "Shroud" to that person! lol

My mother only dried the bed sheets and so on the line because it used a lot of butane to dry them. I agree that sun dried towels are like sandpaper! Aarrrrr, I used to spend the night at my Grandmother's place one in a wile when the folks were out of town and man, I thought I was scraping skin off! I'd spend more time in the tub back then to put off drying off! lol lol lol

Give me a nice soft shirt or towel from the hot dryer! Ahhhhhh, April Fresh!

=WR=
 

Marc Chevalier

Gone Home
Messages
18,192
Location
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
magneto said:
I guess I am also a member of the "childhood clothesline club". I must be weird because I *hate* towels dried in the dryer! They feel mushy and non-absorbent! Now with a nice naturally dried towel, you can dry off *and* exfoliate at the same time! :)
Towels like that are a form of penance. You'll get to heaven faster with them. ;)
 

Rosie

One Too Many
Messages
1,827
Location
Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, NY
I must ask, what are you guys doing to these towels to get this "sandpaper" like consistencey? lol I don't think I've ever experienced that. You know, there's a new invention out called, fabric softner, give it a try sometimes guys. And, my things have never been hit by a belly aching bird though, I think of it everytime I put my clothes out. :eusa_doh:
 

silhouette53

One of the Regulars
Messages
212
Location
Birmingham, England
VintageJess said:
I know that lots of neighborhood homeowners associations don't allow clothes lines because they are considered unsightly and are believed to lower property values.

Jessica


I seem to remember something similar here in Britain a while back ...... some self opinionated 'person' ( no cuss words on the site;) ) in what might be termed an 'upmarket area' had complained that someone living nearby had had the temerity to hang washing out, which ,in her opinion, was "lowering the tone of the area" How false and pretentious can you get ??? If I ever win the lottery and move into a large detached residence in an exclusive area, the first thing I'll do is have a heap of washing hanging out just to annoy people like that ! lol Actually, I wouldn't, 'cos I'd get me a little farmhouse with a couple acres of land way out in the countryside away from people.
I'd still hang out the washing though !!
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,766
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Bring back the clothesline? I didn't know it had ever been away!

I've never had a dryer in my life -- always used either a porch or a backyard line, just like my mother did and my grandmother before her. Right now, I've got three lines strung out back between the side of the house and the board fence at the rear of the yard, and I load 'em up every Monday, weather permitting.

Now if I could just find a new set of wringer rollers for my old Easy washer, I'd be all set!

Lizzie from Maine
 
Rosie said:
I must ask, what are you guys doing to these towels to get this "sandpaper" like consistencey? lol I don't think I've ever experienced that. You know, there's a new invention out called, fabric softner, give it a try sometimes guys.

Fabric softener is a relatively new thing on the market. Back then there was no such thing and most people didn't take to it because they were afraid of what it did to clothes. [huh]
I know that if you put a clothesline full of towels out in the California sun to dry, in say August, they will dry in about twenty minutes or less and you will be able to take them off the line stiff as an ironing board.:eek: Sandpaper is likely smoother. They also double as a club to knock out burglars. :p

Regards,

J
 

magneto

Practically Family
Messages
542
Location
Port Chicago, Calif.
Naturally-dried clothing stiffness

jamespowers said:
Fabric softener is a relatively new thing on the market. Back then there was no such thing and most people didn't take to it because they were afraid of what it did to clothes. [huh]
I know that if you put a clothesline full of towels out in the California sun to dry, in say August, they will dry in about twenty minutes or less and you will be able to take them off the line stiff as an ironing board.:eek: Sandpaper is likely smoother. They also double as a club to knock out burglars. :p

Since I am a cleaning fan...
Yep, the modern petro-chemical fabric softeners are new, but in the old days they used "Borax" powder added to wash water as a softener. You can still buy this, it has come back into popularity as it is a more "natural" product.

Another reason why clothes will be stiff from clothesline is that most people use *way* too much harsh detergent nowadays, and it doesn't get completely rinsed out, stays in the cloth and dries stiff. Also earlier generations of laundry soaps were not detergent-based, but actual soap flakes or powdered soap, which is less harsh and "stiffening". (Handwash a tea towel or something with Ivory Soap, another with say, Tide, dry them on a line and you'll see a difference).

Last, everything in the old days was ironed not worn straight off the line. The steam and heat of ironing softens things up.
 

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