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No dryers allowed in Europe?


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There have been threads where those of you living in Europe have said you're not allowed to use clothes dryers. Am I remembering correctly?

 

I was talking to dh about recycling and using energy, etc, and blurted out, "Well, you know it's illegal in Europe to use your dryer!" and he said, "Whaaa..? Illegal--really?"

 

And then I felt a little foolish and wondered if I imagined the whole thing, or what the real story was.

 

So, can you guys over the pond let me know what's the deal with your clothes dryers? Is it illegal? Strongly frowned upon? How is non-dryer use enforced? Is there any enforcement?

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I don't know about the rest of Europe, but I can tell you that dryers are not illegal in France for sure. My mother has one and she isn't a rule breaker lol In the summer she will mostly hang the laundry outside but she absolutely uses her dryer in the winter or rainy weather.

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Guest Cindie2dds

Well, we have friends (German, not Americans) who have moved back to Germany a few years ago. We've visited several times and used their dryer. You might be thinking of the etiquette there. Since there are so many people who live in four-plexes, there are no showers after 10 pm, no hanging out laundry on Sunday, etc. We did the standard American faux pas when we were there.... several times. :lol:

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When last I visited Germany a couple of years back, only two of the eight families I visited with had dryers (this included one very wealthy family with an indoor pool). Of the two families with dryers, only one used it to dry clothes all the way - the other one just used it to put the towels in long enough that they weren't stiff boards. People just don't mind hanging their clothes to dry.

 

But certainly not illegal, just uncommon.

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After I'd blurted it out to dh, "Dryers are illegal in Europe!" I realized that it sounded ridiculous. But I do know that there was a thread where some of the people who live in Europe (and maybe the Australians?) were pointing out that they don't use dryers. It sounded as if it were seriously frowned upon.

 

But maybe I was reading more into it than was meant. I keep trying to find the thread, but aren't having much luck.

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I think it's just more common to hang clothes. I had a dryer in Turkey and used it a lot (had an infant so we were going through a lot of clothes) but many of my neighbors and friends just hung clothes instead of drying. I'd say using the dryer is more a convenience when necessary, not a standard practice. I've actually started hanging more.

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We lived in France and had a dryer, but dh's mother still doesn't have one. Dh says people in Europe are paid less than in America, and energy is expensive, so dryers have taken longer to be as common as they are in America.

 

We spent 6 mos. in 1999 in France, and the wife of an engineer told me she was considering getting a tumble dryer, but they were expensive and used a lot of energy, so she was hesitating. I remember being surprised to hear that, not having known anyone personally in the U.S. who didn't have a dryer.

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They are legal in Spain, but they are not very common. I think they are seen more as a luxury than a necessity and as far as I am aware their HOAs don't have regulations regarding where or when you can hang your clothes as long as it's in your property. I remember when I moved to the US and learned about these regulations I thought it was really stupid and wasteful.

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No they are not illegal here. Most people would have one, but it's not unusual for it to sit there unused for most of the year. Only people on very comfortable wages would dry everything in it. Most people would hang their washing out, then use it to finish things off. Washing will dry in an hour or two during summer, but as we head toward winter, clothes could be out there all week and never get quite dry. At the moment mine dries in two days, providing it doesn't rain. It's getting close to "never quite dry" time of year though.

 

I would say people's primary reason for avoiding dryers is the cost of running it, but most people consider it environmentally unfriendly.

 

Rosie

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The part of Australia where I am from, people who use dryers year round are considered lazy. I line dry all my washing. in the winter I hang it under the veranda roof.

 

My mother-in -law in Canada doesn't have a dryer, she hangs her wash in her basement year round.

 

I have never owned a dryer and will never get one.

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I line dry all my washing. in the winter I hang it under the veranda roof.

 

 

When I lived in China I had a semi-enclosed balcony which was perfect. And this house has ceilings that are too low for the kind of drying rack I had in London. No basement. I do hang up a few things indoors on a small rack, but not sheets and things. Oh well.

 

Laura

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I might have mentioned before that dryers were unusual in Spain. I think the big reason is that they take a lot of electricity and if the condo we rented which seemed very nice was any indication, the electicity wasn't very dependable. We couldn't use a refrigerator, a stove top and a dishwasher at the same time.

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People in most other countries pay quite a bit for electricity, much more than Americans do. Especially during seasons that are relatively warm and dry, hanging things out to dry (the traditional option in all societies, whether we like to admit it or not) is far more economical.

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People in most other countries pay quite a bit for electricity, much more than Americans do. Especially during seasons that are relatively warm and dry, hanging things out to dry (the traditional option in all societies, whether we like to admit it or not) is far more economical.

 

Speaking of economics, before the recent financial collapse, Europeans had (in general) much higher savings rates than Americans. So the average European was saving ten percent of his income, but viewing spending money on electricity for drying clothing as frivolous. Whereas the average American was not even saving one percent of income, but calling the use of a dryer a necessity.

 

Just one way to look at it.

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So the average European was saving ten percent of his income, but viewing spending money on electricity for drying clothing as frivolous. Whereas the average American was not even saving one percent of income, but calling the use of a dryer a necessity.

 

 

And speaking of what's illegal in the area of clothes drying, while it's not illegal in Europe to own a dryer, in many US neighborhoods with Homeowners Associations, it's against the rules to hang your wash outside.

 

So you could say it's illegal in some parts of the US to not own a dryer. Kinda crazy, if you think about it.

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Speaking of economics, before the recent financial collapse, Europeans had (in general) much higher savings rates than Americans. So the average European was saving ten percent of his income, but viewing spending money on electricity for drying clothing as frivolous. Whereas the average American was not even saving one percent of income, but calling the use of a dryer a necessity.

 

Just one way to look at it.

I hear you. My husband has been asked by people for loans for such essentials as a vacation, diamonds for the wife, and other life saving adventures, mostly by people who have new cars and a brand new expensive mobile device. (No one has bothered to ask me. I must look mean.)

 

I find it interesting the issue of unplugging electrical devices. Apparently Americans are now considering doing this, considering the waste has now been revealed, but my in-laws never leave things plugged in that they're not using, and actually the outlets themselves have an on/off button. But I think if the "trouble" of unplugging something is too much for people, so the process of air drying clothes seems overwhelming!

 

Personally I love air drying clothes, but don't have a great space for it. I might get a portable thingy though.

 

I love seeing people's clothes hanging on the line. I've been known to take photos of people's wash flapping in the breeze. I am not sure what people think when they see me taking photos of their laundry, though. My favorite are the lines used by people in upstairs apartments, where they hang it over the street.

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Dryers are legal here in Germany, but in our building, only two of six families have them. In the laundry room there are about six clotheslines that stretch from wall to wall, and they are partitioned off for the six tennets. Everyone but us also has a huge drying rack that they use (and I'd like to get one - just haven't yet).

 

On a side note, the dryers here are not vented to the outside. We have a huge condenser (I believe that is what they call it) that collects the water from the dryer and after each load we dump it out in a floor drain! Washers here take about 1:45 (colors) - 2:30 (whites) to complete a load and the dryers take about 1:50 to dry. Crazy!

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I grew up in California with no dryer. My mother still doesn't have a dryer there. But since I've moved to the midwest, I've found a dryer to be a big help for our allergies. When I've hung clothes on the line to dry, it either rains, or I have to leave them out so long that they get covered in allergens. If we all weren't so allergic, I might be more inclined to do it, but it's no fun having clean clothes that make us sneeze.

 

We got a hand me down dryer from the neighbors. I have never used dryer sheets, but they did. It took WEEKS for the smell of dryer sheets to get out of that dryer completely. At first, it worse than hanging the clothes outside to pick up dust and pollutants. For awhile, I only dried towels in there because of the smell.

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We didn't know anyone with a dryer in Germany. In England, we knew a few people who had them, but didn't use them for everything. There are also a lot of laundrymats in England, and they have dryers there. Our small town in Germany had no laundrymats, and so when our washing machine acted up, we had to handwash everything until it got fixed!!!

 

I have owned a dryer for about 6 months of my 23 married years. In the summer, I like hanging things outside. In the winter, I like adding moisture to the house. It's always seemed crazy to me to have a dryer to take moisture out of your clothes, and a humidifier to add moisture to the air of your house.

 

I often get behind on laundry a bit in the fall, and the spring - when it's too warm for the heat to be on, but the weather is damp. Things just don't dry quickly! This year, I've started heading to the laundrymat every so often to dry things and catch up!

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And speaking of what's illegal in the area of clothes drying, while it's not illegal in Europe to own a dryer, in many US neighborhoods with Homeowners Associations, it's against the rules to hang your wash outside.

 

So you could say it's illegal in some parts of the US to not own a dryer. Kinda crazy, if you think about it.

 

Our HOA does not permit it. :(

 

I used to do several loads of laundry twice a week. But I am trying to reduce the use of the dryer. So I put things in for 10 minutes, then pull them out and hang them on a rack. (I read about that here on the boards). Since my rack can hold only 1 load of laundry - I am now doing one load of laundry every day. It's been an adjustment since I'd really prefer to have 1 or 2 "big" laundry days. But I'm sure I'm saving on gas & electricity.

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On a side note, the dryers here are not vented to the outside. We have a huge condenser (I believe that is what they call it) that collects the water from the dryer and after each load we dump it out in a floor drain! Washers here take about 1:45 (colors) - 2:30 (whites) to complete a load and the dryers take about 1:50 to dry. Crazy!

Oh wow. I read an article once about traditional German washing and ironing techniques; it sounded quite extensive (lots of boiling, I think). I admire anyone who is that thorough.

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The part of Australia where I am from, people who use dryers year round are considered lazy. I line dry all my washing. in the winter I hang it under the veranda roof.

 

My mother-in -law in Canada doesn't have a dryer, she hangs her wash in her basement year round.

 

I have never owned a dryer and will never get one.

 

I live in America and kinda feel that way. I grew up poor so there was no dryer.. even the so called poor in America have dryers now.

 

We live a comfortable middle class life style. I own a dryer but only use it when I just have to have something dry or soften clothes (like a 5-10 min cycle)

 

I would tell people I work with about hanging the clothes out. They were all in shock. The going statement was I remember my grandmother doing it.

 

Seriously I am not one of these people that think people are destroying planet. I don't' believe it at all but for all those so into that it seem even in America the great new thing would be to hang their clothes on the line:D

 

I can see the multi millionaire left wing stars having a clothes line or a clothes line outside of the Whitehouse lawn:D Go Green, hang out your clothes, don't be lazy! Save the planet!

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1. Dryers are definitely not illegal.

 

2. Some Europeans don't use the dryer because the believe it wears out the clothes faster (but don't seem to mind the 2 1/2 hour boil cycle).

 

3. AT MIL's apt in Switz, you have to pay for the washer but the dryer is free, so I don't think they hang their clothes because of the cost of electricity. They also have a room in the basement (which is heated) to hang clothes in.

 

4. European washers spin at much higher speeds than American top-loaders, so clothes dry faster.

Edited by In The Great White North
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Dear friends of mine live in Scotland and have a dryer. It's not illegal; it's just not that common. Costs for utilities are much higher there, so it's just another way to save both energy and money. I'll be honest, though, it has always perplexed me as the climate there is soooo wet!

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I lived in Scotland for about a year a long time ago. I had a washer, but I hung the clothes on a special clothes rack inside. It was often rainy so hanging things outside would not work well. The rack was on the ceiling and it had a little device that would lower it for me to put the clothes on and then I would raise it up to the ceiling to dry.

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When we lived off post in Germany, the military provided us with a dryer. It was of the correct voltage but for some reason was a pay dryer of the kind that you find at a laundry mat. There was a space in the basement to hook it up. Of course, we used it all the time but occassionally the landlord, who shared the house with us, would want to use it and she would give up money to run it. Most of the time she hung her clothes on drying racks inside the house though. There were definitely rules regarding times when dryers and event toilets or showers could be used.

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Since my rack can hold only 1 load of laundry - I am now doing one load of laundry every day. It's been an adjustment since I'd really prefer to have 1 or 2 "big" laundry days. But I'm sure I'm saving on gas & electricity.

 

Have you thougt of getting more racks? We have four that fold away for storage.

 

Do you find that your children wear less items of clothing more often because the favourites are clean more often? Mine like to wear the favourites as soon as they're clean.

 

Some Europeans don't use the dryer because the believe it wears out the clothes faster (but don't seem to mind the 2 1/2 hour boil cycle)

 

My sisters and friends in the UK and aunt in Netherlands all have front loaders, but mostly wash their clothes at around 30 oC (86 oF), although the machines do offer a boil cycle if needed. The machines have shorter cycles for economy loads and longer if the wash is really dirty.

 

All hang their wash out in the yard if weather permits. The aunt in the Netherlands has a 'washing room' in a brick shed in her back yard. It has a basin, washng machine and drier. The drier gets used for emergencies only and then gets set to off-peak times to save costs. One sister has a utility room off of her kitchen with the same use. Both have central heating in the room and can hang clothes from the roof or have racks that fit over the radiator for clothes as well.

The other sister does not own a drier (and doesn't have space for one) and they hang their clothes out or in their garage.

 

4. European washers spin at much higher speeds than American top-loaders, so clothes dry faster.

I've not thought of this before! My machine has 3 spin settings and depending on what is being washed I can spin it up to 1000rpm. Synthetic fabrics come out nearly dry. We don't own a drier either and hang clothes out on racks (we have four), but our weather is a lot better than in Europe so there really isn't a need for one and few of our friends own driers.

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We don't have one. In this house we have racks and a clothesline on the verandah. I use the racks in front of the fire. In the last house, we had a clothesline for summer and racks which I put over the central heating vents in winter.

We did have one in Auckland, but we only used it when desperate, a house with no central heating and a wet climate means it would be hard to survive without it.

I dont like them though, they are expensive to run and bad for the environment.

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I would LOVE to hang my clothes out-I miss it, but our allergist told us no how, now way. The sheets collect too much pollen during the time out and the kids would have to go back on their meds. If I could find a way to deal with their allergies, I would do it in a NY minute.

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I would LOVE to hang my clothes out-I miss it, but our allergist told us no how, now way. The sheets collect too much pollen during the time out and the kids would have to go back on their meds. If I could find a way to deal with their allergies, I would do it in a NY minute.

 

Me, too. I'm one of those weirdos who loves the sight of laundry drying on the line. :)

 

We actually had a clothesline in the yard of our duplex when we moved in, but when the landlord found out the downstairs tenants were actually using it, he had it ripped out. :angry:

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(Ignorance shining through)

 

When I've hung out clothes they are usually stiff. Do those who line dry iron all of their clothes?

 

I could use a clothesline during the summer, but there is no way it would work here during the winter. It rains all the time. Also can't use one indoors due to the moisture in our house (condensation on the windows every morning).

 

I never iron. In fact I was contemplating giving away the ironing board. Yes, I'm one of those lazy Americans.

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I never iron. In fact I was contemplating giving away the ironing board. Yes, I'm one of those lazy Americans.

 

There are many more things to worry about than if you are lazy because you don't want to iron or because you don't hang laundry to dry. We all have our priorities and sometimes hanging laundry isn't one of them.

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There are many more things to worry about than if you are lazy because you don't want to iron

 

:iagree:

 

Do those who line dry iron all of their clothes?

 

We use fabric softener, but I also have a domestic worker who does a lot of ironing.

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I might have mentioned before that dryers were unusual in Spain. I think the big reason is that they take a lot of electricity and if the condo we rented which seemed very nice was any indication, the electicity wasn't very dependable. We couldn't use a refrigerator, a stove top and a dishwasher at the same time.

 

I wouldn't take the condo you rented as an indication of dependability of electricity in Spain. As far as I know the problem you had is that your condo electricity transformer (not sure if this is the right technical term) had not been updated to accomodate a heavier electricity load. I know my parents updated ours back when I was a pre-teen in the early 70s!

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When I've hung out clothes they are usually stiff. Do those who line dry iron all of their clothes?

 

 

I don't own a dryer and I never iron. Any stiffness in the clothes is gone within a minute or two of putting them on.

 

I also live in Seattle and haven't needed the dryer.

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(Ignorance shining through)

 

When I've hung out clothes they are usually stiff. Do those who line dry iron all of their clothes?

 

I never iron. In fact I was contemplating giving away the ironing board. Yes, I'm one of those lazy Americans.

 

If your clothes are stiff, then they haven't had enough water spun out of them. I use a front washer. It does a great job of spinning the water out. I then line dry the clothes, and when bringing the clothes in, I am careful to put the dresses etc.on top. I then immediately hang the dresses. My whole family wears cotton only clothes. Both my daughter and myself wear long cotton dresses. I NEVER IORN.

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I don't own a dryer and I never iron. Any stiffness in the clothes is gone within a minute or two of putting them on.

 

I also live in Seattle and haven't needed the dryer.

 

I'm impressed. Really. How in the world do your clothes dry in the winter? We live in an older (1958) home with electric baseboard heat. We are constantly battling dampness and mold. No need for humidifiers here. Even in the summer our house is cool enough that we don't own an AC unit.

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There are many more things to worry about than if you are lazy because you don't want to iron or because you don't hang laundry to dry. We all have our priorities and sometimes hanging laundry isn't one of them.

 

Thank you. :)

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I am in NZ. dryers are not illegal, but are uncommon. People who do have them use them in winter or to finish the laundy off if necessary.

 

I have a 19 year old washer (top loader) and no dryer. I also never iron. I hang shirts on hangers (outside!), in winter we put it in front of the log burner overnight. You could use radiator hangers if you have central heating.

 

Willow.

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I am in NZ. dryers are not illegal, but are uncommon. People who do have them use them in winter or to finish the laundy off if necessary.

 

I have a 19 year old washer (top loader) and no dryer. I also never iron. I hang shirts on hangers (outside!), in winter we put it in front of the log burner overnight. You could use radiator hangers if you have central heating.

 

Willow.

 

Question for you or other New Zealanders: We often hear in the US that a family does not hang laundry because of allergies. Yet people in New Zealand seem rarely to use dryers. Are there fewer people with allergies? Or is this one of those cultural things where shoulders are shrugged? One of those, "Oh well, we have allergies. That won't prevent us from doing what is normal, i.e. hanging laundry."

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You sure can have them in Slovakia and Austria, two countries I've been to where I've seen them in use. I know that for a lot of folks who don't have them yet, the reason is a) cost, they are expensive, and b)space, a lot of my Slovak friends live in lovely but space challenged flats.

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