by Cas Middlemas

In Australia the use of rotary clothes hoists to dry laundry outdoors is so well-established that many consider this piece of backyard equipment a part of our cultural history, to the point that it has developed an iconic status. The clothes hoist was used in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games ceremony and has been prominent at a number of festivals. It is amazing to think that this structure - for drying clothes - has been represented in the arts, including paintings, sculptures, poems and cartoons. Many Australians would believe the rotary clothes hoist was invented here in the early twentieth century, however research has shown that a number of sophisticated clothes hoist patents were being granted in the United States of America as early as the 1850s.

In putting together a book on the origins of the all-metal rotary clothes hoist in Australia entitled Hung Out to Dry: Gilbert Toyne’s classic Australian clothes hoist, Peter Cuffley, my co-author, and I found numerous American patents that predated those in our own country. This article provides the reader with a very brief overview of the diversity and initiative shown by Americans in the mid 1800s when it came to the challenges of drying laundry. American designs were not the focus of Hung Out to Dry, but we did include several of the significant American patents in our book. Due to the ease of accessing American patent information via the internet at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website this was a simple task compared to finding early Australian patents.

Project Laundry has a monthly newsletter filled with information for those of us who prefer to hang laundry rather than use an electric dryer. Sign up for the newsletter to get your copy which, this month, includes this short article.

Hanging Out In Britain

A country that is notorious for damp cold weather and small gardens is not what most people would think of as a perfect place to hang laundry out, yet in Britain as in many other European countries, most people do hang laundry out. The stigma, I have heard, is creeping in, but for the most part it is a normal thing to do.

It is not that electric dryers are unavailable - they are, but as most homes do not have a separate utility room and basements are very rare, the space for a dryer is usually in the garage. Another option is the dual washing/drying machine which is also available.

When people here in the U.S. think of solar power, often the first thing that comes to mind is the costly and mysterious system of panels and batteries they imagine they’ll need to run standard household appliances and electronic gadgets. This misconception is convenient for the fossil fuel industry, which depends on our continued reliance on their products for their continued success.

Here in the high desert of far west Texas, we have one of the sunniest, driest climates in the country - and yet many people still overlook all the excellent opportunities we have to employ the power of the sun passively – without spending a cent on panels.

After hearing acquaintances speak of purchasing new clothes dryers and witnessing college students, tourists, parents of small children, and others stuffing quarters into the barely-functioning units at the Laundromat, I became inspired to try to raise public awareness of the elegant simplicity and beauty of clotheslines through a kind of “happening” which combined performance art and public demonstration.

For me, hanging out my laundry isn’t just practical—it’s emotional. My posts were dug and my lines tied by my dad, my pegs were taken from my grandmother’s old line on the family farm, and my peg bag was lovingly hand-sewn by my mother.

But for those who don’t have those emotional attachments, there are laundry line options. One of those is the Ezyline—a line made of Polypropylene sections designed to hold your clothes without pegs. I recently strapped one up in my backyard to see if the Ezyline lived up to its name.

Set up was relatively easy and I was ready to hang in roughly 10 minutes. It felt a little odd at first to hang without using two hands, but I quickly found my rhythm and was completely thrilled to find I could reach for my next article of clothing while hanging the one I have. I got my clothes hung up in record time! An hour or so later, I headed out for retrieval and was pleased to find my “take down” rate was even more accelerated than my “put up” rate was. I couldn’t believe how quickly I was finished. Plus, all clothes were securely kept in place despite the gusts of West Texas weather.

This has been something that intrigued me for a long time. I had memories of frozen items coming in from the washing line, and, after ironing, were 'aired' on a rack or radiator. So I have been experimenting with the idea.
The first time was a set of sheets that I put outside. It was cloudy, but alas the partly sunny forecast from the weatherman was a snow shower by midday!  I brought the almost frozen sheets inside and put them on the indoor line to dry. They smelt great but not the best result.
Last week we had brutally cold weather courtesy a cold front from the north. The cold nights in part were from the snow cover, but also because there was no cloud cover. The sun was shining, the humidity was low and I had shirts to dry.
You feel a bit silly putting on boots and trotting over snow to the line with a basket of damp laundry, but I did it anyway and hung the shirts to dry.
Over about 4 hours (11 - 3pm) they dried - just. The collars were still damp, but after a quick iron, they were hung in the laundry room overnight and were ready to be put away by morning.
So clearly the key is a very dry clear day, and a good number of hours, but drying linen on the line outside is very feasible even when there is snow on the ground!