Eyesore or Environmentally sound?

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The Farmers Daughter

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I would like to hang a clothes line outside at the inn for sheets and such.
I am getting a truckload of resistance from the 'powers that be' on this idea. They think it is an eyesore and used words like 'white trash' and 'Hillbilly hot air dryer' to describe their feelings about it.
It would make my life so much easier. . . . . so, my question to you is:
Is hanging laundry on the line at a B & B 'innapproprate'?
 
Do you have a "backyard"? Tell your "powers that be" that I thank them for their opinion of me - I hang my laundry, even the owners laundry! I save a LOT of money every year because I do not pay the gas company for what GOD gives me for free. Even if you just get the laundry "somewaht dry" between checkout time and check-in time and use the dryer the rest of the dry cycle - what would have taken an hour will now take 15 min.
Of course I am not in a "toney" area, but I have yet to hear a guest comment about my clothesline (I know "proof of absense") but I have heard comments about how they like the smell of line-dry.
Edited to add: Please tell them I said to get off their high-horses and stop looking down their noses at people who work to pay them for the rooms in your B & B. They certainly have a high opinion of themselves and a low opinion of others. This is from a "white-trash hill-billy in their opinion who is VERY respected in many circles - enough to be invited to write an article for a magazine published by a law firm!
 
If it's in your backyard, out of sight so that you don't lose your curb appeal, I wouldn't think that it would be a problem. Many new subdivisions have covenants and restrictions on outdoor clotheslines. If this doesn't exist in your zoning......
 
If the guests can see it it is inappropriate. Sorry. I know it's great to hang things outside but it is not the image you want and especially not with your clientele at your prices.
When we were looking, we drove into the dooryard of a place that had all the sheets hung out on the line. Along with their clothing. Just NOT what I wanted to see. Even the sheets hanging out there gets you to thinking about how many others have been there before you!
 
I don't understand how hanging the clothes / sheets etc...out will make your life easier? That's alot of work in my mind. SO much easier to toss them into the dryer. And, I agree with Mort. As a guest, the last thing I want to see if laundry hanging out in the yard...especially if I want to sit outside say and read a book or relax.
 
Aren't you on acreage? Is the line in a private area behind the inn? (ie you aren't on a residential street)
So the question is if guests will find it upappealing, not the neighborhood which you have described in the past?
That would be your call. I know you have high maintenance guests at times, I would think they might not be that happy about seeing laundry on a line.
It's called a solar dryer (to your powers that be). Do you really want to iron every single item you hang out?
 
i agree with catlady. i find carrying loads of wash outside, hanging it to dry, bringing it in, then folding and putting away a lot more work than using the dryer. just a little personal laundry i might like it, but not inn laundry. sheets and towels and various items for multiple rooms! wow! now an heirloom quilt or two i could see ....
it is great for the environment, great for the laundry i think (as long as you don't have seagulls that use it for target practice) but the owners have the say on this one.
some people don't want to see laundry hanging outside ... as a guest, which room would have a view of the laundry? judging from the 'snob zoning' rules against clotheslines, your guests might not like it. besides, you know they think all chores are magically done by the housekeeping fairies!
 
I love sheets fresh off the line myself.
But I seriously do not see how this would make your life easier. It's a lot easier to toss those sheets right in the dryer and take them out while they're still warm.
Would I do it at an inn? Depends entirely on the setting. I can certainly see some places getting away with it.
But for most inns, no I don't think it would work.
And I'm guessing that since the owner vetoed the idea, the demographics at your inn would not be a good match, FD.
 
do you have a dry basement?
Run lines in the basement..........My own utility room which is off the den is not a finished room.......In winter I used to put all my sweatshirts and sweats on hangers and hang them on the plumbing pipes.
Just last week I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up the folding clothes drying racks........I personaly have only used the dryer twice........for a quilt and bed sheets.
Hey...........it's a hotter summer here than it has in like 8 years..........AC running 24/7..........I'm turning frugal as I age......
 
First let me apologize for the use of the aforemetioned inappropriate discriptive terms used by those other than myself. That statement does not reflect my own personal views. Sorry for any offense.
Second, let me explain why I think it would make my life easier.
I do laundry constantly. I average 6 to 8 loads a day. There is only one washer and dryer. The dryer is a 10 year old Neptune and has seen better days.
If I could use the dryer only for the towels and hang the sheets, I feel it would free up a lot of time for me. At the completion of the towels, I can toss the sheets in for a few mins on fluff and Iron only as needed.
 
do you have a dry basement?
Run lines in the basement..........My own utility room which is off the den is not a finished room.......In winter I used to put all my sweatshirts and sweats on hangers and hang them on the plumbing pipes.
Just last week I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up the folding clothes drying racks........I personaly have only used the dryer twice........for a quilt and bed sheets.
Hey...........it's a hotter summer here than it has in like 8 years..........AC running 24/7..........I'm turning frugal as I age.......
One Day said:
do you have a dry basement?
Run lines in the basement..........My own utility room which is off the den is not a finished room.......In winter I used to put all my sweatshirts and sweats on hangers and hang them on the plumbing pipes.
Just last week I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up the folding clothes drying racks........I personaly have only used the dryer twice........for a quilt and bed sheets.
Hey...........it's a hotter summer here than it has in like 8 years..........AC running 24/7..........I'm turning frugal as I age......
I did try that in a limited area of the basement, but was told to stop.
The PTB feel that because that is where the furnace is, it constitutes a fire hazard.
 
FD we all have this same question to ask, I will step out of the shadows and ask it: "Have you ever line dried your laundry before?" I mean more than hand washing? Running out to retrieve it all every time a cloud rolls past...ironing, again, not saving energy or time to have to iron everything.
 
do you have a dry basement?
Run lines in the basement..........My own utility room which is off the den is not a finished room.......In winter I used to put all my sweatshirts and sweats on hangers and hang them on the plumbing pipes.
Just last week I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up the folding clothes drying racks........I personaly have only used the dryer twice........for a quilt and bed sheets.
Hey...........it's a hotter summer here than it has in like 8 years..........AC running 24/7..........I'm turning frugal as I age.......
One Day said:
do you have a dry basement?
Run lines in the basement..........My own utility room which is off the den is not a finished room.......In winter I used to put all my sweatshirts and sweats on hangers and hang them on the plumbing pipes.
Just last week I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up the folding clothes drying racks........I personaly have only used the dryer twice........for a quilt and bed sheets.
Hey...........it's a hotter summer here than it has in like 8 years..........AC running 24/7..........I'm turning frugal as I age......
I did try that in a limited area of the basement, but was told to stop.
The PTB feel that because that is where the furnace is, it constitutes a fire hazard.
.
The Farmers Daughter said:
One Day said:
do you have a dry basement?
Run lines in the basement..........My own utility room which is off the den is not a finished room.......In winter I used to put all my sweatshirts and sweats on hangers and hang them on the plumbing pipes.
Just last week I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up the folding clothes drying racks........I personaly have only used the dryer twice........for a quilt and bed sheets.
Hey...........it's a hotter summer here than it has in like 8 years..........AC running 24/7..........I'm turning frugal as I age......
I did try that in a limited area of the basement, but was told to stop.
The PTB feel that because that is where the furnace is, it constitutes a fire hazard.
Only if it is realy, realy close to the furnace.....gotta go with what the ptb wants
 
We have an upstairs balcony "solar dryer" & use it for 99% of our laundry & I would venture to say that it is not easier. We live on a small island & didn't have a working dryer for a few years. We do now, but it is electric & takes much longer to run a single load through than to hang it all in the sun (plus more environmentally & economically friendly), but not easier.
Our guests cannot see the laundry hanging.
 
FD we all have this same question to ask, I will step out of the shadows and ask it: "Have you ever line dried your laundry before?" I mean more than hand washing? Running out to retrieve it all every time a cloud rolls past...ironing, again, not saving energy or time to have to iron everything..
To be honest, no. I haven't.
 
Aren't you on acreage? Is the line in a private area behind the inn? (ie you aren't on a residential street)
So the question is if guests will find it upappealing, not the neighborhood which you have described in the past?
That would be your call. I know you have high maintenance guests at times, I would think they might not be that happy about seeing laundry on a line.
It's called a solar dryer (to your powers that be). Do you really want to iron every single item you hang out?.
Joey Bloggs said:
Aren't you on acreage? Is the line in a private area behind the inn? (ie you aren't on a residential street)
So the question is if guests will find it upappealing, not the neighborhood which you have described in the past?
Yes. Unfortunately, much of it is wooded. Other than the area directly around the house, there is no sun. To hang it under the trees with the birds and pine sap seems counter productive.
At the end of the day, I think this idea has been tossed out with the proverbial wash water.
sad_smile.gif

 
First let me apologize for the use of the aforemetioned inappropriate discriptive terms used by those other than myself. That statement does not reflect my own personal views. Sorry for any offense.
Second, let me explain why I think it would make my life easier.
I do laundry constantly. I average 6 to 8 loads a day. There is only one washer and dryer. The dryer is a 10 year old Neptune and has seen better days.
If I could use the dryer only for the towels and hang the sheets, I feel it would free up a lot of time for me. At the completion of the towels, I can toss the sheets in for a few mins on fluff and Iron only as needed..
You will probably have an easier time of it getting them to buy another dryer. I totally get what you're up against with the laundry. We started off with 1 washer & 2 dryers and I'm up to 2 washers & 3 dryers. But, hauling it outside to hang? No siree. That would not amke my life easier. Tree sap, seagulls, caterpillars, neighborhood animals would all conspire against me!
On a total flip, we will do up to 10 loads for that day. And that's just the everyday stuff. Then there are the blankets, quilts, duvets & mattress pads which I stick in on 'slow' days. How about a laundry service?
 
First let me apologize for the use of the aforemetioned inappropriate discriptive terms used by those other than myself. That statement does not reflect my own personal views. Sorry for any offense.
Second, let me explain why I think it would make my life easier.
I do laundry constantly. I average 6 to 8 loads a day. There is only one washer and dryer. The dryer is a 10 year old Neptune and has seen better days.
If I could use the dryer only for the towels and hang the sheets, I feel it would free up a lot of time for me. At the completion of the towels, I can toss the sheets in for a few mins on fluff and Iron only as needed..
You will probably have an easier time of it getting them to buy another dryer. I totally get what you're up against with the laundry. We started off with 1 washer & 2 dryers and I'm up to 2 washers & 3 dryers. But, hauling it outside to hang? No siree. That would not amke my life easier. Tree sap, seagulls, caterpillars, neighborhood animals would all conspire against me!
On a total flip, we will do up to 10 loads for that day. And that's just the everyday stuff. Then there are the blankets, quilts, duvets & mattress pads which I stick in on 'slow' days. How about a laundry service?
.
We tried that when we were smaller, but since the renovation and additional rooms it became cost prohibitive.
 
It all depends on what you are willing to let your guests see. I don't see a problem with just sheets hanging outside, now if there are personal clothes I would not do that unless there are no guests. I see your point about the sheets which are quick drying. But also the "cloud" coming and running out there to either get the sheets in or lettting the rain drench them a second time. I've done the clothes line thing, and yes it takes alot more work to get them in but if it frees your dryer for towels I don't see the harm in it. Specially now that everything is "environmentally" sensitive..even tolilet paper....so what is the problem!
 
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