Property Management Nation

Many housing associations say yes and have “no-hanging” rules in place.  They complain about the aesthetics of clothes lines and air drying laundry outside.  These rules are put in place by community developers and are along the same lines as no commercial vehicles or sheds.  “Kevin Firth, who owns a two-bedroom condominium in a Dublin, Pennsylvania housing association, said he was fined $100 by the association for putting up a clothesline in a common area,” (yahoo news).  Many Americans are choosing to hang laundry as a way to go green or to save money.  Should they incur a fine in order to do so?  Project Laundry List is attempting to help air-drying advocates hold their ground.

Project Laundry List claims that by turning off your dryer you can save close to $25 a month off your electric bill (dryer use accounts for 6% of your annual energy usage), reduce climate change, conserve the environment and energy and help your clothes last longer.  They go on to estimate that there is over $194 million dollars in fire damage to structures each year caused by clothes dryer fires.  Sunlight is also a great disinfectant and contains none of the toxins you may add to your dryer to achieve that outdoor fresh smell.  For more information on the non-profit visit Project Laundry List.

Six states (Hawaii, Vermont, Utah, Maine, Colorado and Florida) with another five about to follow suit, have passed laws to restrict local authorities rights to stop residents from utilizing clothes lines.  Townhouse and condominium housing associations account for about 20% of the American population with about 60 million residents and are the major opposition to Project Laundry List.  More than half of these associations have no-hanging rules and enforce them with hefty fines. 

Where do you stand?  Does your neighbor’s laundry hung outside make your neighborhood look like white trash or like a neighborhood with an environmental conscience making an effort to save money?