Two Wrinkles to the Possible Ban on Line-Drying Clothes
* One pleasure of my life has been to hang clothes to dry on a clothesline. I feel productive. I have time to reflect. I am useful. I have a goal to go through life leaving few physical tracks. This minor rejection of technology pleases me. I like to see clothes hanging on a line; to me it is pure domesticity, rather like a cat on the windowsill.
Sheets line-dried feel great. Towels tend to be hard and wrinkled, but they still absorb. I am not a purist though. I do put clothes in the dryer if otherwise they would have to be ironed or, God forbid, someone leaves tissues in a pocket and litters the whole load of wash.
Now I read (“Law Would Limit Hanging Laundry,” July 12) that the city of La Habra is considering a ban on drying clothes on a clothesline if it is visible from the street.
What next? In their push for a correct environment will they decide to dictate the color of houses, ban basketball hoops, insist that garage doors remain closed?
Tell them to move to Irvine.
AMERICA BUCHANAN
Fullerton
* I agree with the La Habra City Council--laundry should not be hung on chain-link fences, from trees, or in complete public view. If this has become a citywide problem, the City Council should set up standards. For instance, clothes would have to be hung in the back yard (not a side yard) and people would have to use an apparatus which was made to hang clothes. Most people would be receptive to these standards, as opposed to an all-out ban on hanging clothes outdoors.
Many times, by choice, I hang my clothes outdoors. I work at a computer most of the day at a high-stress job. For me it’s therapy to be able perform a simple task such as hanging clothes on a clothesline. I enjoy watching them blow in the wind. Everyone knows how wonderful sun-dried clothes smell. Of course, I should mention the savings of natural resources by sun-drying clothes.
The City Council of La Habra should look at meeting everyone halfway by allowing anyone to hang their clothes outside while keeping them as invisible from the street as possible.
ROSEMARY KRABBE
Silverado