Banning air drying laundry on balconies: a tale of two sides

To the Editor,

In 1956, my family moved into a flat in Portsmouth, UK for the first time after a succession of houses. The flat had a capacious balcony but hanging clothes where they could be seen from the street was prohibited.

Since then I have lived in many flats in the UK and Europe. They all, without exception, contained some condition about hanging laundry to dry. Even where sheets, blankets and carpets were permitted to be visible, any display of garments, especially undergarments, was expressly forbidden.

I currently live in a flat in Brittany which allows me to hang my bedding (but not clothes) from the window. I do not do it because I grow plants in window boxes. I find the sheets dry quickly enough in the lounge in summer with all the windows open. 

I have no problem drying indoors with the windows closed in winter either because, like all the French flats I have known, mine has a forced draught system.

S.H., by email

To the Editor,

I read the debate about banning laundry from windows and balconies in city centres with interest.

We previously lived in a high-rise building in Hong Kong, where it was the norm.

Have these French councils costed the electricity needed to run a tumble dryer or checked the moisture levels in the apartments where laundry has to be dried on a metal airer?

Surely visitors are more interested in tourist sites, cafés etc than looking at someone else's laundry? What a waste of council time debating this!

C.K., by email

Do you feel similarly? Write to us at letters@connexionfrance.com