How do people dry clothes without a balcony?

[Tee Kay]

You know those European townhouses/apartments in cities, some dating from the preindustrial era? Like these ones? With windows, but no balconies?

How did they dry clothes? Especially prior to the invention/spread of dryers?

I've read that clothes were dried indoors over a fire, which makes sense. I can sort of see a chimney in that photo, and I assume that services all of the apartments, but some buildings don't have one? EDIT: and I also mean places without a backyard.

Moderator Action: Moved from the random questions thread. The_J

 

[EgonSpengler]

You know those European townhouses/apartments in cities, some dating from the preindustrial era? Like these ones? With windows, but no balconies?

View attachment 698083

How did they dry clothes? Especially prior to the invention/spread of dryers?

I've read that clothes were dried indoors over a fire, which makes sense. I can sort of see a chimney in that photo, and I assume that services all of the apartments, but some buildings don't have one?

New York City tenements:

Spoiler :

My mom had one of these indoor racks when I was a kid. I guess she must have used it for things she felt were too delicate for a dryer:

Spoiler :

Now that I'm thinking about it, there was still the old pulley-wheel screwed to the wall outside our kitchen window when I was little, although the rope line was long gone. I never knew what it would have attached to, at the other end. Maybe there used to be a pole in the back yard that had since been removed.

 

[PhroX]

I live in a 2nd floor flat with no balcony and I dry my clothes inside on a rack. Never had a dryer. I thought this was normal, now I'm questioning that....

 

[Birdjaguar]

My mom had one of these indoor racks when I was a kid. I guess she must have used it for things she felt were too delicate for a dryer: Spoiler :

We have one of those. We have never had a dryer and have always used an outside clothesline or hung things inside.

 

[Birdjaguar]

How did they dry clothes? Especially prior to the invention/spread of dryers?

Richer folks might use a "Chinese laundry" At the turn of the century (1900) there was a doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore who had his shirts laundered in Paris. Imagine how many shirts he must have had to carry him through the transpiration time involved.

 

[really]

Internally, in front of a fire maybe.
Sometimes these had small functional balconies to the rear, or a courtyard to hang clothes in.

 

[Samson]

The clothes hanger style that I think used to be common is the below, frequently hung over some heat source like a solid fuel burner/stove. I like the design.

Also remember that the people who would have first lived in that building would have been rich with servants. They would have had servants quarters that may have special rooms for jobs like that.

 

[Gori the Grey]

People just wore wet clothes back in the day.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

New York City tenements:

Spoiler :

My mom had one of these indoor racks when I was a kid. I guess she must have used it for things she felt were too delicate for a dryer:

Spoiler :

Now that I'm thinking about it, there was still the old pulley-wheel screwed to the wall outside our kitchen window when I was little, although the rope line was long gone. I never knew what it would have attached to, at the other end. Maybe there used to be a pole in the back yard that had since been removed.

That wooden thing is called a clothes horse. Or at least that's what my mother and grandmother called them.

They're a lot pricier now than they used to be. I was looking for one a few years ago to try to save money on the dryers here. There's one laundry room/floor, and each has 2 washers and 2 dryers. That's for 20 suites to share. Only one dryer on my floor actually dries the stuff. And we're not allowed to hang clothes on the balcony.

 

[Arakhor]

I live in a 2nd floor flat with no balcony and I dry my clothes inside on a rack. Never had a dryer. I thought this was normal, now I'm questioning that....

Other than a couple of months one summer when I attempted to use a clothes line, I've only ever used a clotheshorse indoors.

 

[Tee Kay]

so I live in Melbourne which is a pretty warm place in winter compared to a lot of American or European cities (average low-high temps 5 - 14°C / 41 - 57°F) and the idea of drying all my clothes indoors especially not in front of a fire/heater is baffling to me, the clothes just wouldn't dry and if they do it would leave a damp and musty smell on them. So to do it in the pre-electric dryer, pre-washing machine spin cycle era in an even colder, wetter climate would be even worse I would think.

I imagine then many historic city centres would look very different back in the day to what contemporary popular imagination/tourists believe, if the main method for drying is on lines strung up between buildings.

The story about the doctor in Baltimore doing his laundry in Paris is amazing.

 

[Samez]

You know those European townhouses/apartments in cities, some dating from the preindustrial era? Like these ones? With windows, but no balconies?

View attachment 698083

How did they dry clothes? Especially prior to the invention/spread of dryers?

I've read that clothes were dried indoors over a fire, which makes sense. I can sort of see a chimney in that photo, and I assume that services all of the apartments, but some buildings don't have one?

Usually there is either a garden or a backyard or you could dry clothes on a line in the attic. Never heard of anyone drying them over fire. Usually there are (at least) two heat sources per Appartement: the oven in the kitchen and one wood, coal or oil fired oven for the living room. Heat would be needed for washing the clothes.

 

[The_J]

I live in a 2nd floor flat with no balcony and I dry my clothes inside on a rack. Never had a dryer. I thought this was normal, now I'm questioning that....

I'm now wondering too...

I thought it was not too common, as there is a chance of having too high humidity inside, which would result in mold.
But... maybe I'm wrong?

 

[Core Imposter]

Almost 80% of U.S. households have a clothes dryer.

The percentage of European residential dwellings with clothes dryers varies significantly by country. On average, around 50% of households in Western Europe have clothes dryers, while the percentage is much lower in Southern and Eastern Europe

 

[Cutlass]

This is a relatively recent thing, though. 1970s, or so.

I'm now wondering too...

I thought it was not too common, as there is a chance of having too high humidity inside, which would result in mold.
But... maybe I'm wrong?

A building I used to live in had clothes lines strung in the basement, near the boiler. So the heat from that would keep the air dry.

 

[Core Imposter]

Really, a thread. My granny had a washer that was basically a tub with the lid that you removed by sliding it off. Because there was a rolling pin attached to the top so you would take out the clothes and wring them out. From there she would either put them on a short line she had on her enclosed rear porch or take them into the line in the backyard. I also saw her dry clothes with an iron.

Other more handy folks had clothes lines set up on a pully so they could hang all their clothes out from one spot, sometimes a porch. My personal method before I was married was to let the clothes stay in the washer for a few days and if they were still damp, I'd scatter them around the house.

Then there is dry cleaning.

I just this year took down our clothesline which doubled as a run for my rottweilers. They have passed. We still have a couple of bags of clothes pins. Clothes drying outside on a line are just the best.

 

[bene_legionary]

We have a few plastic drying racks like this one below, we put them up pretty much inside the house and because the air is rather dry they seem to do fine.

But yes, a thread/piece of string and some clothes pegs also do the trick.

 

[Yeekim]

Either clotheslines in backyard or a foldable clothesrack.

 

[Gorbles]

We have to use a dryer with the amount of clothes the kids have, even though it's not ideal. House suffers from too much humidity and the British weather means drying outside is a no-go most of the year.

 

[GoodEnoughForMe]

When I don’t go to the laundromat, I just use an indoor drying rack. I might aim a fan at it too to speed it up. As long as you don’t bunch stuff up too much it works ok.