I read an article about how a renter living in an apartment building in Sydney wasn’t allowed to dry their laundry on the balcony. The reason was because it’s ‘unsightly’. I disagree with this rule. Which got me thinking about how to dry laundry in an apartment.
Obvious ways to dry laundry in your apartment
Admittedly it’s not really something I’ve thought too much about. You wash your clothes and put them on a clothes dryer and put the clothes dryer on the balcony if it’s a warm sunny day.
If it’s not a warm, sunny day you leave the clothes dryer inside. Close to a heater or warm spot, or in a spot that’s out of the way.
Some apartments have space for a washing machine and dryer. But you can’t use a dryer for everything such as woollens. Also a dryer and clothes airer is not ideal for big items such as sheets. And not great for the environment and energy bills.
When I was living in London I would get my things service washed as I didn’t have a laundry in my box studio or bedsit.
During a visit to Stockholm, my friend’s apartment building had a laundry and drying room in the basement you had to book.
Some older and now some new apartment blocks are embracing communal laundry rooms. This is a great way to save space in the apartment and meet the neighbours.
Non obvious ways to dry laundry in your apartment
So I had to do a bit of Googling to find new ways to dry laundry in an apartment and best option I found was a ceiling mounted retractable rack.
The panel that is attached to the ceiling has heated fans and light. What I love about this idea is that it’s ceiling mounted.
A ceiling is a surface area we don’t often think of for functional purposes other than lighting and maybe hanging plants.
But if you have a small apartment with limited floor space, mounting a heated laundry rack on the ceiling is a great space saving idea.
The idea that hanging clothes on a balcony is unsightly and therefore not allowed is not user friendly.
Apartments and balconies need to be user friendly. They need to suit our lifestyles which includes washing and drying clothes.
Of course it’s also more economical and environmentally friendly to dry clothes naturally with the sun and the wind.
I wonder if that makes a solid case for the residents in an apartment building. If they live in an apartment building where drying clothes on the balcony is not allowe. They can attempt to change the by rules with the strata company.
This is another consideration when looking at renting or buying an apartment, to ask what the balcony can and can’t be used for.
