Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[tonyb]

I fondly remember that freshness as well... but pity the poor housewife back in the Era in a place like, say, Altoona, PA: division point on the Pennsylvania Railroad and home of their Juniata Shops, where they manufactured and repaired their steam locomotive fleet and had several roumdhouses, back shops, and large freight classification yards. That bituminous coal created soot and cinders by the ton in that city, and I am certain that hanging out the laundry had to be a nightmare.

I recall telling a young person how much fresher the clothes smelled when they were line dried. When asked to describe it, though, I was at something of a loss.

The Ballard district of Seattle at one time billed itself the Cedar Shingle Capital of the World, this on account of the cedar mills lining the nearby canal and Salmon Bay. An old-timer, a fellow who was about 90 (this going on 20 years ago now), told me that when he was a kid the locals' laundry days were dictated by the shingle mills' schedules, as the fly ash emanating from the drying kilns would dirty any laundry left on the line. Among this fellow's chores was sweeping the ash -- the "Ballard snow" -- from the porch and walkways.

 

[Fading Fast]

Growing up, somewhere pretty early in my life, we acquired a dryer, but we still used both clothes line and dryer for years. On the right cold, crisp, dry day, the clothes dried "better" than any machine could do it. But not every day was that day. Also, we had a clothes line draped across the basement ceiling that was utilized regularly as well. And in the winter, with the furnace on, which was also in the basement, drying on a line was quite efficient.

Now, living in the city, most buildings have communal basement laundry rooms and almost nobody has a large enough apartment for clothes lines (If I put one up in either bathroom, the line would max out at two shirts and a towel). But from our window, I still see a few tenement buildings (I don't live in the fancy part of NYC) that have clothes lines (even though, I'll bet, their basements have laundry facilities as my friends and I spent our young adulthoods in those buildings and they all had them even in the '80s/'90s).

It's a time-travel moment to see a fully loaded clothes line out a tenement window. But, while the air in this city is pretty good, I have no desire to dry my clothes in it with all the venting from all the surrounding buildings going on - in addition to endless car exhaust.

 

[AmateisGal]

Growing up on the farm, we would hang our clothes out in the summertime and I remember they would get SO stiff that we had to throw them in the dryer to soften them up a bit. Maybe it was the dry western Nebraska air.

 

[ChrisB]

I fondly remember that freshness as well... but pity the poor housewife back in the Era in a place like, say, Altoona, PA: division point on the Pennsylvania Railroad and home of their Juniata Shops, where they manufactured and repaired their steam locomotive fleet and had several roumdhouses, back shops, and large freight classification yards. That bituminous coal created soot and cinders by the ton in that city, and I am certain that hanging out the laundry had to be a nightmare.

That would give Miss Snow the vapors!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Phoebe should have taken the short line to Spotless Town.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Linen-shirts are coming back.

 

[Fading Fast]

Phoebe should have taken the short line to Spotless Town.

Never once in my life have I not vacuumed and wet mopped a floor - then put away said vacuum and mop - to then, walk back into the room and find a speck, a dust bunny or some other detritus defacing the just-cleaned floor. It's Murphy's Law of housecleaning.

 

[LizzieMaine]

This is one of the good things about losing my vision as I get older. I can't see the crap on the floor, so I don't worry about it.

 

[Zombie_61]

I recall telling a young person how much fresher the clothes smelled when they were line dried. When asked to describe it, though, I was at something of a loss...

These days I think the best you can do is to say they don't smell like laundry detergent and fabric softening dryer sheets.

 

[tonyb]

...

Now, living in the city, most buildings have communal basement laundry rooms and almost nobody has a large enough apartment for clothes lines (If I put one up in either bathroom, the line would max out at two shirts and a towel). But from our window, I still see a few tenement buildings (I don't live in the fancy part of NYC) that have clothes lines (even though, I'll bet, their basements have laundry facilities as my friends and I spent our young adulthoods in those buildings and they all had them even in the '80s/'90s).
.,,

Do you not have laundry facilities in your unit? If I didn't, I'd soon find a way to fit it in.

As I'm sure you know, there are compact washer/dryer combos, with the dryer atop the washer, and now even all-in-one gizmos that wash and dry in the same vessel (there's gotta be a better word), with no need to transfer the laundry from one machine to another. Don't know how well they work, though.

For reasons I won't go into just now, our household goes through an unusual amount of clothing (and bedding and towels, etc.). I've found that managing laundry (and dishes) is the first order of business in maintaining a reasonable level of order and cleanliness in this house. I do at least one load of laundry on average per day. If I had to go to the basement and use the laundry facilities shared by scores of others, well, that would be a major hassle I would soon spare myself.

 

[2jakes]

Growing up on the farm, we would hang our clothes out in the summertime and I remember they would get SO stiff that we had to throw them in the dryer to soften them up a bit. Maybe it was the dry western Nebraska air.

My blue jeans get very stiff when I hang them outside to dry.
Have been told that it's because of the "hard" water which has a lot of calcium deposits.

 

[2jakes]

Linen-shirts are coming back.

I have very mild cold temperatures.
I can get away with wearing cotton short sleeve shirts or tee-shirts.
But when I have to wear a long sleeve shirt, it's always soft cotton linen.

 

[GHT]

My blue jeans get very stiff when I hang them outside to dry.
Have been told that it's because of the "hard" water which has a lot of calcium deposits.

Do you not have Calgon tablets that you put in the washing machine with the laundry? They soften the water and prevent the machine from becoming clogged up with limescale.

 

[BlueTrain]

I don't think hard water has anything to do with clothes feeling "hard" after air-drying. It's just the lack of motion either in the dryer or on the line. One problem with line drying is that a certain amount of stretch happens which you have to allow for when you hang things. I do my own laundry and ironing and I line dry all my shirts, socks and some pants. One reason is that the fabric of shirts seems to have more body (or stiffness, if you will) when done that way. But the main reason is just so nothing will shrink in the dryer. Besides underwear, a few other things go in the dryer that don't shrink and don't need ironing.

I used to dry things outside on the deck but once the things picked up an odor from somewhere, so I quit doing that. I hand wash a number of things, like my Filson tin pants and a couple of shirts. I do like the washable wool shirts that Pendleton has now but with what passes for winter these days, I haven't worn them much. I spend most of my life at work in an office anyway.

 

[Fading Fast]

Do you not have laundry facilities in your unit? If I didn't, I'd soon find a way to fit it in.

As I'm sure you know, there are compact washer/dryer combos, with the dryer atop the washer, and now even all-in-one gizmos that wash and dry in the same vessel (there's gotta be a better word), with no need to transfer the laundry from one machine to another. Don't know how well they work, though.

For reasons I won't go into just now, our household goes through an unusual amount of clothing (and bedding and towels, etc.). I've found that managing laundry (and dishes) is the first order of business in maintaining a reasonable level of order and cleanliness in this house. I do at least one load of laundry on average per day. If I had to go to the basement and use the laundry facilities shared by scores of others, well, that would be a major hassle I would soon spare myself.

The prior owners converted what was a very small half bath into a washer-dryer closet, so we do have a washer dryer. But owing to the size - they are compact - and the the dryer not being a vented one, they are only good for smaller loads and things that aren't very thick because thick things take forever to dry. Hence, we can't do sheets in there or heavy bath towels, but can run a smaller load of this or that which we do. Also, you have to take several parts of the dryer out afterwards to wipe dry and leave out until the inside in dries - so all in all, it's labor intensive.

That's why we use the downstairs facilities regularly. They are almost always empty early in the morning when we go (as we do our own laundry, but most in this building have maids who get in later in the day and do the laundry) and the machine are big, so we can knock off several loads of laundry in under a few hours. Once or twice a week, we'll pop downstairs early and get it all done quickly.

As to quantity, I joke all the time that for two reasonably average people, we generate a ridiculous amount of laundry, but whenever we examine what we are washing, it all makes sense. Que sera, sera.

And last unrelated related point. I don't mind doing laundry and absolutely love a stack of cleanly washed and folded clothes. It feels very good to me. I like putting it away as everything is done and nice and it has a satisfying feeling of accomplishment. I'm not proud that I feel that way, but that's how I feel.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Your grandmas all knew that a quarter of a cup of white vinegar in the rinse water would do away with stiff drying.

 

[2jakes]

I don't think hard water has anything to do with clothes feeling "hard" after air-drying. It's just the lack of motion either in the dryer or on the line. One problem with line drying is that a certain amount of stretch happens which you have to allow for when you hang things. I do my own laundry and ironing and I line dry all my shirts, socks and some pants. One reason is that the fabric of shirts seems to have more body (or stiffness, if you will) when done that way. But the main reason is just so nothing will shrink in the dryer. Besides underwear, a few other things go in the dryer that don't shrink and don't need ironing.

I used to dry things outside on the deck but once the things picked up an odor from somewhere, so I quit doing that. I hand wash a number of things, like my Filson tin pants and a couple of shirts. I do like the washable wool shirts that Pendleton has now but with what passes for winter these days, I haven't worn them much. I spend most of my life at work in an office anyway.

Perhaps not your water.
But the "hard water" we have has
lots of calcium and magnesium which clings to the fabric and makes it stiff especially if the
fabric is dried on the clothes line. Using the dryer with softning sheets helps.
Also liquid softners used in the
washer.

 

[BlueTrain]

Oh, so you don't' need starch then?

 

[2jakes]

Oh, so you don't' need starch then?

Not at the moment.
But thanks for asking.

 

[HudsonHawk]

The problem with line drying your clothes and sheets is that the birds like to eat mulberries. And then you end up with big purple stains.