HOA Housing Rules Against Drying Clothes Outside - But What About Preventing Mould? Post 435

 HOA stands for Homeowners Association, in the USA. In the UK we call them Resident's Association.

Clothes Drying Rules

Some blocks of flats have rules about not displaying washing. 

Where Putting Out Washing Is Allowed

In Singapore most people live in tower blocks built and managed by the HDB, Housing Development Board. The HDBs are a great Singapore success story. That's a long story in itself. But regarding washing, it is quite common to have long poles which can be extended or left out premanently to let washing dry in the sun, or shade.

This works well, much of the year, except of course in rainy season. In the variable weather days, it often rains in the afternoon. Many homes have a live-in maid who is on hand to rush to bring in clothes when it starts to rain, or to check the sky and clouds.

But What About Bans?

When we rented an apartment in a private condo it was forbidden to hang washing over the balconies around the pool. You could hang on overhead airers in the utility room. In olden days it would have been called a scullery. In the early days condos had open to the air lattices across these rooms, partly to let out cooking smells. Also a breeze could help washing dry. 

But many people put in sliding glass windows. Otherwise you let in humidity, heat, stifling heat in the hottest summer months in the dry season, and mist from fogging against mosquitos, and dirt, and birds. 

Plus mosquitos.  And foggng on Fridays, a choking mist, to kill mosquitos. 

In the UK some blocks ban hanging washing outside. It is unsightly. Untidy. Distracting as it blows in the wind. 

Disadvantages Of Drying Over Radiators

So what are you to do? In the UK some people hang clothes over radiators. 

I remember seeing this when I was a student in other homes after I left home. To me it looked as it you were poverty-stricken, like newspaper on floors. 

We were middle class. We had a washing machine. Or we hung clothes in the back garden (Americans say yard) on a washing line or neat outside airer neat near the kitchen.

However, I recently read that drying clothes on radiators can cause mould. I noticed that tenants had clothes over radiators in a room which had had mould.

Banning Drying On Radiators

I had some clothes drying over a bathroom radiator, and towels or flannels. We have a drying line over the bath. Now I look around and try to keep wet items only in one area, near an open window. I open the bathroom window when I shower. I also open windows whenever I see mist on a mirror or window. 

Once you have the idea that wet clothes indoors can create mould, you can use observation, common sense, to check where problems might occur and the cause.

Are you drying weat socks after skiing? 

Wet raincoats. Wet outer clothes. Wet rain hats? West gloves? Wet umbrellas? Wet shoes? Washed shoes?

Wet underclothes?

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