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Comment by mrhappyunhappy | Hacker News Reader

Here in Japan everyone dries their laundry outside. It’s a bit of extra work but we save a ton of energy, stuff doesn’t shrink as much, laundry smells like the sun, I like it.

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Here in Manhattan, almost no one has an outside. I must be wrong but from the few times I’ve visited Japan, vast swathes of Tokyo is the same.

I'd be hesitant to try it in urban areas, since the air pollution particularly above streets could be quite bad. I'm sure it depends on a lot of particular local factors though.

Where does the air for your electric dryer come from though. Surely it's the same as the air from your balcony?

People usually use their balconies, though small, to hang and dry laundry.

You can dry them inside too.

https://sc01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1JbgNSFXXXXX6apXXq6xXFXXXU/202...

Got to be careful with in the UK with the build-up of humidity!

We also dry ours inside when it’s raining out. For those occasions we have a dehumidifier. Many newer Japanese homes come with a small clothes drying room for when the weather is not suitable.

FYI this creates a lot of dust, everything that you'd see in a lint trap on a drier gets spread about the house. It's not a good solution for the lazy.

Could you elaborate on this?

Sure clothes create dust, but the majority is created because during regular wearing and/or packing. (The dryer tumbles the clothes, whereas indoors it barely moves.)

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