For advocates of experimental medical treatments, there are “right to try” laws.
For thrifty Pennsylvanians pinching their pennies, their issue is the “right to dry.”
And their law — protecting the right to hang laundry out to dry on the backyard clothesline — passed the Pennsylvania House on May 13.
Local state Rep. Lisa Borowski (D-Newtown Square) wrote the bill, which is aimed at residents of condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities where homeowners’ associations, also known as HOAs, have banned the traditional practice.
“Banning outdoor clothes drying for an entire community of people because a few HOA board members prefer not to look at clotheslines or drying racks is ridiculous and goes against American values about what it means to live among each other,” Borowski said.
Borowski says clotheslines have been a backyard or porch staple for most of our country’s history. And, she adds, air-drying laundry in the sun saves people money, reduces pollution, and prolongs the life of many fabrics.
The internet is awash in clothesline advocates who agree. Some are environmentalists who tout air drying’s zero-carbon footprint. Others are more “MAHA” (Make America Healthy Again), who note that the sun serves as a natural antibacterial agent.
Still others are self-declared cheapskates who like saving on their electric bills.
Some of their HOA neighbors, Borowski said, aren’t fans.
“This is a measure I introduced directly in response to concerns brought to me by my neighbors in the 168th Legislative District,” Borowski said. “If we don’t secure this right, we’re telling Pennsylvanians they don’t deserve the right to use the sun to dry their clothes unless they can afford their own single-family homestead, out of the line of sight of other homes. That’s embarrassing in a nation that prides itself on freedom.”
Radnor resident Sara Pilling said drying clothes on the line “saves electricity, takes advantage of the sun to aid in disinfecting, avoids having to iron some things, (and makes clothes) easier to fold. Dried clothes smell good. (It’s) a reminder of hanging out clothes with my grandmother.”
And some people like the aesthetics of laundry hung outside to dry.
“Growing up, my mom made us hang everything outside on a line,” said Elkins Park resident Nikki Gaston. “The sheets always smelled wonderful when dry.”
“Cutting spending on luxuries is the first line of defense people have under economic hardship. That includes skipping the clothes dryer at the laundromat or their building’s coin-operated machines, or at home, to save money on utility bills. But that’s not feasible for people under the thumb of overreaching HOAs that ban outdoor clotheslines and drying racks for not meeting their extravagant aesthetic desires.
“A neighborhood isn’t a picture-perfect movie set. It’s composed of actual homes where people live out their lives,” Borowski said. “I think it’s rather absurd we need to pass legislation to ensure people are free to use the sun to dry their clothes, but that’s the situation we’re in. I’m grateful for the help I got from the Keystone Chapter of the Community Associations Institute in getting the bill’s details right.”
Borowski says the bill also takes HOA interests into account by allowing them to limit clotheslines and racks to backyards or shielded areas. If her bill passes the Senate, Pennsylvania would be the 21st state to enact legislation ensuring the right to use the sun to dry clothes.
