[emacsen]

> Though I do think that Americans uses clothes dryers _much_ more than they should.

There are many reasons for this. Some of them are cultural, and other are legal.

Many Americans simply don't remember drying clothes on a clothes hanger outside, and aren't used to hanging them indoors as many Europeans do. And to be fair, indoor clothing hanging is time consuming in comparison to "transfer clothes from one machine to another".

But what many don't know is that it's often banned in many home owners' associations, and banned in many apartment leases, meaning that hanging your clothes outside is actually a luxury that many simply can't partake in.

[ClumsyPilot]

"it's often banned in many home owners' associations, and banned in many apartment leases"

That seems extremely inappropariate. Are there no restrictions on what they can ban, like can they ban children or cooking curries?

[bluGill]

There are a few restrictions, but not very many. You agree to them before you move in, so you are expected to not move there in the first place if you don't like the rules.

I just refuse to live in one which solves it for me.

[ClumsyPilot]

But they can change the rules, right?

[emacsen]

The HOA or landlord can modify the terms, but they're disincentivized to do so.

The reason that both HOAs and landlords disallow outdoor clothes drying is that it's seen as an eyesore. People associate clotheslines full of clothes with images of testaments in NYC in the 1920s and representing overpopulation and or immigration.

Landlords in particular don't want people hanging things from the apartments- even objects like small satellite dishes are often not allowed.

What many don't know is that in the US, many of these rules are simply null and void:

https://www.sightline.org/2012/02/21/clothesline-bans-void-i...

The challenge is that this requires a great deal of work on the part of the homeowner, and in doing so they would be entering into a conflict with the HOA. They would win in a court, but they would need to put up the money to fight in court. Even if/when they won, the HOA would make life unpleasant for them and likely retaliate in some other way.

[stjohnswarts]

I can't do it because the mold spores and pollen would make life very miserable.