This is my drying rack on my porch in the sun. Very effective... 
Here, clothes hang on lines over the water canals in Venice. I'd be scared to drop something...
So, I just want to reflect on a small part of Italian life... One of the first things I noticed when I moved here was how everyone hung their laundry out to dry. They do it even in the cold during winter time, as long as it's not raining outside. They hang EVERYTHING outside for all to see with no shame. Granny panties and bras, old men's shorts and trousers all fly in the wind from apartment balconies, window sills, clothing racks and lines ran accross urban backyards everywhere.
My dryer is on the fritz lately. The appliances in Europe run off 240 volts of electricity running through their power cords, as apposed to American appliances that run off 110 volts. My entire household maxes out at 4 amps of power, as is pretty standard of Italian households. Turns out, it takes 3 amps to run our dryer and it's been taking more than that lately, which causes the circut to break and the power goes out repeatedly everytime I start it. FRUSTRATING!!!
My dryer is on the fritz lately. The appliances in Europe run off 240 volts of electricity running through their power cords, as apposed to American appliances that run off 110 volts. My entire household maxes out at 4 amps of power, as is pretty standard of Italian households. Turns out, it takes 3 amps to run our dryer and it's been taking more than that lately, which causes the circut to break and the power goes out repeatedly everytime I start it. FRUSTRATING!!!
Another priciple rule of living here in Italy is that Everything takes longer. Doing laundry is certainly not exempt from this rule. It takes about 2 hours to wash all the clothes I can cram into our tiny little washer and when the dryer is working, it can take up to 4 hours to dry.
So I've been hanging our clothes on my little drying rack to dry in the summer sun. Actually, it's one of those strange little things that I am really beginning to like. I go out into the sun and hang the clothes and it's a quiet time that I use to take me back in time before drying machines exhisted and to further submerge myself into the Italian culture.
Everytime I dry my clothes on the line, I think of all the hours they would have had to tumble in the dryer and how much energy and money I am saving. It's becoming one of the little things I have fallen in love with since I've been here...
I still hang my clothes to dry once in a while... My apartment is hot enough this summer, but hanging clothes to dry indoor is just asking for the stench of mildew.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the dryers there run off 240 volts... I thought Europe had better efficiency standards... For example, things like microwaves... The amount of microwave leakage allowed by law in the US is much higher than that regulated in Europe... I stopped standing next to the microwave when using it after learning that if you stand closer than 2 feet to a microwave when its on high for several minutes you can cause your corneas to overheat and possibly burst... I'll avoid blindness at all costs. Regardless, I hardly ever use a microwave.
Joel, I do't know if you will check back and get this response, but I will set you straight to the best of my knowledge on the energy situation...
ReplyDelete240 volts is what comes out of every outlet here. Therefore, all the appliances in Europe run off of 240 volts. For example, I still have my hair dryer from the states and I use it with an adaptor plug so I can plug it in the wall. But I can only use it on the low setting and it runs like it is on high because more power is coming through the outlet. If I turned it on high, it would probably blow up because it's not meant to run on so much power...
You would think that Europe has better efficiency standards because all of their appliances are smaller. But they have to be smaller because generally, the homes here couldn't run on appliances that were much larger the way they suck power out of the wall.
I think there is a big mis-conception that European products are better. To name a few things, fashion, beauty products and home design elements. But I respectfully dissagree now that I live here.
I think American/Japanese products do more to reduce energy consumption. We even have the Energy Star labels now to know which appliances use signifigantly less power... We are just a bigger and more populated country and generally more frugal about our energy consumption...
P.S. Open a widow or two when you are hanging your clothes to dry to avoid the mildew smell...