This may sound crazy to us energy-wasting Americans, but few people in the UK have a clothes dryer.
Someone’s backyard with a whole lotta clothesline.
They dry their clothes outside in the rain, or on an “airer” in front of the heater, or if they’re lucky maybe they have one of these machines that washes and dries clothes in the same basin.
Washer/Dryer Combo Unit
I encountered my first ever Washer/Dryer Combo Unit at Skene House Whitehall (possibly one of the best hotels ever, by the way). Unfortunately the instruction manual they provided was from a similar, but different, model, which caused me no end of grief as I wondered why it took over three hours to dry our clothes, or why the wash/dry setting still left me with wet clothes in the end. Still, this was the only dryer I encountered on our entire trip, and my husband was happy to have socks that weren’t crunchy.
Speaking of laundry related matters, one other thing that was very scarce on our trip to Scotland was washcloths. I’m not sure why, but either no one uses them there, or hotels and apartments simply don’t provide them. I was beyond thrilled to find them at our Bed & Breakfast in Dufftown, Fournet House.
Wash cloths!
“but few people in the UK have a clothes dryer.”
Really? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t own one, where did you get the statistics from?
Not statistics, just anecdotal evidence. In Scotland I saw clotheslines everywhere, could view people’s indoor airers when I looked across the street from our flat, and encountered only 1 dryer in the 4 different places we stayed. Our friends in Scotland who owned a house also did not own a dryer. Meanwhile in some communities in the USA it is illegal to hang your clothes outside, and I never see it where I live in Seattle.
A very sweeping statement then based on a few experiences in one part of the UK.
Wow! I’ve never seen a combo before. Interesting.