Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. The report a few weeks ago in another newspaper that you could go to jail for drying your washing on your balcony was puerile nonsense masquerading as news.
The shock and horror was that standard Office of Fair Trading strata by-laws stop you drying your laundry on your balcony without permission. If you did and if your neighbours complained and if you were fined by the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal and if you then refused to pay your fine, you could, theoretically, be jailed.
That’s one iffy story. Individual buildings don’t have to adopt or keep the standard by-laws. And make no mistake: there is no law against drying your laundry on your balcony.
Getting back to the facts, the great laundry debate is heating up (just like the planet) and could become an issue in the current review of strata laws.
There are those who feel the “visual pollution” of sheets and smalls hanging off balconies is less acceptable than the physical pollution of filthy coal-fired power stations driving hundreds of thousands of tumble dyers (I’m not even going to pretend to be unbiased on this one).
But there is a middle ground. For instance, my building’s by-laws say you can let it all hang out as long as your sheets and unmentionables can’t be seen.
With just such a sensible compromise in mind, a couple of companies are offering non-intrusive clothes lines for apartments. The Brabantia Wallfix (www.brabantia.com) is anchored permanently to a wall and is like a spider’s web that folds down to roughly the size of a table leg.
The Mrs Pegg portable line (www.mrspeggshandyline.com.au) may be a bit high for most balconies but it’s a clever concept. If they dropped the height to a metre (the standard height of most balustrades) they could have a winner.
The Versaline range (www.lifestyleclotheslines.com.au) includes a removable rack that can presumably be attached to your wall at any height.
By the way, please check your building’s by-laws before you rush off to buy these or any other systems. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for any loyal readers being jailed.