The laundry index and why the Japanese hate tumble dryers (7 photos)

Anyone who has ever experienced the never-ending humidity of the Japanese rainy season knows that it is impossible to dry anything there during those days. Hence the million ways to get rid of mold that any Japanese person will list off the top of their head.





Sometimes it seems to me that the Japanese hate furniture

This begs the obvious question: why don't they use ordinary tumble dryers so that their sweatshirts don't dry for three days? In America, people sometimes just don't know how to dry without a tumble dryer and can even take their laundry to their neighbors to dry. And in some states, drying clothes naturally in the open air is even prohibited, and if you have laundry hanging on your lawn, then it's just poor and ugh, not aesthetically pleasing.

What's wrong with dryers in Japan



Guess the country from the photo) Yes, yes, this is a sleeping bag in Tokyo

In Japan, drying on a hanger (not even on ropes, in Japan it is fashionable to hang the same uniform on a hanger so that it dries and hangs at the same time) prevails everywhere.

In Japan, even weather websites have a separate WASHING INDEX. It really shows how optimal it is to dry clothes today!





A very cute laundry drying index with a map even!

Meanwhile, the Japanese know about the existence of dryers, they were first sold in the country in 1969, but over all these years, drying on a hanger has remained the norm. 70% of respondents to a 2019 laundry survey dry their clothes outside, and only 9% use dryers.

In another survey, 60% prefer to dry clothes indoors on rainy days rather than use a dryer. The vast majority of Japanese people do not have a dryer in their home, although their climate is quite humid. Instead, they turn on the ventilation in the bathroom in the hope that this will speed up the drying of the laundry.



When drying kimonos, they threaded the sleeves through a thick stick

And all because new things are constantly being invented, and old houses in Japan are built as they are. And they did not include space for a dryer at all. There is not always room for a normal washing machine.

The second reason is the cost of electricity. The Japanese, whose houses do not have central heating, even in winter walk in the cool, so as not to spend money on heating. They are shocked by the cost of drying clothes, because the air is free!



There are hybrid dryers, but they also require more space

In addition, in Japan they still believe in the myth that direct sunlight acts as a natural disinfectant on clothes and bed linen. That's why in movies or anime you can often see a futon thrown over the balcony railing for ventilation. Of course, depending on the humidity, this can do more harm than good. Bugs and allergens will get in there.

Japanese Allergy Sufferers and Stoics



A stand with Japanese washing machines - short, pot-bellied minions with a big eye!

There is another funny national problem in Japan - finger allergies. The weather here is great for flowering, there is frequent wind, there are a lot of allergy sufferers here.

And the frequency of outbreaks of allergic reactions in the country depends precisely on good weather for drying. Pollen settles on the laundry hanging outside, then the Japanese put it on, put it on the bed and scratch and sneeze.



In Japanese culture, drying clothes is often depicted, but in our culture it is very rare. Conclusion: The Japanese LOVE TO DRY

But the Japanese hold on. Because air drying for them is not only a question of poverty/costs, but also another cultural pillar. And the Japanese give up cultural pillars with great resistance.