Hang Me Up To Dry

^ Xeera's laundry dries in the front window of her living room, while keeping company with a gorgeous pisang tree. My laundry is very jealous of this lovely arrangement.

Malaysians do their laundry in an interesting way.

Well. The washing part is fairly straightforward. They use washing machines; I've seen mostly cute little Japanese models that operate pretty much like a typical American Maytag.

But it's the drying stage where things get interesting.

Malaysians don't use clothes dryers. That's no big deal. Plenty of Americans, including me, use folding racks or clotheslines to dry their clothes In the sun.

But here the people have devised a clever alternative strategy. In their homes, they use these clever gridded open windows to create special drying spaces. Sometimes these places appear in designated laundry rooms; other homes might use the space outside the living room or bedroom window. Always, these open-air cubbies are filled with a variety of cleverly designed devices for suspending wet clothing, and between the equatorial temperatures and sweetly blowing breezes, the wet clothes dry in no time at all.

That's why I'm fascinated with the way Malaysians hang their laundry up to dry.

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To find all the stories of my amazing adventures in southeast Asia, go here:

Me in Malaysia