Aussie mum triggers debate with the ‘right’ way to hang washing

Hanging out your clothes may seem like a mundane and repetitive process that you’ve gotten down to a tee after all these years, but what if you found out you’ve been doing it wrong this whole time?

One mum has sparked a debate over the right and wrong ways to hang your clothes on the washing line after she posted a photo of her interesting tactic on Facebook. The post appeared in the popular Facebook group ‘Mums Who Cook, Clean and Organise’ and came from an Australian woman who said she believed she’d been using pegs wrong her entire life.

Her discovery of the “right” way to use clothes pegs was to hang her towel over the line so it was doubled over and rather than putting the peg at the top to secure it in, it was pinned to the side to hold to the two edges together.

“I think this is the right way to use clothes pegs, not putting them on the top,” she said. “I have been doing it wrong my whole life. What do you think?”

The photo had people questioning whether or not they were actually doing the job the right way with many saying they’d never even seen this option. And while some enjoyed the friendly chat, others were left unhappy with the suggestion.

One said: “Obviously don’t live in my area in summer! The easterly winds would blow them off in a second. Pegs were invented to go over the line not like the above picture.”

While another called the poster “insane” for even suggesting the side-peg idea.

Meanwhile, others were intrigued by the new concept with one commenter saying they used to use this option during their days of travelling: “I do this when caravanning, stops them flying off from the wind. Sometimes I even use 4 pegs, 2 at the top section and the others at the bottom sides, works a treat.”

Others spoke up saying that while the idea was interesting, it might not be totally effective. One said: “Can’t say I’ve ever thought of doing it like that. I like to have as much towel hanging down as possible so they dry quicker rather than being doubled up like that”.

While another wrote: “Good in terms of minimising peg marks, although may take longer to dry as air is less likely to reach the upper underside, especially on a windy day.”

However, as a general rule, there are plenty of different ways to go about hanging clothes. The only thing most experts suggest is hanging tops from the bottom and bottoms from the top to stop stretching and avoid annoying peg marks.

Some experts also advise putting scrap material in between the peg and a delicate fabric to avoid tearing or marks. Additionally, if you don’t like the stiff feeling of air-dried jeans or towels, you can throw them in the tumble dryer for five minutes to breathe a bit of life into them without using as much energy.