It's a law many consider outdated given current energy conservation concerns, which is part of the reason the province is moving to remove bans on clotheslines.
Outdoor clotheslines are currently banned in some parts of the province under municipal bylaws and in some cases contracts with home builders, usually for aesthetic reasons, but Ontario is examining allowing anyone living in a freehold detached, semi-detached or row house to put one out in their yard.
"We have a clothesline -- both at our home and at our cottage," said Energy Minister Gerry Phillips. "My neighbour has her clothes out all winter long. Most homes right now can put a clothesline and it's worked pretty well. Let's get on with it."
Condominiums and highrises would be looked at separately.
Clothes dryers consume on average 900 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, or six per cent of residential consumption. If a quarter of that was hung out to dry not only would it reduce greenhouse gases but it'd also save consumers $30 a year on their electricity bills.
After their 2003 election victory the Liberals passed an energy conservation leadership law with a clause that would allow them to end local bans on clotheslines. They've never taken advantage of it however.
Critics say it's taken too long to end the clothesline ban, with Conservative John Yakabuski saying the party has had more than four years to act.
"There is no sensible reason not to allow people to dry their clothes outside," he said. "People can choose to dry their intimates inside. Should they choose the outside, it shouldn't be offensive to anyone. They hang on a rack in a clothes store."
NDP Leader Howard Hampton also accused the party of inaction.
"Five years into the (Liberal) government, they want to debate making clotheslines legal. They should have done that in the first two months of government," he said. "This is complete inaction on things that are no-brainers."
You can have your say on the issue by visiting Ontario's Environmental Registry at
www.ebr.gov.on.ca