Drying clothes outside? (Seattle, Sammamish: renting, homeowners association, buy)

[AddyLaddy]

Hi,
we are emigrating to Seattle later this year and will be renting somewhere out on the Eastside, probably on the Sammamish plateau.

But I was wondering, well my wife really - are you allowed to dry clothes outside in WA ? e.g. on a washing line or rotary dryer ?

Otherwise, I guess we'll have a serious electricity bill! BTW what is the price per kWh out there ?

Cheers
Addy

[Inkpoe]

"Allowed"? LOL. I dry my clothes outside all the time. For when it rains, luckily enough, my deck has a cover, so I just added a line between the beams. I think you can buy a rotary dryer at ACE or someplace like that.

[exit82]

That may be the least of your worries- Seattle has some of the cheapest electrical rates in the US-don't have a bill in front of me but isn't it something like 6 cents per KwH?.

[rmkiefer07]

City of Seattle summer rate is 4.5 cents Kwh for the first 540 kwh then 9.5 after that. The winter rate is 3.8 cents Kwh for the first 112 kwh then 8 cents after that. I think there's a third tier of usage, but I've never used that much. I also think there's also a rate change coming up. I'm not sure who the service provider is in Sammamish, but I think the rates are comparable.

I used to work at Houston Lighting & Power & City of Austin Utilities (many many moons ago) and let me say, these rates are a deal! I was pleasantly surprised to get billed every two months and see that a two month bill here was still less than a one month bill back in Texas. Of course, in fairness, central air & heat is a big consumer of power and in Texas, it's difficult to get along with out it. Consumption will be a big factor.

[MaikeerinWA]

Our development's homeowners association prohibits outdoor clotheslines.

Originally Posted by AddyLaddy

Hi,
we are emigrating to Seattle later this year and will be renting somewhere out on the Eastside, probably on the Sammamish plateau.

But I was wondering, well my wife really - are you allowed to dry clothes outside in WA ? e.g. on a washing line or rotary dryer ?

[AddyLaddy]

Originally Posted by rmkiefer07

City of Seattle summer rate is 4.5 cents Kwh for the first 540 kwh then 9.5 after that. The winter rate is 3.8 cents Kwh for the first 112 kwh then 8 cents after that. I think there's a third tier of usage, but I've never used that much. I also think there's also a rate change coming up. I'm not sure who the service provider is in Sammamish, but I think the rates are comparable.

I used to work at Houston Lighting & Power & City of Austin Utilities (many many moons ago) and let me say, these rates are a deal! I was pleasantly surprised to get billed every two months and see that a two month bill here was still less than a one month bill back in Texas. Of course, in fairness, central air & heat is a big consumer of power and in Texas, it's difficult to get along with out it. Consumption will be a big factor.

Great thanks for the info! We pay over 15 cents per kWh (converted to USD) over here and that's probably before VAT @ 5%. My annual consumption here is about 6000 kWh so that means I'm paying around $945 per year just for electricity.

How does the Gas kWh compare out in Seattle/Sammamish ?

[rmkiefer07]

Originally Posted by AddyLaddy

Great thanks for the info! We pay over 15 cents per kWh (converted to USD) over here and that's probably before VAT @ 5%. My annual consumption here is about 6000 kWh so that means I'm paying around $945 per year just for electricity.

How does the Gas kWh compare out in Seattle/Sammamish ?

Yikes! 15 cents per kWh is obscene! You are frugal to use 6000 annually, but I guess one would have to be for that rate

Sorry, can't speak to the gas bills as I have always had all electric or oil heat (avoid that if you can). However, I think Puget Sound Energy would be your service provider for gas. Try this link for more info www.pse.com