Martin Angove wrote:

Something to do with the fact that WASHING LINES (yes, they do exist)
tend to be outdoors so if you do happen to want to save the money (and
all that electricity) you have to lug the clothes downstairs at some
point in order to take them outside to dry,

Many years ago, we had a washline running on a pulley from just outside the
window of the back bedroom, to a tree across the parking area. I didn't
need to go up and down the stairs, and it worked fine, except when the
weather was bitterly cold - when I wouldn't want to dry things outdoors
anyway.