Re: the gentrification of air-drying clothes
I read scribblypam's the gentrification of air-drying clothes, and to me, yes: as an American, everywhere I have lived, there were clothes dryers.
Single-family homes have always included a place for laundry, with a washing machine and a dryer. In my childhood home, they were in the kitchen. In most other places I've lived, they've been in the basement, but I've also seen plenty of dedicated laundry rooms on the first floor of newer homes. (Typically laundry is lower in the building, basement or first floor, so that failures that result in flooding do less damage.)
When I rented apartments, they had a coin-operated laundry area, with some washers and dryers shared by the residents of the building. I have heard of some other (low end) rentals providing hookups, which are the connections but not the appliances, but I never lived in one of those myself.
I've Never Air Dried, but My Mom Did
To save a few extra dollars, my mom would air-dry clothing, weather permitting. We lived in an area where electricity wasn't cheap, so it saved a decent amount to be able to hang three or four loads out in the back yard. She had the advantage that the laundry was right next to the back door; there was minimal added effort.
When I rented, there was just no place to air-dry. It is generally humid enough where I live that the clothing needs the wind to actually dry, and the laundry isn't positioned for getting clothes outside conveniently. An attempt was made to use the attic once, but bringing it up three flights and back down one was a lot of work. That house had a gas dryer, so very little money was saved for it.
Even though I'm back to a place where electricity isn't cheap and the clothes dryer is one of the top energy consumers, the clothing goes in the dryer. There aren't any stairs between the laundry and the back yard, but there's no clothesline or anything out there. I'd be starting from scratch.