When considering rental apartments in Italy, there is one thing that you may not think to find out ahead of time: how many appliances can I run at the same time?
Here in the US, this question seldom comes up. We run the clothes washer, clothes dryer, the iron, all five TVs, and the air conditioning, while we style our hair with a hair dryer and let the curling iron heat up at the same time as a way of life. In Italy, though, even most high-end apartments cannot have more than two or three major electrical appliances working at a time without blowing a fuse.
You’ll need to do a little planning to make sure you keep your electricity on and keep your landlord happy. Electrical multitasking has to be limited in Italy. Don’t let it frustrate you – plan ahead and go Italian.
If there is a fan over your Italian stove, but you also have a window in the kitchen – open the window when you can so you can also listen to the TV while you cook. You may want to finish drying your hair before starting the washing machine, to make sure your clothes don’t get trapped inside because a fuse blew due to too much demand on the electricity.
Keep in mind, also, that most appliances in Italy run on electricity. Imagine how difficult it would be to run ga
s lines underground through all of those ancient ruins. There is no way Italy would allow their history and precious landscape to be torn up to lay endless gas pipes like we have done in the US. Many of the appliances that could use gas (clothes dryer, stove, etc.) probably will not use gas in your Italian rental apartment. Any appliances designed to use gas – like stoves - might use small gas containers called “bombole” (see the photo to the left for one way bombole might be installed in a home). One gas container is a “bombola”. The principle behind using a bombola is similar to using a propane tank on a gas barbeque grill. Be careful with bombole if you must use them in your Italian apartment – they are known to leak. So listen to the directions and advice of your landlord to make sure you know how to use it properly.
Here in the US, this question seldom comes up. We run the clothes washer, clothes dryer, the iron, all five TVs, and the air conditioning, while we style our hair with a hair dryer and let the curling iron heat up at the same time as a way of life. In Italy, though, even most high-end apartments cannot have more than two or three major electrical appliances working at a time without blowing a fuse.
You’ll need to do a little planning to make sure you keep your electricity on and keep your landlord happy. Electrical multitasking has to be limited in Italy. Don’t let it frustrate you – plan ahead and go Italian.
If there is a fan over your Italian stove, but you also have a window in the kitchen – open the window when you can so you can also listen to the TV while you cook. You may want to finish drying your hair before starting the washing machine, to make sure your clothes don’t get trapped inside because a fuse blew due to too much demand on the electricity.
Keep in mind, also, that most appliances in Italy run on electricity. Imagine how difficult it would be to run ga
s lines underground through all of those ancient ruins. There is no way Italy would allow their history and precious landscape to be torn up to lay endless gas pipes like we have done in the US. Many of the appliances that could use gas (clothes dryer, stove, etc.) probably will not use gas in your Italian rental apartment. Any appliances designed to use gas – like stoves - might use small gas containers called “bombole” (see the photo to the left for one way bombole might be installed in a home). One gas container is a “bombola”. The principle behind using a bombola is similar to using a propane tank on a gas barbeque grill. Be careful with bombole if you must use them in your Italian apartment – they are known to leak. So listen to the directions and advice of your landlord to make sure you know how to use it properly.This limited access to cooking and heating gas also explains (partially) why clothes dryers are so rare. If you do have the luxury of a clothes dryer, it will probably be electric and it will probably be the same machine as the clothes washer (yes, it washes then dries the clothes in one machine, but it takes forever). Electricity is expensive, so most Italians would rather hang their clothes to dry than “waste” money on an electric drying appliance. The other part of the reason for air-drying clothes is cultural, and more appropriate for a different article.
With the right mindset (an Italian vacation mindset) and a little planning in each day of your stay, you’ll have the power and the access to the appliances that you need. Feel free to ask the apartment owners ahead of time how many appliances can be run at a time. You will be glad you did.
With the right mindset (an Italian vacation mindset) and a little planning in each day of your stay, you’ll have the power and the access to the appliances that you need. Feel free to ask the apartment owners ahead of time how many appliances can be run at a time. You will be glad you did.
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