После отжима бельё развешивают.

Because после always takes the genitive case in Russian.

The basic noun is отжим, and its genitive singular form is отжима. So:

• после
  • genitive
• отжим → отжима

That is why you get после отжима = after the spin / after wringing.

In laundry context, отжим means wringing or, very often, the spin cycle of a washing machine.

So после отжима can mean:

• after wringing the laundry out by hand
• after the washing machine has spun the water out

In everyday modern usage, many learners will most often hear it with the meaning after the spin cycle.

Here бельё is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of развешивают.

However, бельё is an inanimate neuter noun, so its accusative form looks exactly like its nominative form:

• nominative: бельё
• accusative: бельё

So the form does not change, even though its role in the sentence does.

Because бельё is a collective / mass noun in Russian. Grammatically, it is singular, even though it refers to a group of clothes or linen items.

This is similar to English laundry:

• бельё = laundry / linen / washing

So Russian treats it as one grammatical unit, not as a plural count noun.

Because the verb is not agreeing with бельё.

In this sentence, бельё is the object, not the subject. The subject is not stated, and Russian uses 3rd person plural to express an indefinite subject:

• развешивают = they hang it up
• but really meaning people hang it up / one hangs it up / it is hung up

This is a very common Russian pattern. It often corresponds to English they, people, you, or a passive translation depending on context.

Not grammatically. It is an active verb with an unstated indefinite subject.

So:

• После отжима бельё развешивают.
  literally: After the spin cycle, they hang up the laundry.

But in natural English, this is often translated more passively:

• After spinning, the laundry is hung up.

Russian often prefers this indefinite-personal construction instead of a true passive.

Because the sentence describes a usual procedure, general rule, or repeated action.

The imperfective развешивать / развешивают is natural for:

• habits
• instructions
• standard sequences
• general descriptions of what is done

So the sentence means something like:

• After the spin cycle, the laundry is then hung up
• That’s what people do next

If you used a perfective form, it would sound more like a single completed future event, not a general procedure.

Вешать means to hang in a general sense.

Развешивать often suggests hanging things up separately or spread out, which fits laundry very well. It gives the idea of putting items up to dry, often one by one or across a line/rack.

So in this context:

• вешать бельё = hang the laundry
• развешивать бельё = hang the laundry up/out, spread it out for drying

For laundry, развешивать is especially natural.

Because it sets the time/sequence frame right away: after the spin cycle.

Russian word order is flexible, and putting После отжима first makes the sentence feel like a step in a process:

• После отжима бельё развешивают.

You could also say:

• Бельё развешивают после отжима.

Both are correct, but the first version sounds a bit more like an instruction or description of sequence: first this happens, then that.

Yes, развешивают is present tense, but in Russian the present tense is often used for:

• habitual actions
• general truths
• instructions
• process descriptions

So it does not necessarily mean they are hanging it right now.

Instead, it can mean:

• they hang it up
• people hang it up
• it is hung up
• one hangs it up

depending on context.

That is why English may use either a simple present or a passive-style translation.

It is pronounced with ё: бельё.

Important points:

• ё is always stressed
• pronunciation is roughly bel-YO

In many printed texts, Russian writers omit the dots and write е instead of ё, so you may see:

• белье

But the word is still pronounced бельё, not беле. This is very common in Russian spelling.