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I "inherited" a Brabantia umbrella style clothesline from a friend who passed away. It's a wonderfully compact little thing that can be tucked out of sight and holds at least two loads of laundry at once. You can take it down at a moment's notice because it sits in a hollow pipe set permanently in the ground.
I also use a conventional dryer in cold weather for the same reasons other people have mentioned.
I have this one too, and it spins in the wind to dry super fast. Money well spent. We plan to take it when we move. Clotheslines are fantastic here in FL where it's sunny and hot and everything dries almost as quickly as it is hung. The sunshine also is the world's best stain remover. My little kids get food stains -- even spaghetti sauces -- and they all come out in the sun far better than any other stain fighter and yes it's free!
We do have a 6-foot privacy fence and don't even know if clotheslines are legal or illegal but I too love the sight of them, esp. when sheets are drying in a gentle breeze. It's as lovely as a picture. I think I'd have to move if my neighborhood banned them!
We use our dryer on rainy days and whenever the clothesline isn't practical i.e. if I'm pinched for time. Dryers, like most appliances, should be used occasionally to keep them working properly.
As for stiff clothes, liquid fabric softeners in the wash seem to take care of that. Stiff towels and jeans do soften up well with a few minutes in the dryer and help eliminate pilling, so the dryer isn't all bad but most hour-long cycles are simply overkill. Dryers, in my opinion, create more wrinkles, fade colors and generally destroy fabrics, zippers, buttons and embroidery where clotheslines don't.
Many ardent fans of the clothesline agree that aside from all the above-mentioned advantages, hanging clothes out to dry is great therapy!
As a Brit, I am accustomed to hanging laundry out to dry in the back yard - and if it's wet out I'd hang it on racks in the house.
I own a dryer, I just use it as rarely as possible. If I was in a rush (I have 3 kids, and I work) I'd put the socks and underwear in the dryer, but still hang the bigger items out.
An American friend (from LA) nearly died laughing watching me hang the laundry outside, and since living here in the US I have seen no washing lines outside.
Please tell me I am not alone in my desire to dry my clothes naturally - for free?
we use both, for work close we put on a rack for under garmets they get dried. Once we move to a home we will go with clothes line.
I hang the laundry on racks inside the house but it's only because this is an apartment building and the clotheslines are falling apart. It seems that I'm the only one who would use them anyway.
I've always loved the fresh clean smell of clothes dried outside on the line and the way a little bit of pure lemon juice on a stain and then laying the item in the sun will take the stain away.
I would NEVER use smelly, chemical laden fabric softeners -- I don't get it as to why people pay money for that stuff. What's it for anyway?
For those of you who use the umbrella-style clothesline, how long of a pipe do you put in the ground? I used to line-dry my clothes all the time, but I haven't done it in years. I would like to get back to it, for all the reasons everyone has been talking about, and I've been leaning towards the umbrella-style. Have any of you used both kinds of clotheslines, and if so, do you have a preference, of one over the other? When I used to line-dry my clothes, I always used the spring-style clothespin, but sometimes they would leave a rust mark. Have any of you ever used the old-fashioned clothespins, and do they hold as well?
For those of you who use the umbrella-style clothesline, how long of a pipe do you put in the ground? I used to line-dry my clothes all the time, but I haven't done it in years. I would like to get back to it, for all the reasons everyone has been talking about, and I've been leaning towards the umbrella-style. Have any of you used both kinds of clotheslines, and if so, do you have a preference, of one over the other? When I used to line-dry my clothes, I always used the spring-style clothespin, but sometimes they would leave a rust mark. Have any of you ever used the old-fashioned clothespins, and do they hold as well?
We had to put in a new post for my clothesline since its original one was left behind. We used an 18"-24" section of pvc pipe that was slightly wider in diameter than the post and hammered it into the ground with a rubber mallet.
I like both kinds of clothelines, but think it's kind of cool that you can more or less stand in one place and turn the umbrella clothesline towards where you are standing, if you're so inclined. And since the umbrella lines are easier to install than the long ones, I use the umbrella.
Hi ellie! It's me, cil. In Denver I had a neighbor (from the South, btw) who had that umbrella thing and I always thought it was cool.
I haven't seen any clotheslines where we live, but I don't know for sure if they are verboten or just unpopular.
Anyway, I use my dryer much of the time for jeans, towels and stuff, but do have a retractable clothesline for more lightweight fabrics. I keep it in the sideyard and if it offends anyone's sensibilities, they haven't said anything to my face about it.
I quit using fabric softeners a long time ago, and don't miss them.
We had to put in a new post for my clothesline since its original one was left behind. We used an 18"-24" section of pvc pipe that was slightly wider in diameter than the post and hammered it into the ground with a rubber mallet.
I like both kinds of clothelines, but think it's kind of cool that you can more or less stand in one place and turn the umbrella clothesline towards where you are standing, if you're so inclined. And since the umbrella lines are easier to install than the long ones, I use the umbrella.
Thanks, Ellie! That pvc pipe makes sense. Sounds like you didn't even have to put any cement around it, although, since my soil is sandy, and shifts easily, I might still have to consider that, to keep the pipe from moving. Guess I could experiment with just the pipe first, and see what happens.
I was kind of thinking along the same lines, that using an umbrella-style might be easier, all the way around. Not to mention the installation. I've never had this kind of clothesline, but I know my aunt has one, and I believe my grandmother did, also, many years ago. So, I've been wondering if this might not be the way to go.
I googled around, without much success, to see where in the US "Brabantia Rotary Dryers" (LOL) can be purchased. Near as I can tell, some Lowes stores appear to carry Brabantia products but I don't know anything more than that.
I wish I could magically state, "here's where to get one." Hopefully CelticLady, you can find one for yourself. There are other manufacturers and you might have to search a bit.
I googled around, without much success, to see where in the US "Brabantia Rotary Dryers" (LOL) can be purchased. Near as I can tell, some Lowes stores appear to carry Brabantia products but I don't know anything more than that.
I wish I could magically state, "here's where to get one." Hopefully CelticLady, you can find one for yourself. There are other manufacturers and you might have to search a bit.
Good luck.
Thanks again, Ellie! I don't know if I can find that particular brandname of umbrella dryer, but I have seen a couple of dryers on Amazon, and on a website called Lehman's. They specialize in goods for country living, etc., (although their dryer was $200! Yikes!). I'll look around, and see what I find. Shoot! If nothing else, I can go ahead and build the other type of clothesline, if necessary. I'm just trying to make it a little easier on myself, if possible.
This has all kids of drying racks, lines and rotary driers including the famous Australian Hill's Hoist
Little article here to explain more....
Aussie Laundry Lines Now In The USA (http://ezinearticles.com/?Aussie-Laundry-Lines-Now-In-The-USA&id=754262 - broken link)
Kelly Nickless - EzineArticles.com Expert Author (http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Nickless - broken link)
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