Clotheslines!

Just curious.....

Do you have one?
Do you use it?

Lots of people I know have clotheslines but use the dryer instead, regardless of weather. I have a really small fold-up line that attaches to the wall, one load and it's full, but I'd rather wait to do another load so I can use the line. I hate the dryer, hate that it's using electricity and black balloons. The people who live beside me and behind me have never had clothes on their lines, and I know of a few other people who have the full large stand-alone lines out in their backyards that are never used. They aren't cheap, so I just wonder why?!

:dunno: Yeah, that's what's on my mind today! :ROFL:

We are the opposite here. Don't have a dryer and won't ever get one. We have a MASSIVE old 1950s hills hoist and I love it! I can fit about 3 full loads of washing on it and on warm windy days I do load after load on it! In winter we use our clothes horses over the ducted heating and on mild rainy days they stay under our deck. As much of a pain as it is, particularly in winter (and in winter when I was using MCN - hooley dooley) but it still isn't that much of a pain that I would buy a dryer - I could never justify the environmental impact.

Don't have a dryer so have no choice but to use lines and airers. I have a huge airer though that can take a full load (I have an 8.5kg washer). My sister gave me the tip that if you have ducted heating, put your airers over them (when they are running of course), and the clothes are dry in no time. It's hard for me here though, I am used to being able to hung my washing out anytime, any day practically, now I have to weather watch!

Yes we have one (clothesline) and I do use it. Also have a dryer. That is for emergencies and mega wet weather.

I have noticed that some people will hang up their washing, but only in the garage. It either has something to do with not having to worry about the weather, the warm car engine helps dry the clothes or that they just dislike the look of a clothesline outside.

I'm ashamed to say I tend to rely on my dryer a lot.
Mainly because I work part time so I find when I am at home I can take a load out, throw them in the dryer, next load in the wash and can get in with other things.

I am a shocker for leaving clothes on the line for days because I forget about them!

So yeah, it's convenient for me to use the dryer instead of the line... MOST of the time anyway.

Wouldn't their washing smell like exhaust? I'm on the phone but where's that sick face? Bleh...

One of the things I love about my new house is my undercover clothes line. I have something on it every day and things generally dry in a day or so!

We do have a dryer, it runs sometimes for cloth nappies but that is it. I don't trust my clothes not to shrink!!

I love a line full of clean clothes and sheets drying in the sun! I just don't like having to fold them and put them away when they are dry! LOL. I just hung a load up on our clothes airer, we also have a dryer which i also use when needed, so a bit of everything really!

DF used to go on and on and on at me every time i used the dryer, but i have noticed that since he has been the SAHD all but 2 loads (which i did!) have gone through the dryer...

i use my clothesline all the time! i have a dryer also, but rarely use it, only work work uniform emergencies ;)

I have a 'normal' clothes line, which I now only use for towels and sheets. For the rest, I have an airer on the back deck that I hang underwear, socks, DD's shorts etc on. Shirts go straight on a coat hanger and hung on lines DH has rigged up on the verandah.
I don't use my clothes line as much anymore, cos it's always sooo hot out there when I hang stuff out and I got sick of clothes fading too quickly. By hanging everything on the verandah upstairs I can keep an eye on DD much easier too. She tends to bolt off towards the side yard, which isn't entirely child friendly most of the time!

Come to think of it, I very rarely see my neighbours hanging out any washing either...

I have two clotheslines and an enormous airer that all get a regular workout. I do have a dryer and as tempting as it is to use it, rarely do I actually use it. I hate the smell that it gives your clothes when only the dryer is used.
DH works in an Aboriginal community that is very remote, and they just cannot risk having clothes lines in their (highly secure I might add) compound so all quarters have dryers. I cannot stand the dryer smell so have sent my airer with him this weekend so he can at least hang them inside.

I don't have a dryer. When I did I only used it when it rained. I love the smell of sunshine in my sheets and also I feel like they're more hygenic than dryer dried clothes because the sun kills all sorts of things that don't mind the dryer. They say that bed-bugs are making a comeback because of the popularity of dryers.

We have a dryer in our weekender but we don't often use it.

I have one of those silly clothes lines that hang off the house, two loads and It's full, I have a airer too that I hang the kids clothes on.

I do have a dryer but dont use it


Love MN ;-)

I have a clothes line & hate it! Only coz its not an old hills hoist. Its one of those silly new green things. Similar style to the hills (maybe even the same brand), but no where near the air size & the lines are all too close together, so you don't get very good air flow in there!

I have 2 lines under my big verandah & 2 clothes airers. I did have a dryer that I used a little too much, but it died on me :( I need another one, but I won't use it as much. I cut back my usage ALOT (may be why it died :lol:)

I had a house once that had 2 massive old hills hoists out the side! Loved that house :lol:

I have lavender planted under the clothesline. The towels and the sheets brush against it. It is meant to be good for keeping bugs off them whilst they are being stored, so I wonder if lavender helps with bed bugs?

I live in a rental and we have an OLD cloths line that needs replacing it wont turn in the wind anymore or at all but its a big one so im not complaining

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I have lavender planted under the clothesline. The towels and the sheets brush against it. It is meant to be good for keeping bugs off them whilst they are being stored, so I wonder if lavender helps with bed bugs?

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That sounds delicious. Fresh lavender and sunshine mmmmmm.

I love my clothesline. I can do 4 loads and it takes it all and we have a big machine :o I hate using the dryer. I'm looking at getting a clothesline for under my front porch for winter and when it's raining

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We dont own a dryer and can't see us ever having one. We are about to move into a new house where the clothes line is in the pool area, like in side the pool fence (i would guess these peoples dogs used to attack their washing) I already hate it as I have an image of me trying to carry a basket to hang out and holding open the pool gate and a future toddler running past me into the pool! so we are going to buy one of those collapsible ones to put in the garden, anyone got one of them?

Sent via my vortex manipulator

I have a line that can hold maybe one and a half loads and 2 good size airers, which all get used 95% of the time. I bought a drier during a wet spell though which I do use very occasionally - we have no heating inside and during wet weather in the winter if it takes more than a day to dry the clothes (it often does) they end up smelling damp, which I can't stand. I cringe every time I use the drier, but it has come in very useful at times.

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we have no heating inside and during wet weather in the winter if it takes more than a day to dry the clothes (it often does) they end up smelling damp, which I can't stand. I cringe every time I use the drier, but it has come in very useful at times.

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We have that problem. When it rains here, it can rain for weeks. Specially through the warmer months. It takes days to dry anything because of the humidity in the air. Thats why I NEED a dryer.
I took a few damp things to my parents place for the weekend. They'd been hanging out for about 2 hours already, hung them out there on Friday & some still weren't dry when I got home yesterday :rolleyes: Lucky I didn't need them!

Freya - ours is blue too, with white lines. They're actually worse than the green ones I think.

I never understood why my dad took our old hills down & put a wall line up. We had a massive back yard. There was no reason for it! :lol:

Our clothes line is 4 pieces of string attached from our house to the fence. I can't use it though because we live on a busy dirt road and the clothes get way too dusty when they're hung out there. They end up needing to be washed again unless it's a very hot day and they're only on the line for a few minutes. I use the dryer every day and in winter we use clothes horses next to the fire, the clothes dry overnight that way.

Well we kind of have one, two lines strung up on the balcony! (ggrrrr, can't wait for a proper one again)

I hate using the dryer, I would usually leave it for emergencies (super wet weather, need something "now") but here I'm having to use it for sock, undies, leggings and PJ's because I have no room to hang anything.

I hate the way clothes come out of the dryer and it's so harsh on them.

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Our clothes line is 4 pieces of string attached from our house to the fence. I can't use it though because we live on a busy dirt road and the clothes get way too dusty when they're hung out there. They end up needing to be washed again unless it's a very hot day and they're only on the line for a few minutes. I use the dryer every day and in winter we use clothes horses next to the fire, the clothes dry overnight that way.

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See, perfectly good reason for using a dryer. I have no issue with that. I'm just confused as to why people use a dryer when it's a perfectly fine day, in a normal surburban backyard, when they have a large unused hills hoist holding prominent position in the yard. Is it like a decoration or something? :rofl:

We use our dryer through winter when I'm desperate. We have a clothes horse that I use and I either put it in a warm spot in the house, or I put it under our pergola outside.

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See, perfectly good reason for using a dryer. I have no issue with that. I'm just confused as to why people use a dryer when it's a perfectly fine day, in a normal surburban backyard, when they have a large unused hills hoist holding prominent position in the yard. Is it like a decoration or something? :rofl:

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Or play equipment for the kids to swing on.

My MIL and 3 SIL's all use their dryer 365 days a year.

I hate using my dryer! I cringe everytime the boys use it! I have a fairly big clothes line attached to the back wall of the house, its undercover, so its great. The only time the clothes get wet is if its really windy while its raining.

i have one that folds down against the house, not that it could be folded down even if i wanted it to! i HATE IT!! i can get one load of nappies and one load of clothes then its full, or 3 loads of clothes. i hate it, but use it more then i did at our old place that had the massive hills one... my theory is the dog took fancey in how the washing blew arround and spun on the big one, now its close to the wall and the line is 'fixed' i only lose 5 things max per day of washing compared to the whole lot!
and they only end up coverd in drool instead of riped from her wrestling them, being a big dog, she would even get socks off with it wound up as high as it would go.

i have a dryer, use to rely on it WAY to much, from fear of the dog eating my washing :shakehead: but it has developed a problem were if i dont keep an eye on the timer it gets stuck and over heats, ive been banned from using it for a few months now, and the only thing i miss is how fluffy the towles came out! the more washing i do, the less milo tries to drown me in drool!!! and i love the smell the sun leaves!

Aw Sarah, I know that all too well. When we moved in our beagle took everything off the line, we have one that attaches to the house. We ended up building a fence so she couldn't get to it. Solved two things, she couldn't get the washing, and we can't see the line in our backyard!

We moved into our 'new' house (that we built) nearly 4 years ago...and still dont have a cloths line (cant agree where to put one) or dryer. Instead, we have four cloths airers that we move inside (in front of the fire), outside on the deck and under the veranda's depending on the conditions. Yep, downside is that we need to be doing washing throughout the week as at a max I can fit 3 loads on them at one time (in good weather with a breeze when I can crowd stuff on every rail), but on the up side, we dont obscure the view with a clothsline, nor do I need to walk miles to get to the line (which I would by the time we got to a spot we could agree to put one up) and it caters to wet and fine weather! The trick with this system is to have different types/sizes of airers so that sheets go on one and then there is one with lots of rails for 'smalls' etc....