Lets talk clotheslines

Bay Mare · #1 11/04/08, 06:27 PM

Ok, so I need to install a clothesline. I have never had a real one before. I have had just a rope strung up between two trees but not one that was permanent.

Where to put it? on the south side of the house with full sun? (might be kinda hard to fit between the water & septic lines) Behind the house where it is close to the back door (washer) with only early afternoon sun? North side with morning and early pm sun but out of the way of foot traffic, water lines, etc?

What do you love about yours? What would you do differently?

I know it is a pretty simple thing - stout poles with good wire strung in between - but I don't want to look back in a few months and say I wish I had ...

Thanks,
Angela

debbiebofjc · #2 11/04/08, 06:45 PM

Mine is on the northwest side of the house and that seems to work fine.
The only problem I have with mine is it is too far from the door of the house.
I have to carry the clothes around the house to get to it.

I wouldn't put it in front of the house (especially if you live on a gravel road!),
unless you like showing everyone your underwear!
Mine has the plastic-covered cord (string inside, with a vinyl covering).
Regular wire might rust.

mare · #3 11/04/08, 06:49 PM

i have one of those circular ones that is still in the box cuz i cant figure out where to put it. i dont want it by the road and i dont want to see it from the windows

. i might just wait until spring now but i've been thinking of stringing a line between trees for this winter.

Rick · #4 11/04/08, 06:56 PM

Angela

Is it worth lugging the laundry to any other place from the back door at the washer?

Rick

beaglebiz · #5 11/04/08, 07:21 PM

i had the poles with several lines strung accross. Kinda of a pain whn you are in a hurry or doing two things at once. When my Dad was still alive, he put up three large pulley lines from my back porch. Now, its a piece of cake to take out and bring in.
I even have a smaller pulley line to the pool dech for towels in the summer.
I also purchased the exps wire, it stretched out and broke after a year or two. I switched to plain cheap cotton rope and have had the same ropes up for four years.
Lastly, I am sick of replacing my clothes pins. Took some looking but i fond the one piece wooden ones commonly used for crafts. I still had some of Grandma's that are probably 50 years old.

Bay Mare · #6 11/04/08, 07:26 PM

Well, I would say that close to the back door would be best but I was thinking that maybe it would take longer for things to dry since it doesn't get as much sun. Except of course on really hot days in the summer. Also, the area behind the house has the smallest area that I could put it and still be able to get around. I am always walking back and forth back there while doing chores and the septic holding tank is back there. With in about 20 feet of the house the yard starts dropping off to the spring so it is kind of a narrow area. I may end up putting it there simply because it is closer but I will have to figure the best place for traffic, etc.

Also, do any of you have animals running around the area of your clothesline? Do they bother anything? I have chickens running everywhere and the occasional goat or 3. Plus the dogs but I don't think they will bother it.

Angela

Bay Mare · #7 11/04/08, 07:32 PM

Beaglebiz, the pulley lines sound like a good idea. If my husband could put them high enough (off the porch) they might not interfere as much with walking back there. Maybe he could run them to some of the trees back there. How long are your lines? It would probably be 35 feet to the closest tree.

Angela

BetsyK in Mich · #8 11/04/08, 07:33 PM

I have the Amish clothesline. Kind of pricey but well worth the cost. It is two pulleys attached to a tree and the house with a plastic coated cable. The pulley is at the edge of the deck just steps away from the door and I just stand on the deck and put the clothes on the line running it out across the yard. There are no posts to mow around or support poles to take care of. The line is about 10 feet off the ground so the dogs can't get ahold of anything. I can put six loads of clothes on the line. Run the line opposite to the direction of the prevailing wind - we have a west wind most of the time, clothesline runs north and south.

Alice In TX/MO · #9 11/04/08, 07:43 PM

The plain 'post in the ground' will lean after a while. Hubby made welded posts with a long foot at right angles to the post. Then, there's a short T on the end of the foot.

The feet are on the same side as the wire, and he digs a hole for the foot and base of the post.

More work, more digging, but never will lean, even if you pull the wires tight.

cc · #10 11/04/08, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetsyK in Mich

I have the Amish clothesline. Kind of pricey but well worth the cost. It is two pulleys attached to a tree and the house with a plastic coated cable. The pulley is at the edge of the deck just steps away from the door and I just stand on the deck and put the clothes on the line running it out across the yard. There are no posts to mow around or support poles to take care of. The line is about 10 feet off the ground so the dogs can't get ahold of anything. I can put six loads of clothes on the line. Run the line opposite to the direction of the prevailing wind - we have a west wind most of the time, clothesline runs north and south.

Where did you get your Amish clothesline? Trying to picture what it looks like but my brain isn't working tonight!

Maura · #11 11/04/08, 11:32 PM

Out the back door, on the north side. You don't want your laundry in full sun unless you are diligent about running back out and checking often. In the summer when it's hot, your lighter laundry will dry very quickly, especially if there is any breeze. Bleaching will be a problem. Still, I would want a line of some sort in direct sun for things like towels. I'd prefer a sunny spot that is bright in the morning but goes to shade if I do laundry in the morning. If I do laundry in the afternoon, I'd want the full sun to the west so the sun sets before bleaching everything out.

hotzcatz · #12 11/05/08, 12:31 AM

I think wind does more for drying clothes than sun. We have our laundry lines hung under the house (the house is eight feet up on posts) where the sun never shines. The tradewinds blow through there real well, though, and the clothes dry much faster if we have more wind than usual.

I'd put the clothes line as close to the washer and house door as practical.

beaglebiz · #13 11/05/08, 03:51 AM

I have two forty feet long or better. They are attached from my porch post to a tree, and slope upward. I have a shorter one from porch post to pool deck. if i am doing something in the kitchen at the same time, its a piece of cake to be five feet away on the porch. the wind and sun catch the clothes. Its also not such a chore to bring it in.

BetsyK in Mich · #14 11/05/08, 06:19 AM

I got mine from Lehman's Amish store. Just Google it and the catalog will come up. Really like it, had a line with posts in the yard for years, this is much better.

Cindy in PA · #15 11/05/08, 06:51 AM

I can't help you with the position, except that the closer to the door the better. While the breeze does dry the clothes in warm weather, if you will be hanging in spring, fall or winter when the temps are low, you need sun. Last year the oak leaves failed to fall from the trees by late November & my line was shaded for the first time ever for most of the day. I had a heck of a time getiing my clothes dry, even with my FL washing machine. You want to use the plastic coated wire clothesline, as it is much more durable than the rope covered plastic & doesn't stretch. I have a habit of letting my wash up all day & if I hang my nicer dark stuff inside out, I don't have to worry about bleaching.

Judi Reilly · #16 11/05/08, 08:10 AM

my clothesline is close to the back door..it is set from east to west,,full sun in the mornings..partial in afternoons.the north and south winds will whip out the clothes,,less wrinkles and will dry very fast..it has poles set about 8 ft. apart..2 on each end, with a heavy wooden bar across the span, bolted to the posts..holes are drilled into the bar..a long bolt with an eye on one end..hook the clothesline wire onto that,,put a washer and nut on the other side of the bar..and tighten up the wire that way..when wire gets loose,,just give the nut afew twists to tighten..its about 50 ft. or so long..I can hang lots out on it..
Hope my description os clear enuf..and to me..its worth the effort to hang them out..love the smell of fresh bedding from the line..not to mention the electricity save!

longshot38 · #17 11/05/08, 08:37 AM

as for placement, check where you get the best breezes around your house, the wind will dry your clothes faster than the heat of the sun and the constant motion from the wind will keep your clothes from getting stiff.

dean

PS thats why the better dehydrators have a fan in them, air movement sucks moisture from things.

MushCreek · #18 11/05/08, 04:04 PM

Don't put it under a cherry tree- or any other tree that birds frequent!

beaglebiz · #19 11/05/08, 04:53 PM

Mushcreek, thats the best advice I heard all day!!
today I found a little lost honeybee sitting on a clothespin on my hung out laundry. I hope the little guy found his way home

DaniR1968 · #20 11/05/08, 06:32 PM

I had 4 lines between my back porch and the landing off the laundry room. With the change of seasons, that spot was only getting sun in the morning and clothes would take all day to dry. So, I went to Ace and ordered an umbrella clothesline. I put it a little farther away, maybe another 50 feet, and it works great. You can turn it as you put clothes on! I think that's my favorite part other than the fact that it has 165ft of line. I got 4 loads on with room to spare. If you don't need that much line, they had one on a tripod. Less footage but you could put it where you want it and only have it out when you need it.