[Honey Berry]

What is the ideal distance to place clothesline posts before the wire sags too low in the middle?

I have two posts and 3 packages of 50' clothesline wire....

Thanks!

 

[DaleK]

Depends how tight you want it. Ours are both 75' long with two tighteners.

 

[Awnry Abe]

I'm closing my eyes and peering back into my childhood. I would say they were about 50' apart. Factor in the "giant backyard of my childhood" effect, and reduce by about half. I'd say about 25'. Mom's was made of high tinsel wire, not vynal.

Edit: I love questions like this. I'm on the tail edge of my 40's and have to struggle to remember things from my youth. Without context, I have a hard time remembering even what my backyard was like. But input "clotheslines", and all sorts of cool stuff comes pouring back.

 

[Ozarks Tom]

Ours are 40 apart, 4 lines. The ends are 7', and fully loaded 4 1/2' in the middle.

 

[Ozarks Tom]

Edit: I love questions like this. I'm on the tail edge of my 40's and have to struggle to remember things from my youth. Without context, I have a hard time remembering even what my backyard was like. But input "clotheslines", and all sorts of cool stuff comes pouring back.

You'll find as you age your childhood memories will be much more clear, it's yesterday you can't remember.

 

[sisterpine]

mine is pretty new and is 25 feet long.

 

[jwal10]

How many are you hanging clothes for? 2 make it 25' = 1/2 your clothes line length. 4 or more use all 50', no waste - what it takes to wrap around the ends....James

 

[hippygirl]

I believe mine are 25' apart, 4 lines, each with its own turnbuckle (so that's "about" 96' of "useable" line).

FYI...I "thought" that almost 100' would be more than enough for just the two of us (most of the time, it is), but sometimes I could easily use another two lines.

 

[msscamp]

What is the ideal distance to place clothesline posts before the wire sags too low in the middle?

I have two posts and 3 packages of 50' clothesline wire....

Thanks!

As far as I know, there is no ideal distance to prevent sagging. I know people whose posts are anywhere from 25' to 150'. I think it depends more on how you install the clothesline and making sure you have turnbuckles in place so you can tighten the line as it starts sagging. Of course, I could be wrong, too.

 

[TraciInTexas]

I bought a 32' winch. I wanted retractable lines. It is a good length. I would like two of them.

 

[Crowbar]

All depends on how far apart your trees are.

 

[geo in mi]

What??? Nobody has ever heard of a clothesline prop!??? Mom's was a double strand of No. 9 wire on tee posts about fifty feet apart. She would have to wipe the rust and bird doo off it each time before she used it. It was at her shoulder height so she could hoist the heavy overalls up without extending her arms out full length(very tiring).

Depending on the ground moisture in the clay, the tee posts would sag forward under the weight, or twist with an unbalanced line--so a prop was always used. Otherwise it was overalls, overalls, shirts, shirts, shorts,shorts,----shorts, shorts, shirts, shirts, overalls, overalls.

Luckily the prop was permanently attached with a fence staple--or she would have used it on me on occasion.

geo

 

[frogmammy]

I think they even sell these metal props at hardware stores. I usually have had a 7-8 foot piece of 2x2 with a couple nails driven in the end, to hold the pole in place. I'd think 25-35 foot, 4 lines, would do fine for most, unless you get fresh towels & washcloths for every person each time you wash up, OR have 4-5 kids. In that case, I'd get the longest I could.

Mon

 

[Forcast]

What??? Nobody has ever heard of a clothesline prop!??? Mom's was a double strand of No. 9 wire on tee posts about fifty feet apart. She would have to wipe the rust and bird doo off it each time before she used it. It was at her shoulder height so she could hoist the heavy overalls up without extending her arms out full length(very tiring).


Was just thinking clothes line poles they have that u shaped stiff wire to trap the clothes line, grand mother had them green.

 

[Bellyman]

What??? Nobody has ever heard of a clothesline prop!??? Mom's was a double strand of No. 9 wire on tee posts about fifty feet apart. She would have to wipe the rust and bird doo off it each time before she used it. It was at her shoulder height so she could hoist the heavy overalls up without extending her arms out full length(very tiring).

Depending on the ground moisture in the clay, the tee posts would sag forward under the weight, or twist with an unbalanced line--so a prop was always used. Otherwise it was overalls, overalls, shirts, shirts, shorts,shorts,----shorts, shorts, shirts, shirts, overalls, overalls.

Luckily the prop was permanently attached with a fence staple--or she would have used it on me on occasion.

geo

Thank you, Geo!!

I think ours were about 50' apart, can't remember exactly. But, we strung another line on over to the pavilion (another 50' away) and back to the original starting point making more of a triangle last time we used it.

It really doesn't matter how far apart the posts are so long as you have enough wash props to prop up in the places you need to. Ours were made out of old 2X2 lumber leftovers with a little V notch in the end to engage the clothes line better. Not exactly rocket science.

Now, if you wanna get fancy, you can get a set of those pulleys like the Amish use and string a few hundred feet of clothes line from, say, your porch to the barn. Ya just hafta stand on the porch and put it up, sending it all down the line towards the barn as you go. Only problem with that is, if you can't reach it all from he ground (usually can't), it's a first on / last off kind of thing.




FWIW, I'm parked in a place right now where I don't have access to a clothes line and I sure do miss it. There just isn't anything like a bath towel that's been dried flapping in the breeze and drying in the sun.

 

[oldasrocks]

It all depends on how heavy your underwear is in how far the poles can be apart.

 

[Evons hubby]

Just a word of caution here, do not put your clothesline near where those pesky kids with their four wheelers run back and forth across your property.

 

[Eagle-eye]

So the line dont sag.

 

[am1too]

I set mine at 20'.

 

[mnn2501]

Growing up ours was about 15-18 feet apart.
Today, its the distance between the two tree's nearest our house - about 22 feet. The tree's are our posts, we don't hang everything.