drying washing

Back in the 1970's I purchased my very rotary dryer for the garden. Just triangular shaped. With three small children this had plenty of use. Winter as well as summer. Did have a very small tumble dryer but really could not afford to run it.

A year after I bought it, one of the arms collapsed. With great indignation I contacted the compant from who I had purchased it, and was totally taken aback when the reply from them was that it was not under guarantee as I had left it ouside all of the time!!!!
Okay, with the ones I have used in the past few years I always put a cover on it after use and took them down and put away during winter. But, back them there were no covers available and I needed it all year.

Rather along the lines of the plumber who told me that the rreason one of my loos was blocked, was that I had 'probably been using he wrong sort of toiler paper'!!!

I recommend buying a good brand - I inherited one here in my new bungalow, and the 'line' is far too thin.

A rotary is fine for me on my own, even for bedding as it's a wide circumference so plenty of room on it. I love it.

Washing line. I love hanging washing out. I wouldn't be able to do it, here in Switzerland. It frequently smells too much of wood burning stoves that would permeate the laundry. But in England, I love my washing line.

Had a rotary line, soon went back to traditional much prefer it..

I use a line but it's a retractable one. Mine's fixed onto the side of a shed and the hook is on a tree.

Loved it so much, it came with me when I moved house ! At the old house, it was screwed to the garage and the hook was on a garden fence post.

You can get double ones.

I love my rotary line, it's great seeing it whirl around in the wind. I can get loads of clothes on it, even big sheets etc.

I know what you mean LindaPat. My much older cousin had one. We were fascinated with it when we were kids and used to peg things on it just to see them go to the other end of the garden.

You can buy a wall mounted washing line from a company called Brabantia. When open they look a bit like a rotary washing line but do not rotate. When not in use they fold into the compact metal cabinet which is part of the structure, fixed on a wall. These are ideal if you only have a small garden or if you prefer not to have a traditional washing line or rotary.

I had a rotary for a few years but much prefer my traditional line. I find the washing easier to hang and think it takes less time to dry than on the rotary.

I have had a rotary dryer for a long time. I have never had an issue with it falling over or moving though not set in concrete. It does stay up as I am not strong enough to put it down so that could be an issue if you are bothered about the look of it.

Like my rotary line and it does accommodate plenty of washing. The one thing I would recommend is to make sure it has been firmly installed in the ground otherwise it could tip or fall over. We had ours cemented in.

Line and big prop. Love to see washing drying in the sun and breeze. Like the idea given above of a pull out line though. Must look into that!

Like many above posters, I have always had a rotary dryer, cemented in to make stable. Never had a problem, washing dries fine, I like to see it turning in the wind. It is on the small lawn near the drive, not visible from the road as it is screened by a tall hedge and a fence.
At my previous house, when the children were small, my dad fixed a contraption outside the back door for the nappies. He ran a pulley line between a bracket on the wall and one on the back of the garage. I could stand at the back door and peg out the nappies, pulling the line along as I worked. Hard to describe, but the first one pegged out ended up at the far end of the line. It was a godsend, held about 15 nappies and I loved to see them blowing in the wind!

I have never owned a tumble dryer and have always dried my clothes outdoors. In my previous house, where I lived for many years, I had an old fashioned line with proper line posts which meant that my clothes were about 10 ft high in the air and dried easily.
In this house, which is 5 years old, I do not have much of a garden and it is surrounded by 6ft high wooden fences. I did not think that a rotary clothes line would be a good idea. It would work ok in the summer, but not in the winter.
I bought some clothes hooks which were screwed on to the wooden fence and also some bandolier clips to which I tied the clothes line.
So now when I dry clothes I put the clothes line on the hooks and peg out. Take the washing in when dry and also the clothes line.
This means that most of the time, when I look out the garden, I do not see an unslightly washing or rotary line.
I forgot to add that I also use a prop to push the line up a bit.
It will never be as good as my old washing line, but I deliberately wanted a small garden as unfortunately I can no longer garden as I could.

I have a good quality 4 section rotary line. There's mostly just two of us so it takes everything I need to wash in one go. Heavy bedding & bath sheets, the lot. I've always had rotary lines because I like to put it away or pull a cover over it when not in use. This also helps to preserve the lines from "weathering" so it lasts years & years. Buy the best you can afford & get the sheath it sits in, set in concrete.
I try not to dry washing inside because it can lead to "life style condensation." Black on walls, mould on ceilings etc. I am fortunate to have a conservatory so occasionally use an airer out there. Crack open a window to allow air to circulate. Job done!

I have a small courtyard and have a freestanding, four legged rotary line. It's useful for drying trousers pegged open so they dry more quickly and for looping up long items.

Had both and definitely prefer a line.

My rotary dryer is 4 sided. I live on my own but I appear to wash for many because my dryer does a sterling job. The clothes appear to dry faster when there is a slight breeze and it whirls around. I love mine.

I don't like the look of the rotary ones though they are perfectly efficient and prefer to watch the sheets flying on the line in the sunshine. I have a wooden clothes prop.
Being in Scotland I also have a pully in the kitchen.

I should of said the four sided ones are better and mine is easily collapsed and lives in the garage when not in use, B & Q sell a spike that twists into the ground and mine is 5 yrs old and it’s never moved or leaned even though it’s had my heavy king size duvet on it to air it several times.

I live alone and don't have much washing. I find my portable rotary drier is big enough for my needs. It has a tendency to fall over in high winds though so probably one that is cemented in wouldn't faint! I like that I can store it out of sight when it's not in use

I have always had a rotary driver. I like to fold it up and put its cover on when not in use. DH takes it out for mowing or if we are having people in the garden .

I have a retractable line, pull it out and attach it to a hook in the opposite wall, then when the washing is dry, it goes away again. I much prefer it to the whirly things.

I have a rotary one which is collapsible. It is meant for
holiday-ing. It’s small; to keep it fixed in place we have a concrete kerb stone across the base.
When we don’t want it in the garden DH takes it down.