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Looking for Ways to Replace a Clothes Line

 
steward
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I guess the wind took out my clothes line.  I really don't want to use the dryer.  Any ideas?  I have thought about hangers in trees, like this:




I saw this though there is probably not enough pvc laying around to use:




I know I can can hang them in the shower though I like the smell of fresh air dried clothes.




I know I can just go buy clothes line on Amazon though I like to see what I am buying.  Any suggestions?
 
steward
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Can you just buy some clothes line at the store and tie it between two trees?  
 
Anne Miller
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We are self quarantine and have not been anywhere since March 6. No symptoms and don't want to take a chance on possible contamination.

The clothes line went from a cedar tree to the house.  What happened is that the line rubbed on the tree and broke in the middle.
 
pollinator
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Online order?

When the package arrives don’t touch it for a few days to let any surface contamination die off.

Or just wash your hands with soap when done?
 
master steward
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Tie the two frayed ends together?
 
out to pasture
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I like to drape clothes over lavender or rosemary bushes.
 
gardener
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I like to put tension rods in my windows and hang clothes on hangars from the tension rods. If you have curtain rods already, that would work. I find they get musty smelling indoors unless you hang them in sunlight. I have also been known to use the backs of chairs. You can dry socks and other small items by clothespinning them to a hangar.
 
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Fences work as well just make sure you wash the fence down first.

washing.jpg
[Thumbnail for washing.jpg]
 
pollinator
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And do invest in these handy tensioners:



It becomes so easy to hook and unhook the line for safe storage and to adjust the tension while in use.
 
gardener
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My neighbours put chain link fence around their land, which is uninhabited, and we have found it makes a great clothes line. I like to pin things right to the side of it so they aren't folded, and dry really quickly.
 
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We used two typical types of clothes lines:

1. the quintessential 'Hills Hoist': generations of kids got into big trouble swinging on these. Most people have them if their backyard is big enough. Also, throwing a tarp over it means clothes can still be dried in wet weather. Some entrepreneur also manufactured a fitted tarp so it could be used as a sun-umbrella or shelter tables of food during parties!

2. the lean-to design: two sturdy posts placed in the ground as far apart as you like. A timber cross-member bolted to each post so it can tilt. Then string two or four lengths of wire between the cross-members and pull tight. Clothes are then pegged to the wires - a large stick or pole can be used to hold one side of the wire higher than the other e.g. for large items such as sheets and towels. (The photo shows a fixed cross-member version, which isn't as good.)

3. a creative Permie version.
Hills-Hoist.jpg
[Thumbnail for Hills-Hoist.jpg]
Lean-to-Version.jpg
[Thumbnail for Lean-to-Version.jpg]
Permie-Version.jpg
[Thumbnail for Permie-Version.jpg]
 
gardener
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I would get whatever is left of your line and tie it to whatever you have around (maybe drive a post if you need to).
That lacking, when I was in college I washed my clothes in the sink and dried them on the fire escape on hangers. didn't win any awards for brilliance, to this day I've never owned a dryer and know that was probably not the easiest way to do it, but it worked just fine for 4 years, even in the winter.
Here people often hang their laundry on a wire fence or on whatever is stable (and clean) enough to permit.
I keep some old rope around to put up extra clotheslines when I wash bedding, for example. Any old rope or even wire will do just fine.

(I love the image of the tree drying the clothes, but I imagine your clothes might end up blown clean to Arizona....)
 
Anne Miller
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Thanks everyone for your wonderful responses!  

There was enough line to be able to tie it together though this is probably something temporary.  I wrapped a piece of old tshirt where it rubbed.

I ran across this thread today and really liked this idea from Tereza:



https://permies.com/t/131212/Clothesline-Hut-making-life-easier
 
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