No matter how large or small your household is, you will always need a space to dry your washing but how do you know which clothes line is the best choice for your home?  Read on for our tips.

What to Consider When Installing Clothes Lines

When choosing your clothes line, you need to fit it into the space you have.  The traditional Hills Hoist is still available (rotary clothes line) but they are becoming less popular as backyards are becoming smaller and people are landscaping them to suit their purpose.  It is not as simple as just installing a clothesline in the middle of the backyard anymore.

Clothes lines are available in colours such as greens, greys, and beige.  They are mostly neutral as they are designed to blend in rather than stand out.  In the landscaping process, don't forget to build in the clothes line to your plan, otherwise you might find that you've finished the landscape but haven't left enough room for the clothes line, forcing you to buy a smaller model, and you may end up relying on your drier more.

Choices in Clothes Lines

So what choices do you have?  Some include:

A lift out rotary clothes line -- if you need the amount of space provided by a standard rotary clothes line but you don't want it to dominate your yard, why not go for the lift out version?  These fold down and lift out of the ground for storage when you don't need them.

Fold down clothes line -- these clothes lines simply fold down when they are not in use and you can install them on a brick wall, a fence, or even along the edge of your garden (if you cement it into the ground on posts).

Retractable/extendable clothes line -- these work by having a small cabinet that is mounted to a wall or post.  Lines run out from this cabinet to a bar that is on another post or wall.  When you don't want to use the clothes line, it retracts back into its cabinet, giving you an uninterrupted view of the backyard.

Rectangular clothes line  -- these are shaped like the standard rotary clothes line only the overhead frame is rectangular, allowing it to be slipped into odd corners or down the side of the house.  You can raise and lower these but they don't rotate.