Old-fashioned clothesline drying...

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My mother used a clothesline year-round despite also having an electric dryer. I was fascinated as a child when she’d hang out clothing in the dead of winter, and they’d be brought in rigid...now there were pants that could literally stand for themselves! 😲

While I primarily use an electric dryer, I still use a clothesline in warmer weather for bulky and hard-to-dry bedding...
 

grannyjo said:
Hang my clothes out on the line whenever I can.

Live in a 24 flat block with 6 clotheslines - you had to watch your washing like a hawk, or someone would pinch your sheets or towels.

One strange bloke had penchant for ladies underwear and if you didn't watch it would all be gone.
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Now wouldn't that be a PITA. There was a pantie thief making his or her rounds in a neighbouring residential area not far from where we lived back in the late 80's, early 90's. They never caught the person or persons in question, but talk about how utterly childish.
 
hollydolly said:
When I was first married, in the mid 70's and living in Forces married quarters, I had no dryer, and so my washing all went outside. Our back garden although fenced off but just with chicken wire was easily accessible to any trespassers.. and our washing (every bit of it ) got stolen twice in the 12 months we lived there..:rolleyes:
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For goodness sakes, what is wrong with people?
 
Going one better than the clothesline, is the Hill's Hoist which can be installed in your backyard. It's a great contraption that moves with the wind. You can dry a lot of clothes on it. I used one when I was in Australia. The wind and sun dried everything very quickly.

It was invented in Adelaide, Au. but can be bought in Canada. Don't know about the U.S. or anywhere else.

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Pinky said:
Going one better than the clothesline, is the Hill's Hoist which can be installed in your backyard. It's a great contraption that moves with the wind. You can dry a lot of clothes on it. I used one when I was in Australia. The wind and sun dried everything very quickly.

It was invented in Adelaide, Au. but can be bought in Canada. Don't know about the U.S. or anywhere else.
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You know, Pinky, I've heard of those before, but can't recall what they are, so will be Googling them to refresh my memory again.
 
Fyrefox said:
My mother used a clothesline year-round despite also having an electric dryer. I was fascinated as a child when she’d hang out clothing in the dead of winter, and they’d be brought in rigid...now there were pants that could literally stand for themselves! 😲

While I primarily use an electric dryer, I still use a clothesline in warmer weather for bulky and hard-to-dry bedding...
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Yes, I've seen pictures of pants and things standing up by themselves hilarious! I wonder if the items actually get freeze-dried, where very little moisture is left in them? I've always wondered about that...
 
@Pinky , before I had the extension line that I have now which I've had for many years, I had the rotary line similar to the one in your picture. It didn't work too well here because we're not in a windy area, so I'd have to literally pull it around sometimes to try and get clothing dried... :ROFLMAO: that didn't last too long..
 
Pinky. My mind must be playing tricks on me, because I swear I didn't see the picture you posted when I replied to your post! I am still only on my second cup of coffee, so that could very well be where I went sideways on this. :)

Yes, we call them umbrella clotheslines. Even to this day when I drive by trailer-courts, umbrella clotheslines can be seen by the dozens.
 
hollydolly said:
@Pinky , before I had the extension line that I have now which I've had for many years, I had the rotary line similar to the one in your picture. It didn't work too well here because we're not in a windy area, so I'd have to literally pull it around sometimes to try and get clothing dried... :ROFLMAO: that didn't last too long..
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ROFLMAO! Now, Holly, had you had little ones in the house, you could have employed them to take care of the spinning for you! :)
 
I detest clothes lines with a passion. My mom always hung her clothes on a clothesline, because they "smelled fresher". It didn't matter that she had a dryer. The problem came in winter. It's 5 above zero (F), my mom hangs clothes out to dry. It's my job to get the clothed of the line, and throw them into the dryer. We just can't live without that "fresh smell". Have you ever tried taking clothes off a rope, when they are frozen to it? You have to pull and yank them, so they break them off. It's a contest of strength, and most of the time the clothes win. And if that's not enough fun, try doing that with lots of frigid wind, and ice cold sleet/snow in your face. Try folding rock hard jeans, where you have to beat them to fit into a dryer door. Yeah, I'm putting them into the DRYER to get dry!!!! Ahhhh!
 
We've had a dryer for years and use it most of the time but also have a clothesline (with pulleys) that goes from the back porch to an old maple tree. My old Grand-dad, who owned the house back in the 30's, wrapped a wire around that maple, to hold one of the pulleys. The clotheslines and pulleys have been replaced over and over but that wire is now embedded in the tree which eventually grew around it.

We use the line for large blankets and sheets in good weather. It's also handy for little odds and ends when it isn't worth starting up the dryer. When I was a little tot, I couldn't reach high enough to touch the pulley on the porch and after 80 or so years, I still can't reach the one attached to the tree. must be 9 or 10 feet above the ground. Needs a ladder when the pulley or line wears out.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I detest clothes lines with a passion. My mom always hung her clothes on a clothesline, because they "smelled fresher". It didn't matter that she had a dryer. The problem came in winter. It's 5 above zero (F), my mom hangs clothes out to dry. It's my job to get the clothed of the line, and throw them into the dryer. We just can't live without that "fresh smell". Have you ever tried taking clothes off a rope, when they are frozen to it? You have to pull and yank them, so they break them off. It's a contest of strength, and most of the time the clothes win. And if that's not enough fun, try doing that with lots of frigid wind, and ice cold sleet/snow in your face. Try folding rock hard jeans, where you have to beat them to fit into a dryer door. Yeah, I'm putting them into the DRYER!!!! Ahhhh!
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ROFLMAO! One of my jobs when I was growing up, not officially speaking, but a job I did nonetheless, was hanging baby siblings diapers on the clothesline. We had an electric tumble dryer, but no way, mom wanted no part of tumble-dried diapers if diapers could be pinned on the line, so that was one of my longstanding jobs.

Laughing so hard right now over the mental image I have of you trying to get frozen pants into the dryer! :)
 
DaveA said:
We've had a dryer for years and use it most of the time but also have a clothesline (with pulleys) that goes from the back porch to an old maple tree. My old Grand-dad, who owned the house back in the 30's, wrapped a wire around that maple, to hold one of the pulleys. The clotheslines and pulleys have been replaced over and over but that wire is now embedded in the tree which eventually grew around it.

We use the line for large blankets and sheets in good weather. It's also handy for little odds and ends when it isn't worth starting up the dryer. When I was a little tot, I couldn't reach high enough to touch the pulley on the porch and after 80 or so years, I still can't reach the one attached to the tree. must be 9 or 10 feet above the ground. Needs a ladder when the pulley or line wears out.
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Love it! To think of the history behind the early days of the line you have, knowing it's still in use today.

A lovely story, thank you for sharing. :)
 
hollydolly said:
@Pinky , before I had the extension line that I have now which I've had for many years, I had the rotary line similar to the one in your picture. It didn't work too well here because we're not in a windy area, so I'd have to literally pull it around sometimes to try and get clothing dried... :ROFLMAO: that didn't last too long..
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It was perfect for Australian weather, even without the wind. Wish we'd had one when I was growing up. Mom would have loved it.
 
Was just having a laugh reflecting on a few of the different ways I used to dry rubber pants (the cloth diaper days) when I needed a pair in a hurry.

- First choice, puffing them open and standing them up over the heat register in the bathroom. Boy, did they dry quickly that way.

- Second choice, laying them flat on the top of my electric tumble dryer. The top of the dryer got nice a warm, but not so warm or hot so as to risk melting the pants.

- Third choice, hanging them up on the shower curtain bar in the bathroom. Rubber pants pinned to wire coat-hangers, coat-hangers hung over the bar. Anyhow, I remember having company one day and the companies young daughter using the bathroom, and when she emerged she cried out in amazement over how many shower caps I had!
 
Aunt Marg said:
Yes, I've seen pictures of pants and things standing up by themselves hilarious! I wonder if the items actually get freeze-dried, where very little moisture is left in them? I've always wondered about that...
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Actually they do freeze dry to a point. You can bring them in and they iron out quite nicely so there can't be much moisture left in them.
 
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