Clothes line quizzes

[sudsmaster]

Clothes pins.

And I prefer the plastic alligator type.

I try to choose those made of plastic that will last more than a season or two.

Some are made of plastic that deteriorates in prolonged sunlight. Others seem to do better. The last batch I bought at Orchard Supply Hardware (I think) seems to be doing better. I leave them in a double thickness 1 gallon baggie with drain holes cut in the bottom corners attached to the pole nearest the "loading station" (my back porch).

Also, I use Wright Aluminum Co. clothesline reels (Made in Canada) as well as vinyl coated steel stranded cable for the line. After an initial stretch it's very stable and doesn't sag or break. Unlike cheaper stamped steel reels, the Wright aluminum ones don't have sharp edges that can cause serious damage to fingers etc. They are well worth the extra cost.

I used to like the wooden alligator types, but found the quality was lacking and they tended to break after a few uses. That was about 15 years ago. Maybe the ones out today are better, I don't know. The plastic does just fine.

I never liked the one piece wooden pins. You have to jam them on the fabric, and they vary in effectiveness depending on the thickness of the fabric and the diameter of the line. Too many, in my experience, just fall off in use.

If I had my druthers I'd be using 304 stainless steel alligator pins (with stainless steel springs, of course). I think I've seen them for sale online but they are $$$.

 

[whirlcool]

We can't hang our clothes out yet. The pine pollen "green dust" is covering everything. If we were to hang sheets outside they would be green within an hour.
It's already warming up. This morning we had 85F!

 

[iheartmaytag]

I prefer wood

Alligator type, with long ends not those weak spring short ones.   Now I just wish I could find proper clothes line.  I have been using the nylon stretch kind because I can't find "real " clothes line anymore.   The nylon works ok once you get it stretched, but usually only last for a season before you have to replace it.

 

 

 

[112561]

My clothes line had four strands of the vinyl over string, and two of them are still on there, after maybe thirty or more years. I do not remember ever seeing mom change the lines. But I know they're not original either. I do remember that originally they were on the back of the property, we had them moved to the side in early 1962, before we even had grass in the back yard.

 

And we use alligator type clothespins.

[this post was last edited: 3/28/2011-11:37]

 

[franksdad]

Wooden alligator grip type "clothespins". They were stored in a clothespin bag.

 

[westingman123]

Wooden, the strong alligator type. They last forever if you remember to bring the clothespin bag in with the last of the wash! I'm using some that belonged to Grandma.

 

[countryguy]

I also like the wooden, alligator type.  The only clothesline I have now is in my laundry room.  The house I grew up in had a back porch with a small swing out door about 1 foot wide by 4 feet high through which the clothesline entered the porch and was attached to the wall of the house.  The bag of clothespins hung on the wall.  A lot of houses had this type of arrangement.

 

Gary

 

[mayguy]

I hang our clothes with the wooden spring loaded clothes pins.<strong>
</strong>

 

[sudsmaster]

Go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get a length of clear vinyl coated 1/8" diameter galvanized steel stranded cable. In the same aisle should be little C-clamps that hold the ends of the wire together - either in a big loop for a double reel setup, or small loops at each end to secure to a post for a single line setup. I also got a turnbuckle to secure to one end of the line (dual reel) so that I can adjust the tension as the cable stretches. In my experience it stretches a little in the first month or so, and then not at all. My cable line has been in service for about 10 years now with no signs of failure or sagging. The vinyl has developed hairline cracks but so far these have not resulted in loss of coating, rust, etc.

Believe me, I tried the traditional poly filled lines and they are completely inadequate for a long run. They just stretch and stretch and stretch with no letup.