Now we are coming into Winter or 'Makuru' your washing will need a place to dry out of the rain. Without the summer sunshine what do you do? It can be difficult to find a spot protected from the weather so let's look at some alternatives, to save your electricity bill from going through the roof.
Garage
There's a couple of ways to utilise the garage space.
Consider a wall to wall retractable clothesline - they're long enough to fit any size bed sheet and have enough hanging space for several loads of washing. There are a few options depending on the space available, line length required and available wall attachment locations. This style is best used when the garage is free of vehicles so larger items have more room to hang.
A long and narrow wall-mounted folding frame will also fit easily inside most garages while still leaving room for the family cars. Depending on the size, these will generally hold at least two loads of washing so can either be used as the main line, an ancillary line for overflow or for use during wet weather. The advantage of this style is that that washing is hung on one side of the garage so larger items are kept well away from vehicles.
Laundry
When outside space is limited, a smaller folding frame clotheslines like the Austral Indoor/Outdoor or Hills Premium Mini can be mounted on the laundry wall for extra hanging space or protection from the weather. Special care is needed when drilling into laundry walls to avoid water pipes and electrical wiring.
Courtyard and Balcony
For a unit or townhouse with a courtyard, something smaller and more compact like a Folding Frame Clothesline works well and these can be wall mounted or ground mounted. As most balconies have some form of protection from the rain, this can also be a good place for a wall-mounted folding frame as long as it is allowed by the strata corporate.
If the only outside under-cover drying area also serves as an entertaining area, or permanent attachment of a clothesline is not allowed, a large free-standing Portable Airer like the Hills 170 or the Australian-made City Living Portable could be the solution. These clotheslines have plenty of line space and are easy to fold up and store away when your dinner party guests arrive - both of these can hold up to two and a half loads of washing. There's also a smaller version - the Hills 120. While apartment complex guidelines may not allow hanging washing on balconies, these airers can be moved to be positioned discreetly behind partitions, and easily fold away flat for storage when not in use. Easy to assemble, move, fold away and store, great as an ancillary line for busy washing days and low enough for stiff shoulders that won't reach up to the height of regular clotheslines.
Portable clotheslines are perfect for drying clothes inside too and can be placed with care near the heater to help speed up the drying process.
Clothesline Covers
Another solution for keeping clothes dry on the outside line is a clothesline cover attached to the frame of the clothesline, however they don't suit all styles and sizes and damage to the clothesline due to the wind catching and lifting up beneath the cover may not be covered by the warranty.
Clothes Dryer
Dryers are expensive to run and not so good for the environment but occasionally come in handy when there's more washing than the line can handle, so why not let it do double duty by filling up the portable clothesline with smaller pieces of clothing and popping it in front of the dryer so the air movement helps dry them.
If you would like some help with clothesline selection, location or installation, give us a call on 1300 138 610.
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