kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
This is both asking for help and offering some guidance for those new to using clotheslines.
First, guidance. One, hang your clothes inside out. That way any sunbleaching occurs on the inside. If you have a long straight line, hang so the back of the shirts face the sun. For umbrella clotheslines, try to have other things protecting the front of the shirt so you don't end up with a small sunbleached space at the neckline. For pants inside out also allows the pockets and tucked areas to dry faster.
Second, when you find good clothespins - buy a lot. If I can find an online source for the ones I found, I'll share it. Right now I only find them in the discount home goods section at my local grocer. I try to get in at least once a year and buy a bunch. They are nice and big and can even hold bulky pants. But go looking for good ones. They will help you keep your sanity.
Three, you don't need direct sunlight. I promise. And direct sun tends to make the fabric stiff. An area with a decent breeze is good. And you can even dry clothes outside in the winter, it just takes longer. Make sure to hang as soon as the sun comes up in winter, if not a bit sooner. Most of the time things will be dry by nightfall.
Four, snap out your towels before you hang them. Good, solid, full towel snaps. That will help with stiffness.
Five, when you clear the lines, run the clothes through the dryer on AIR Dry. This will tend to help with stiffness, get the lint and any other debris out, and help with reducing pollen levels.
Now, the help part. I've got to replace the lines on one of my umbrella clothes lines. I've been looking for 165 foot of line with a reinforced core. All I can find it vinyl coated airline cable. There are a few issues with that, like the weight of wet items causing the holes in the "arms" to cut through the vinyl and allow moisture inside. I'm worried that will cause rusting and make the lines break within a few years. Anyone with experience with this type of line that might know? An alternate idea, would marine grade paracord work?
First, guidance. One, hang your clothes inside out. That way any sunbleaching occurs on the inside. If you have a long straight line, hang so the back of the shirts face the sun. For umbrella clotheslines, try to have other things protecting the front of the shirt so you don't end up with a small sunbleached space at the neckline. For pants inside out also allows the pockets and tucked areas to dry faster.
Second, when you find good clothespins - buy a lot. If I can find an online source for the ones I found, I'll share it. Right now I only find them in the discount home goods section at my local grocer. I try to get in at least once a year and buy a bunch. They are nice and big and can even hold bulky pants. But go looking for good ones. They will help you keep your sanity.
Three, you don't need direct sunlight. I promise. And direct sun tends to make the fabric stiff. An area with a decent breeze is good. And you can even dry clothes outside in the winter, it just takes longer. Make sure to hang as soon as the sun comes up in winter, if not a bit sooner. Most of the time things will be dry by nightfall.
Four, snap out your towels before you hang them. Good, solid, full towel snaps. That will help with stiffness.
Five, when you clear the lines, run the clothes through the dryer on AIR Dry. This will tend to help with stiffness, get the lint and any other debris out, and help with reducing pollen levels.
Now, the help part. I've got to replace the lines on one of my umbrella clothes lines. I've been looking for 165 foot of line with a reinforced core. All I can find it vinyl coated airline cable. There are a few issues with that, like the weight of wet items causing the holes in the "arms" to cut through the vinyl and allow moisture inside. I'm worried that will cause rusting and make the lines break within a few years. Anyone with experience with this type of line that might know? An alternate idea, would marine grade paracord work?