Outdoor clothesline (umbrella?) recommendations, pls? Or ones to avoid?

[Bleu]

So, my old umbrella type clothesline broke after less than 5 yrs. I'm kind of disgusted, since I thought it would outlast me - aren't they supposed to? This one rusted, never was installed correctly, had lousy tension in the lines, etc. :(  Every load of wash I run that I can't line-dry is annoying me!

Wondering what you have that you'd recommend, or advise staying away from? I'm interested in both the clothesline model and stores (irl or online) that you have experience with, too.

ATM I'm browsing:  http://www.urbanclotheslines.com

http://www.breezecatcher.biz

http://www.gaiam.com/category/eco-home-outdoor/laundry.do

There are so many choices, and after the last one was such a bust, I'm really wondering what's going to work! TIA!

[mattemma04]

Dh got me one from BIG LOTS and it broke as I was setting it up. I forget the name of it. This year I am just getting 2 posts,drilling holes in each,and tying a line!

[Bleu]

That stinks. I hope you toted it back & got a full refund! Also hope your nextgen method works well for you.

[lunarlady]

I'm in the market for one too. Do the ones that just stick in the dirt really hold? It seems the base really should be cemented in for max stability.

[treeoflife3]

My husband made ours... he made two wooden crosses and cemented them into the ground and screwed in hooks to tie on the clothesline.

[Chamomile Girl]

I have this umbrella line, and it works pretty well so far.  I think I have had it less than a year though (Yeek!  I can't really remember).  The lines have good tension because it is adjustable.  It is made of bamboo.  The downside is that the joints are plastic, which means they won't rust but at the same time if they break there is no way to easily repair them.

The thing I like the best about it is that I can set it up and take it down really easily and it comes with a cover to store it in.

With normal usage it stays pretty stable as the grounding spike is very deep.  However I had problems with closet mold this winter and I hung up every single wool item I owned (sweaters, blankets and coats included) and since then its been a bit ...less...stable.  But not so bad that I am going to pull out the spike and start over lol.

Anyway overall I really like it.  It works well for our (lack of) backyard too.

[Bleu]

Originally Posted by lunarlady 

I'm in the market for one too. Do the ones that just stick in the dirt really hold? It seems the base really should be cemented in for max stability.

LL, I can't say for sure, but the one I had that broke didn't originally have a mounting thing to go in the ground. It was just the stick/trunk thing and my dh stuck it in the ground and it wasn't very stable. Especially if you tried crazy stuff like putting wet wash on it. Then he tried various concoctions with cement, all of which were also unstable. Then he tried to add some length with a PVC pipe to make it affix to the cement better and somehow that was the last straw and it broke into a gazillion piece and many bad words were said and I found it lying like a squashed spider among the other trash items at the curb. I should say that while he's not a professional clothesline installer, my dh is not a total DIY doofus despite this last performance. In fact, he's so handy, I still can't account for this clothesline trainwreck.

So after the first clothesline saga culminating in violent demise, he's looking at the choices with me and is pretty keen on those slot things that go in the ground. I realize this isn't exactly conclusive (!), but it's all I got. 

[enkmom]

The umbrella one I have I bought from Home Depot several years ago.  It requires digging a hole and filling it with a small amount of concrete, and there is a sleeve set into the concrete that the pole sets into.  After 7ish years, it is starting to lean and I have to hang laundry in one section and then the section opposite it to keep it balanced.  A small issue, and I feel that I definitely got my $40 out of they system.

I had the same system previously, but I decided to take it out and store it for the winter.  This was a huge mistake, as the lines all twisted and tangled in the folding and it would have taken someone with far more patience than I have to sort it out!  Now I leave it up year round and wipe the plastic lines down with a bleach solution regularly.

[Bleu]

Hey - Just wanted to mention that I did go with the Gaiam and we've been really happy with it. Good tension in the lines, reasonably easy install, stays upright even with wet wash on it, quite stable.