Indoor Clotheslines!

[BinahYeteirah]

I am moving soon from a 3-bedroom house with a huge yard to a 2-bedroom apartment with no outdoor space at all. Here I have an outdoor place to dry my clothes, but I will need to establish an indoor space for that once I move. I don't have a dryer and I don't want to get one! I have lived in a similar sized apartment before (with one less family member). I didn't have any kind of "clothesline" set up there, so I just hung wet clothes and diapers from every conceivable surface. On diaper day, the whole bookcase was covered with hanging damp prefolds. This time I need a line or other designated place for the laundry to dry. I have considered getting one of those freestanding metal or wooden drying racks, but I'd rather not take up valuable floor space in our small new place. So I was thinking of running an actual line across a few of the rooms. Has anyone else here done this? Do you have any tips for me so I don't ruin my walls with multiple types of hardware trying out different things? Or maybe you know another better way. I'd love to see pics, too.

TIA!

[redhotmama]

I have four lines strung up in my basement but that probably wouldn't work in living space as you have to duck and weave your way around the clothes while they are drying. Lehmans. com has some wonderful folding racks that can fit a whole load and are durable. (Sorry I don't know how to post llnks) Also, depending on your climate, we've found that running a dehumidifier cuts the drying time in half. I pour the water back into the washer for my own version of the water cycle.

[wonderwahine]

I agree, the folding racks are your best solution, we are in a 2 bedroom apartment with no yard....it has a little patio, so I strung up 2 lines out there, but otherwise I have a folding rack, and since it folds, when its not in use, I can hide it.

[BinahYeteirah]

bs"d

I thought about putting a line along the wall, maybe about a foot away, so the wall wouldn't get wet. Hopefully it wouldn't be in the way too much. What do you think?

I could also get a folding rack. I am planning to start a home daycare, however, and the number of kids I can have is determined, in part, by how much free room I have for them to move around. I figure I will always have something drying (I do a load per day). I also need somewhere to dry big things like sheets. I guess a rack wouldn't be big enough for that.

[nym]

I would put up a line.. you can buy those retactable lines. Put an eye hook firmly into the stud on either side of the room. You can buy big eyehooks that will be long and strong enough to hold you line. Then just get a retractable line, that way when its not in use, you can retract it. Also, I'd string it up really high, as high as you can reach, then you can hang longer items on it, and not "clothesline" people when they walk by

[mommy2be]

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-2918712-0143338?asin=B0002M6ZN2&AFID=YahooSSP&LNM=B0002M6Z N2|Indoor_Retractable_Clothesline_Reel&ref=tgt_adv _XSY10001

this looks pretty cool and handy. i would get a line and a rack

[corrie43]

I have a line strung up in my bathtub. That way any drips just go down the drain, plus I can turn on the bathroom fan to help.

[wednesday]

What about something like this:

http://tinyurl.com/fq2sq

[Momtwice]

http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/j...=214&viewall=1

[Alkenny]

My mom had those retractable lines run across her bedroom when I was little, she said. She'd hang clothing in there to dry during the day, it was done by the end of the day, no big deal.

[m9m9m9]

I line dry most of my own clothes. I do have the folding rack and it is great. It folds flat and can be stored out of the way.

The other thing I did was get a shower curtain rod and placed it between the walls of my tiny bathroom so I am able to hang things in there also.

Maggie

[Ponoma]

I use an old amish drying rack on the porch, but in the laundry room (an odd little closet with really high ceilings) we have an ecodri from canada installed. It a 5 rung rack on a pulley system you can lift farily easily even with a heavy load.

http://ecodri.com/

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by Ponoma

I use an old amish drying rack on the porch, but in the laundry room (an odd little closet with really high ceilings) we have an ecodri from canada installed. It a 5 rung rack on a pulley system you can lift farily easily even with a heavy load.

http://ecodri.com/

That's hilarious! I live in Canada, and I have the Laundry Airer from Arizona. Basically the same sort of thing. Probably with shipping and all that I should have bought yours and you should have bought mine!

Anyway, I love it. It seems fairly small and compact, but it holds an entire load of laundry and pulls up and out of sight into our vaulted ceiling space. And it's STRONG, unlike all of the retractable lines we've tried.

Miranda

[late-night nan]

at our local hardware store, a clerk explained a good system that we've been really happy with and requires minimal hardware. we used a sunny storage room. install "clothesline cleats" which are chrome, about 5 inches long, cost about $2 each, and attach to the wall with two screws. get a length of cotton clothesline and anchor by looping it around the cleat a few times, then attach it to a cleat on the other wall; repeat (we have a couple zig-zags running across the room). this system operates along the same principle as the ropes that tie ships or boats to a dock. good luck!