No - it's not an excuse for not getting my laundry done!! The dog really DID tear my clothespin bag off the line and chew it up. And scattered the clothespins in the snow in 10 degree weather with a wind chill factor of.......okay, okay; I admit it - the darn clothespins stayed there for a week or so 'til the snow melted!! Now, when I use them, they leave black smudges on my clothes - mildew would be my best guess. So, do I need to pitch 'em and buy more, or is there something I can do to kill off this stuff? Boil 'em with Borax? Bleach? Anybody got a clue!? Many thanks for the help!

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), January 28, 2001

Answers

Soak them in warm bleach water but don't leave them for too long. If they are left in too long the metal will rust. This will clear up your mildew problem. Dry them out well before using them again. I once had clothes on the line when it started raining so I dashed out grabbed the clothes and left the pins on the line. Big mistake. It rained for days. I found out the hard way about bleach water rusting the metal. I've had to use this a time or two and had good results with soaking till the mildew is no longer visible.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), January 28, 2001.

Our dog did that, only it was in the summer, clothespins everywhere. He tries to pull the clothes off the line, too. Didn't have the problem with the mildew though.

-- Cindy (SE In) (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), January 28, 2001.

how about some sand paper? just sand the inside a bit

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 28, 2001.

Polly, I don't know about the clothespins, the bleach sounds like a good idea. But hey, I'd be working on training your dog to bring in the clothes after he takes them off the line!!! Maybe he was looking for a sweater to wear. hee hee

-- Annie (mistletoe@earthlink.net), January 29, 2001.

Do you know why dogs don't get cold in the winter? .......Because he wears a fur coat and pants!!!!!My son made that up for his 3rd grade English assignment several years ago!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), January 29, 2001.

polly, don't feel as if you are alone, my my wolf/pyro does the same thing, only.............when she is done playing with the bucket and the pins then she and our search and rescue dog play tug of war with anything that is on the line. i put mine in the washer with some soap and a little bit of bleach and they come out clean and are useable again, at least the ones that are all in one piece still. sally

-- sally stanton (mallardhen67@hotmail.com), February 01, 2001.

finally decided on where to put the line and what kind of line to have - clothes line that is. Now, I see there are more options ! Used to be all you would buy was wooden clothes pins. Now there are multi colored plastic ones. Anyone try the plastic ones? I wonder if they could be left out on the line without causing the problems that you get from the left out wooden ones. Years ago when I hung out clothes I was always forgetting the pins ! I doubt that my faults will have changed much over the years.

-- cindy palmer (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), February 02, 2001.

Hey Sally!!

Hazard, the instigator of the "Great Clothespin Caper" is a Wolf-German Shepard mix - do you suppose those wolves just have something against clotheslines in general!? At least they never bother the clothes hanging on the line (we have a Sheltie too, who is Haz's partner in crime). Can't leave anything plastic or rubber out around Haz - he still loves to chew stuff at age 2 1/2. He's started carrying home wood from the neighbor's woodpile again - wanna throw a log for the nice doggy to fetch? Dumb mutt! If he wasn't so darn loveable and such good protection for Sis.....

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), February 02, 2001.

wolf / mixed dogs are the most loveable creatures, and funny they do the carziest things. our search and rescue is a walker hound and went to the okla. city tragedy to do some of the searching, she was just barely trained but rerally learned a lot out there.

the day the two of them attacked my clothesline and had the tug of war with my jeans i was so mad at them but then a day or two later here they come dragging a walmart bag with new jeans and kisses so all was forgiven.

the plastic clothespins are good but if you live in a cold area they crack and break if you leave them out.

gotta get back to my weaving i'm trying to get an afghan done for a gift. sally

-- sally stanton (mallardhen67@hotmail.com), February 02, 2001.