Please help! I am tired of sagging clotheslines! What type of clothesline do you use and what king of rigging have you been able to come up with to keep the line taught without taking it apart to tighten?

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), March 15, 2002

Answers

My clothsline has a metal doo-hicky (sorry, I DON'T know what it is called!) that tightens the clothesline if you turn it one way and loostens it if you turn it the other way. It moves up and down a sort of a screw. That's all I can say: it came with the house.

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), March 15, 2002.

Mine is cable covered with green nylon stuff. Get it at wal-mart. I snug it up once a year. Works great!

-- Linda (lassie96023@yahoo.com), March 15, 2002.

The threaded tightener is called a turn buckle and can be bought at any hardware store for under $5.00. The vinyl covered cable work excellant.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), March 15, 2002.

How do you attach the turn buckle?

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), March 15, 2002.

Karen,

Run the green wire (really fine cable) through the end of the turnbuckle. Attach the end back onto the wire with a small cable clamp, also available at most hardware stores.

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), March 15, 2002.

You can also prop the line up with a pole with a notch in the end for the clothesline to rest in. Set it about midway down the line.

-- rose marie wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), March 15, 2002.

I had that problem for years and solved it by buying an Umbrella clothes line. Got tired of blankets hitting the ground.

-- Irene Burt (renienorm@aol.com), March 15, 2002.

I put outriggers with cables and turnbuckles to keep the T posts straight and the clotheslines taught. I anchored the outrigger cables to the screw in the ground dog chain holders. You can also use mobile home anchors or power pole anchors.

-- Emil in TN (eprisco@usit.net), March 15, 2002.

Another solution is to attach a lever from a tractor implement to one end of the line, so that you can vary the tension / length of it. Helps those who have to drape a heavy item like carpet over the line to beat it free of dust. Just a thought.

-- j.r. guerra in s. tx. (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), March 15, 2002.

As Rose Marie suggested, you can put a notched pole under the middle of the line. We used a 2 x 4 for this. On one side of the notch, we attached a spring latch like you would use on a screen door with the hook portion on the opposite side. Put the line in the notch and then close the latch. The line can't slip out even if the pole gets blown around.

-- Cindy in NY (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), March 15, 2002.

With Irene. The "umbrella" clothes line (actually a "Hills hoist" because the inventor was named Hill) Is a great Australian invention - like the "Utility" vehicle that you renamed the pickup truck.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 15, 2002.

Irene, where did you get your umbrella clothes line. I can't seem to find one.

-- Sheila in NC (nannie@intrstar.net), March 15, 2002.

I had an umbrella clothes line once. It is very nice and convient (it spins around so you aren't chasing up and down the clothesline), but nowhere near enough room for our family - even if with 2 of them (there are nine in our family). Also, I found that the clothes on the inside just don't anywhere near as fast as the outside ones. Especially in hot humid weather. I think the turnbuckles is the way to go. Thanks for all your help!

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), March 15, 2002.

Very timely question, the where to find an umbrella clothesline that is. I just ordered one online at: http://www.cornerhardware.com/hardware/iteminfo.html? action=iteminfo&item=059494781605&cat_id=102 I'd been looking for while as well. They have a 10% off coupon 10% off any purchase (excludes power tools) Coupon code: 333757 Expires 3/31/02. If you need anything else from there, apparently there is free shipping over $100 (excluding power tools). Hope that helps. Now, when I went back to find the url for you, it shows out of stock. I may have taken the last one, sorry! :) But I'd write them at least. Freeze the price and the coupon.

-- Thrifty Sarrah (olefashion@hotmail.com), March 16, 2002.

A suggestion on keeping the line together Karen. I use to have several clothesline holder-to-gether thingies. Of course I don't remember the correct name. But they are metal and open on one side and you hook the top line and the bottom line into this, they have wheels on top and bottom to allow the lines to run smoothly. A clothespin keeps it in place. You space these in your laundry as you hang it and use however many you need depending on the weight of your wash. Now, if someone can remember the name of these little things it maybe a help. I'll look around the internet and see if I can find a url for them.

-- Thrifty Sarrah (bear@gemsociety.org), March 16, 2002.

The umbrella clothes lines can be purchased in California at Orchard Supply Hardware. They have two sizes, the largest one is $45. I was going to purchase one but my husband put up a very convenient pulley type line for me from the back door to the end of the yard. I can stand right at my washer, open the door and hang all my clothes.

-- cindy palmer (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), March 16, 2002.

In our area Ace Hardware sells the umbrella clotheslines. I think your local hardware store would be the place to start looking.

-- Dian in TN (rhoffman@nctc.com), March 16, 2002.

When I was a kid, my grandmother had some fairly long poles, about 8 feet or so, squared 2 x 2's with a staple (the fencing kind) nailed into one end of the pole, fastening the clothesline loosely to the pole. When she hung heavy things like jeans or sheets on the line, she would slide the poles along the lines to the middle of the line and use it to prop up the lines and keep laundry from dragging the ground. If it was windy, the pole propped in the ground would just kind of sway with the loaded clothesline and wouldn't let the clothes drag. My lines sag too, and reading this post made me remember this simple solution! Wait til I tell my long-suffering husband! By the way, back then, the only clothesline available was a cotton cord type that stretched with age, so I guess the propping poles were a necessity. Now that I think about it, lots of folks had them Hope this helps!

-- Denyelle Stroup (dedestroup@hotmail.com), March 18, 2002.

i hang long stuff on the ends and let the kids hang and take down in the middle and ignore it sagging. if it sags the kids can reach it. they get to help!! i did notice the plastic covered cord lasts way longer than the cotton. i just tighten it when it sags too much (once a season or so):)

-- laura (okgoatgal@hotmail.com), April 04, 2002.

I have an umbrella type & found out you can't load up 1 side & not the other - especially heavy stuff like towels. It has to be balanced.

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), April 04, 2002.