Those of you with small/ med gardens what washing line arrangement have you got?

[S3agr0v394686]

Has a retractable line across but it’s a bit hideous, wondering about a rotary we’d take down in theory after use but they’re huge. Any other clever ideas?

Double retractable…….

I have a line going down the garden and a rotary at the end. The garden is narrow but longish so it's out of the way.

Yeah I have a retractable line that uses the whole length of the garden. Sometimes I just don't want to see it so I put the clothes horse out on the patio in a corner so I can't see it.

We have a brabantia one fixed to the house wall. You pull it out when you need it and it's shaped like a rotary. Then it tucks away when not in use.

It was pricey, but genuinely I am grateful all the time that we spent the money on it. It prevents the line dominating a small garden.

Rotary down the garden. I'd have the brabantia but don't have a sensible bit of wall to put it on.

Double retractable with 3 hooks dotted around the garden so we have flexibility in how to set it up. What's hideous about yours? Ours just retracts to a small box, we don't have any issues with it.

We have a double retractable. It does take up the whole garden with washing when it's out but of course, just retracts into the box and is hardly noticeable at all when it isn't.

I love having washing on the line so I don't mind it at all, although I do try to mostly do the washing in the day, in the week (WFH) so we can still use the garden as well.

I have an old fashioned single line which has a clip fixing one end that I attach to a ring fixed to the house and a hook the other end that I loop over the tall metal gate. I take it down when I am not using it so all that is visible is the small metal loop at one end. It is just long enough to take a machine load of washing.

Rotary down the garden again but depends how small small/medium is - I have a terraced house garden but it's long enough that although the rotary line takes up most of the width, it's not dominating the whole garden.

Worth noting if you take it down when not in use it's worth putting a stick or something in the hole. I managed to lose a hole over winter once which was pretty annoying...

I have a rotary line close to the patio which I keep folded and covered when not in use. I used to remove the lot during the winter but have just left it this year. It's pretty unobtrusive.

I don’t have a line at all. I threw away the rusting rotary that was here when we moved in, 40 years ago, and just dry my clothes on radiators.
We have an enormous amount of bird life (rural Perthshire) and any washing pegged out would be decorated in minutes. And not in a good way…

I've got a double retractable too.

Can I ask about this half rotary @TheDogIsTooEarlyForTea ?

I've looked at them before but imagined that your washing would just flap about and touch/catch the house wall rather than flapping in the breeze?

Your own mileage may vary @GrandDesignCockUp but I've never noticed that it does.

It stands far enough away from the wall that I cannot recall ever seeing the washing hitting the wall - and it gets plenty of breeze in my garden. Laundry blows about on it all the time.

Other than the tidy element, it's honestly been no different to having a rotary drier in the middle of the garden.

I also have the wall mounted brabantia and it's is so handy, had it for years but it can be tricky getting a load of bedding to hang and dry well in my garden so I bought a big old rotary for bedding and big washes, it's got a green cover and almost disappears when not in use.

I have a straight washing line on a pulley system that raises it very high above the garden ( tiny terrace gardens here) All the houses round here have them. The washing is hauled well out of the way, and being so high it catches the breeze, no shadows and dries really quickly.

Me too. Its great. Holds a good amount of washing. You do need to balance/even out the wash I think though.

Just want to say thanks for this thread - I've just moved to a house with a teeny little courtyard bordered by five different windows, two doors and a gate, so I've been wondering what to do about laundry and the brabantia could work really well.

Another vote for the Brabantia retractable. Worth every penny.

www.diy.com/departments/brabantia-wall-mounted-metallic-grey-laundry-airer-24m/1345791_BQ.prd/gallery

I have a retractable line which is zigzagged 4 times across the garage door and the drive at the side of my house. It catches the sun and breeze there.

I have the Brabantia line too. It’s on the side of the house that tends to be a bit of a wind tunnel and I have no trouble drying sheets and duvet covers. It takes a full load of washing. I have not had any trouble with the washing hitting off the walls of the house.
i honestly don’t thing any other line would work in my tiny garden without it being the only thing that you see.

Same here. I’ve actually got a few loads dry outside over the inter Thai year which is why it has stayed out - to save electricity.

This is what I want, but I am not sure how to get it. Do you have a pole one side ?

I have the brabanita wall mounted one with a cover when it's not in use, it's great.

Yes. There a wooden 4"x4" pole (very tall) which also doubles up as my gatepost (to the back lane). The garden/courtyard is on two very different levels, so the other end is fixed to the house at "top of ground floor windows" level.

I'm not sure I'm explaining this very well!

Everyone round here has a similar arrangement to the extent that they are known as "(name of area) pulleys"

People who have the brabantia - do you have it with the silver storage box, the black bag/cover kind of thing, or neither? I'm thinking the box looks nicest, but adds another thing to go wrong, as it were (plus it's most expensive, naturally!) so curious to know how others have got on with it.