Anyone use indoor washing lines?

[AngelDog]

Do you know if the Brabantia one is any good?

My problem is that the two walls I want to put it on aren't parallel, so I'd need to adjust some of the strings so the second side

I really need a way to dry things inside, especially nappies, without resorting to the dryer. Things on the bottom half of our free-standing airer just don't dry.

I like the wooden pulley things better but it's got to go across the middle of our kitchen and one of those would just dominate even when there's no washing on it.

My house had one of those when we moved in....it's not particularly good with heavy items.....I used cloth nappies too...it could work for those depending on the nappy type. It would struggle under bamboo but cope with microfiber....I don't think it would like night nappies. Although our house belonged to an old lady so her indoor dryer might have been old, therefore weakened by the time we moved in. Hopefully someone else can be more help.

Yes bit we made our own. Dd screwed hooks in the wall in the utility room and then got washing line and tied loops at the appropriate places to put over the hooks. Then it's very easy to take off when not needed and quick to put back up. Cheap as well. Plus you can have the hooks where you want. Ours zigzags about all over the place to avoid doorways, boiler, etc.

Dh not dd.

We used to have one in the bathroom when we lived in a flat.

I've use the Brabantia one and it is quite neat. It has a knob at the end that you push in to lock, or pull out to let it wind back. That prevents it from sagging with heavy stuff. I've put wet blankets on it before now, so it is quite strong provided the screws into the wall are good. The nylon line is all in one piece, and it zigzags, so it is possible (but not easy) to let the two ends be at a slight angle. Some of the lines will just be a bit slacker than others. If necessary you can wind the slack lines round the bar at the end.

One thing I will say if you are going to use it indoors, is that all the water which comes off your wet washing is going to evaporate into the air, and will then be floating about in your home looking for something to condense on. The main cause of condensation, damp and mould in UK houses is people who persist in draping wet washing around the house and over radiators. My only suggestion is that you use it in the bathroom, with the door closed and the extractor fan running constantly. A bathroom extractor will typically run for about 50 hours on 12 pence worth of electricity. If you put the line over the bath it will catch any drips.

Running the fan, with the door and window closed, causes enough suction to prevent the water vapour drifting around your home. It will suck in dry air through the gap under the door. If you have the opportunity to dry stuff outside it will usually be quicker and softer, and will not make your house damp.

Thanks for the replies.

Piglet, you are so right about the damp / condensation issues, which we?ve had problems with before. Unfortunately we don?t have a bathroom extractor fan. We tend only to put the heating on when we have visitors (or when the weather?s seriously Artic-like) so things only really dry well in the kitchen. Maybe I should think about using the extractor fan on the stove hood?

We have a washer-dryer but I do 1-2 loads of washing a day and am usually out for half or all of the day, so there wouldn?t be much opportunity to use it for drying even if I wanted to. For most things I use a Lakeland heated airer (like a giant radiator) in a room with a dehumidifier, but the nappies can?t do directly on there and take a long time to dry when laid over the sheet over the top.

I try to give the house a good airing every morning, but maybe the damage has been done by then as the washing is usually hung up at around lunchtime / in the evening. It does make us extra cold too!

Unfortunately, our south-facing garden is overshadowed by very large trees, which means that from September to April/May, nothing on our washing line dries outside at all. (In the summer it?s great though.) Maybe it?d be worth hanging shirts on hangers on an airer on our patio though.

maybe start saving up to have an extractor fitted? You can hire a 110mm core drill which makes a neat circular hole that the duct fits into.

Preferably do not fit it directly above a bath or shower as the electrical safety regulations will be much more onerous and expensive.

Preferably have it wired to come on when the lights are tuned on, and to stay on for 20 minutes after they are turned out

Electrical work in bathrooms is notifiable under building regulations so should be performed by an electrician who is a member of a self-certification scheme and is authorised to do the documentation himself.