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View Full Version : Old-fashioned wooden clothes drying racks.



Mrs-M
3-8-11, 9:51am
Looking to do a little count here. Who's all got one and how you like it? Do you use yours often? I've had one for several years now and use it all the time in conjunction with my outdoor clothesline. One of the best frugal purchases I ever made!

Kestrel
3-8-11, 10:41am
I used to have one, many years ago, which I used occasionally. But I was hanging clothes outside in warm weather and didn't really need it. In the winter I used the dryer. I don't really know what happened to it -- maybe gave it to a friend or something. If I had one now I'm not sure I'd use it.

herbgeek
3-8-11, 11:22am
Mine's not wood, its metal, but its in the basement next to the washer and dryer, and is where we hang jeans and hand knit socks to dry.

CatsNK
3-8-11, 12:06pm
I have 3. Two are the small style you see at the department stores - one is this huge monster. I LOVE it! It's like the kind you might see on an Amish porch - very large, tons of bars. I bought it for $5 (broken) and my DBF fixed it by manufacturing the top bar for it.

I loathe using fossil fuels to dry clothing (or to dry anything, for that matter) so all of my clothes are air-dried. On the line when the weather is good but on the rack in the winter. DBF doesn't share my love for the drying rack and uses the dryer, but it all works out. We probably don't have enough room in our house to air-dry all our clothes! :)

I use it in the summer outside as well, to supplement the clothesline when we do lots of laundry. In winter it's in the living room or on the porch.

Mrs-M
3-8-11, 4:02pm
Hi fellow wooden clothes dryers! :) Thanks for stopping by for a chat and a visit.

Serendipity. I know exactly what you mean, some things just appeal to our inner most desires, other things don't.

Herbgeek. Yes indeed, great odds and ends dryers they are!

CatsNK. Mine is a super-size one too! Not only do I find it oh so handy, I love the look of it too (aesthetically). So old-fashioned and traditional looking and so simple.

Spider In The Bath
3-8-11, 4:08pm
We used to own one, but sadly it died. It was a beautiful old wooden one originally owned by my gran. It was the nearest thing to a family heirloom that we had.

However, we used to also own a big, fat cat who used to climb up inside it and sit and make all the nice, clean clothes hairy. Until one day we heard a big thunk and we rushed down to find one collapsed, broken clothes dryer and one slightly squashed-looking cat.

We now have a clothes rail on which we hang clothes on hangers to dry. We do also have a newish metal one for when there is a lot to dry and we need some overflow. We also have an outdoor clothes rail too for when the weather is better.

IshbelRobertson
3-8-11, 4:45pm
I have a wooden pulley-operated clothes horse which gets put up into the ceiling of our kitchen, which I think I mentioned on another thread. I don't use it so much since we got rid of the Aga, but I also have a metal clothes horse which more or less keeps our laundry in checkk!

Mrs-M
3-9-11, 2:22am
Hi SITB and Ishbel. :) Thanks for dropping by. What a shame loosing an older version- especially a family hand-me-down. The pulley-operated clothes horse sounds nifty! Up and out of the way- and, situated where the air is the warmest.

Spider In The Bath
3-9-11, 2:22am
I have a wooden pulley-operated clothes horse which gets put up into the ceiling of our kitchen, which I think I mentioned on another thread. I don't use it so much since we got rid of the Aga, but I also have a metal clothes horse which more or less keeps our laundry in checkk!

You must have quite tall ceilings (I think I remember you saying that you liked in an old house so this would make sense). We thought about putting one in, but as I am 5' 8" and my husband about 6' we didn't like the idea of batting through wet socks and underpants every morning whilst trying to get breakfast.

IshbelRobertson
3-9-11, 6:03am
Yes, Cath, we have very tall ceilings. We bought the ceiling pulley when we had the Aga and it was a wonderful way of drying the clothes. Nowadays, since we've had the kitchen re-done, it's more of a decorative feature than serving any purpose.

Nella
3-9-11, 9:58am
I'm another who really likes my "monster" sized dryer. I keep it in the basement and use it for lingerie. Can't quite get myself to hang those under things on the line outside for all the neighborhood to see. :|(

Mrs-M
3-9-11, 11:53am
Originally posted by Nella.
I keep it in the basement and use it for lingerie. Can't quite get myself to hang those under things on the line outside for all the neighborhood to see. There are times I do a load of unmentionables (only), just undies, panties, and bras, and I hang the lot out on the line with pride! Pantie decorated clotheslines do stand out and make for such a statement! No shame here! :laff:

CatsNK
3-9-11, 1:38pm
My clothesline is in the back yard. My neighbors don't go running around in the back of my house, to my knowledge. We have fencing on the one side and a double lot on the other - no one is seeing my clothes.

LOL, Mrs. M. I love it!

gail_d
3-9-11, 4:43pm
I have the same small wooden one I got when I went away to college many years ago. I use it nearly every week.

Sometimes I use a plastic one that hangs from the shower rod; it has small fold-down arms with an attached clothespin at each end.

Mrs-M
3-9-11, 10:03pm
CatsNK. Being reserved and discrete is good too, I myself have just grown to accept the fact that we all wear "undies" and if there are people who for some apparent reason believe otherwise or are strangely effected by the sight of unmentionables, they don't have to look. :~)

Gail_d. Such a blessing mine has been since day one. I use it all the time. The small little plastic spider-legged one you have sounds nifty! I've seen them before and maybe one of these days I'll invest in one.

Nella
3-9-11, 11:49pm
Mrs-M., Boy I wish I had your nerve. My underwear would dry a whole lot faster if it were outside, but my backyard is wide open on both sides (no privacy fences for at least two houses in each direction) and my clothesline is also visible from the street in front. Just can't bring my self to do it... I keep thinking to myself what my neighbors would be saying, "There's the chaplain's panties again. Just what sized bras do you think she actually wears!!" While I'm all about bringing things into the light, this one I gotta keep it in the basement!

Mrs-M
3-10-11, 1:53pm
Hi Nella. I too have struggled with certain things in my life (confidence wise) and would think to myself, "I wonder what people will think", but I gave up on that. In fact there have been times in my life when I have purposely forced myself to plod ahead (with something I have had on my mind to do) in order to overcome certain hurdles and challenges I have had, and on every account and circumstance it made me a better and stronger person for branching out of the ordinary (my ordinary) and going the extraordinary, not that hanging panties out on an outdoor clothesline is extraordinary or anything, just saying.

Start small Nella, put just a few pairs of panties up with some towels and a few other things, then get brave and wash an entire load of unmentionables (like me) and weight that clothesline down of yours with pride! :) After you do it once you'll think, "hey, that was easy, I wonder why I held back for so long"! :D To heck with people (in general). As I always say, "you can be the best person you can be and still, there will be someone or another (out there) who will criticize you for your course or actions".

The old saying- "if you don't like it- lump it"!, fits right in on this one. ;) Sending a little strength and courage your way! Your SL friend Mrs-M! :)

leslieann
3-10-11, 2:07pm
One of the things that attracted me to my DH was his large wooden clothes dryer. It`s an old and lovely one, and I figured any man who kept a dryer like that might have other qualities that I would like. Turns out I was right. He also has a terrific handmade laundry basket, one that he`s repaired more than once.

I told him once that if we broke up, I wanted his clothes dryer. He was unimpressed.

KayLR
3-10-11, 5:34pm
I use one...had a recent mishap. I placed three tops on it the other day to dry. When I took them off, they looked great so just folded them and put them away. This morning, brought one out to wear, put it on, and oops. Where the crossed arms of the dryer had held up one shirt to dry, it made my front look "perky," if you know what I mean.

IshbelRobertson
3-10-11, 5:35pm
I hang all my washing outside when the weather permits here in the UK. I prefer the smell of air-dried laundry.
The ceiling clothes horse or the metal one? I only use in the winter.

Gina
3-10-11, 5:56pm
I have one but never use it anymore. I had to cover the 'rungs' with contact paper since the wood discolored wet garments hung on it. I should probably give it away.

I now line-dry everything inside the house. One bedroom has been turned into a laundry room with the lines strung above head-high. I can hang laundry at any time of the year, rain, shine or wind, day or night. Love it!

I don't get that wonderful sun'scent, but then things don't fade and the convenience is worth it.

Mrs-M
3-11-11, 12:10pm
Originally posted by Leslieann.
I told him once that if we broke up, I wanted his clothes dryer. He was unimpressed. Shame on you! :laff:

KayLRZ. You just might be onto a new thing with that! :laff:

Ishbel. I'm an outside clothesline dryer too (weather permitting). I still live for the feeling I get when spring arrives and I venture out to hang that very first load of the season! Heaven!

Gina. I bought a handful of white (hard plastic) closet-bar protector sleeves which my husband affixed over a majority of the wooden dowels. Super slick! No more rough areas to worry about, i.e. snags, etc, and no worries over discoloration.