rotary clothes line

Are these seen in your country? The Hills Hoist

@JudyEv (382693)

Rockingham, Australia

January 4, 2025 6:21pm CST

So I’m wondering if Hills hoists are seen in countries other than Australia. The Hills hoist is regarded as an Australian icon although its popularity is dying out somewhat now. The first of these rotary clothes lines was manufactured in 1945 by Lance Hill who purchased a design from Australian inventor Gerhard ‘Pop’ Kaesler, although various others had been working on similar designs. The hoist is height-adjustable and rotates in the breeze, allowing a lot of clothes to be hung on the lines then hoisted up to dry. Our weather is very conducive to the drying of clothes in the open air. Hoists were once found is the great majority of our back yards but now that space is more of an issue and with the advent of dryers, they are not seen quite so much. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, courtesy Nick Carson

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25 responses

@DaddyEvil (174750)

• United States

5 Jan 25

I've only seen those on cartoons showing Australia... Like Sean the Sheep. Growing up on our farm, we had three lines running about 30 feet each across the back yard that mom hung clothes on. I've only ever had dryers for our clothes. The one time we rented a house with a clothesline, Pretty got hurt on it and I took it down. She ran down the line holding it in her hand sending the wire between two fingers and coming out at the end of her palm. I took her to the ER and the ER doctor cut her palm open and cleaned it out and stitched her hand back up.

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@shaggin (74987)

• United States

5 Jan 25

@daddyevil that sounds terrible! Our clothesline is way over my head I cannot reach it outside without a stepladder.

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@DaddyEvil (174750)

• United States

5 Jan 25

@shaggin It definitely wasn't fun. The clotheslines we had on the farm we high enough mom had to stretch to reach them. The one at the house we rented we low enough to catch me across the chest if I wasn't paying attention and tried to walk to the neighbor's house.

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@RasmaSandra (98156)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

5 Jan 25

@DaddyEvil Sean the Sheep was one of the most popular cartoon in Latvia,

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@wolfgirl569 (136063)

• Marion, Ohio

5 Jan 25

I have what is called an umbrella clothesline. I think I can adjust the height a little. I just have it set in easy reach

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@wolfgirl569 (136063)

• Marion, Ohio

6 Jan 25

@JudyEv I usually leave mine up

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

So it's similar to this? I rarely used to put ours up and down.

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@rebelann (117283)

• El Paso, Texas

5 Jan 25

I've never seen one myself but I've seen pictures of them in magazines back in the day. I wish I had one because I don't have an electric clothes dryer

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

So do you have an outside line?

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@rebelann (117283)

• El Paso, Texas

6 Jan 25

More or less, I strung the rope of a bale of hay to 2 trees, at least I can dry some clothes just not as many as I would like.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Jan 25

@rebelann People here would often hang a line under the verandah too which would help with drying during wet weather.

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@FourWalls (86939)

• United States

5 Jan 25

My grandparents had one when I was young. I thought it was a swing. I don’t own a dryer, so all my clothes are air-dried (under a ceiling fan).

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

Plenty of kids have swung on these, to their detriment no doubt.

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@Juliaacv (56451)

• Canada

5 Jan 25

I believe that my neighbour had an umbrella clothesline-that is what they are referred to here. I do not think that they have the height adjustment on them, and I haven't seen one that does.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

That's a good name for them.

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@LindaOHio (222987)

• United States

5 Jan 25

I've seen them but many years ago. Have a good day.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

They've gone out of favour here too as few people have a big enough block for them.

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@snowy22315 (209237)

• United States

6 Jan 25

I think I have seen those here before, but I never knew anyone who used one. My mom used to hang clothes on a line back in the day, although she probably hasn't put anything on a clothesline in 45 years. I was sometimes in charge of hanging or gathering clothes back in the day...again, it wasn't like that.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

We had several long lines on the farm with a forked stick in the middle. You could hang the clothes on the line then push the stick more upright to lift the clothes higher.

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@allknowing (153529)

• India

5 Jan 25

We have a clothes rack that looks somewhat like the image I have uploaded here

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

That looks very useful. You could get a lot of clothes on that.

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@RebeccasFarm (91297)

• United States

6 Jan 25

Yes absolutely they are. Not so much anymore, but I used have a few of them. Most dry in the dryer now.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Jan 25

There are not as many here now either. Most yards aren't big enough for them now.

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@rakski (156962)

• Philippines

5 Jan 25

we do not have that here. We just have the clothesline

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@rakski (156962)

• Philippines

6 Jan 25

@JudyEv yes, that is the same reason. we lack space here for rotary clothelines

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

That works just as well really. Many houses here now don't have space for a rotary clothesline.

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@xFiacre (14808)

• Ireland

5 Jan 25

@judyev These are popular here especially with people who have small gardens and don’t like seeing their garden dominated by lines of drying smalls. We had one in our last house although we had a garden of an acre. I recall writing here of our neighbour who had one, and once a month she hung about 30 delicate items on it, all different colours, and when the wind took it spinning it was like a happiness of multicoloured butterflies. We call these driers whirligigs.

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@xFiacre (14808)

• Ireland

6 Jan 25

@JudyEv Irish houses do not need that sort of whirligig.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

I imagine some areas there would have a surfeit of wind. Whirligigs here are metal contraptions that are attached to the roof to remove hot air from the roof space.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Jan 25

@xFiacre No, I guess not. I still remember our son being pleased with his newly-purchased house as it was 'warm and dry'.

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@moffittjc (128856)

• Gainesville, Florida

5 Jan 25

I've seen those before, but it was many decades ago. In fact, my grandmother had one at her house, and we used to swing it around whenever there wasn't any clothes hanging on it.

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@moffittjc (128856)

• Gainesville, Florida

7 Jan 25

@JudyEv I’ve seen several of them ruined from children swinging on them. And as far as you know, I was not one of those children!

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

They would have been great to swing on but it probably wasn't very good for them.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

10 Jan 25

@moffittjc Are you sure? lol

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@JESSY3236 (22287)

• United States

14 Jan 25

That's cool. I thought about getting one of those. My great-aunt and great-uncle built me a clothes line instead.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

17 Jan 25

I'm sure a clothes-line works just as well. I guess the rotary one takes up a bit less space.

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@MarieCoyle (59444)

•

6 Jan 25

I had one very similar to that at one house I lived in. I’ve always had a clothes dryer, but I like to hang things outside. Now, I have a really handy folding rack. I use it in my utility room a lot, some things I prefer to hang to dry rather than use the dryer.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

I only use my dryer if I absolutely have to although sometimes I'll finish off the towels in it to try to make them softer.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Jan 25

@MarieCoyle I have a rack that I put out under the patio too. I dry sweaters on it mostly.

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@MarieCoyle (59444)

•

7 Jan 25

@JudyEv I often take my folding rack out to the patio in good weather to dry things on. I love the fresh smell of the sun dried clothes.

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@GardenGerty (169590)

• United States

5 Jan 25

I have had the US version of this. I would rather have this than the long lines I have now. I do have a dryer and used that last summer exclusively.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

I have lines again now but they are parallel to a brick wall. I should probably take a photo of them.

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@shaggin (74987)

• United States

5 Jan 25

That looks to be a very good idea but no I have never seen one. I have seen other outside drying racks but none exactly like that.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

You do need a bit of room for one and preferably where any wind can get to it.

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@May2k8 (19793)

• Indonesia

5 Jan 25

it's never seen here either which I often see hanging with ropes.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

We have wire on our clothes line but I know some have thin rope.

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@jobelbojel (36796)

• Philippines

5 Jan 25

I have not seen one here but what we have is a clothesline either made of metal or rope. Rope is usual in the provinces.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

Someone else said that rope is common in your country.

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@RasmaSandra (98156)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

5 Jan 25

Yup for drying laundry, However, in Latvia we hung laundry on ropes the usual way, At one time I had purchased such a laundry dryer to share with my friends here who have a washing machine everyone can use, We were informed it could not be placed in the yard because with laundry drying on it it would not look good to tourists going by, We are living in a resort town, Still I think that is a silly reason but that is how things turned out,

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

Isn't that pretty silly? I wonder if anyone would have noticed.

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@Kandae11 (57231)

•

5 Jan 25

I have seen rotary clotheslines in Barbados.

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@JudyEv (382693)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan 25

So it seems they're not totally exclusive to Australia.

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