As with the Brabantia, the lines are well spaced allowing good air circulation between your clothes, reducing drying time, but because of the horizontal design there’s no problem drying large sheets. ALTERNATIVE: Best wall mounted retractable washing line: Brabantia WallFix Retractable Washing Line with Fabric Cover– best of the best but it’s wall mounted retractable rather than a straight washing line. The retractable clothesline you can see in the following image is about the most common size, so take a look and decide if you’d have that in your house or out in the garden: How long do they last? Installation is straightforward with the supplied template and fixings. Once it’s up, the washing line feels surprisingly solid. If you have cavity walls, make sure you swap the fixings for hollow wall anchors or plasterboard fixings. Given that this is such a compact line, with quite a large weight capacity, it does still offer good value for money, you just need to take care of it so that it will last. Nevertheless, it’s still inexpensive when compared to the premium Brabantia line.

It’s worth remembering just how much weight these are holding. so make sure the fix is firm – following my rundown is going to save you a ton of time. So when I compared this to other units I really liked the pivot, if you bought a second hook you could have this placed in different locations to suit you – I am almost certainly going to be doing so the best hooks for the job would be the ones highlighted – not expensive and definitely up to carrying the weight. The instructions are basic, but there are plenty of clear diagrams with accurate measurements on them to help you get set up without too many issues. All you need to do is work out the height you want the washing line, drill four holes accurately, then drive in the bolts. It’s pretty much as simple as that!From the most expensive, to the cheapest now, with our choice for best budget retractable washing line- the Beldray LA026996, which will give you a good bit of change from a tenner, and won’t disappoint you as long as you don’t expect too much from it. For the hook I just took out an adjustable spanner to grab hold and twisted it in – equally, if not better would be some mole grips that actually clamp the hook but I didn’t struggle at all my way – here’s a look at how I clamped the hook for install:

With the wall plugs in screw in your screws provided. Leave them protruding about 5-6mm so that when you lift on your washing line you can tighten them up fully. Because of the excellent design of these units, you don’t have to fit them while carrying the weight of the unit itself. Here’s a look at the screws prepared and ready to take the unit: Don’t get tripped up on install – there’s every chance you won’t be happy with the fixings provided. Whilst I appreciate many have done just fine, I really don’t think the fixings they give you work well at all for wooden structures. As I allude to in my Vileda Automatic Retractable Clothes Line review, you will want to get some decent wood screws – anything over 40mm will do you just fine. For concrete I think the fixing kits are just about OK – you’ll need a 6 or 7mm SDS bit from all of the kits that I tested in this review. Worth knowing as you’ll be pulling your hair out if you don’t have one! Build quality Martin Lewis: What the Autumn Statement means for you – including wages, benefits, pensions, ISAs, housing, national insurance and moreHowever, due to their collapsible nature, foldable lines are often made from lightweight aluminium. This is because lighter materials put less strain on the overall frame. Aluminium is rust-resistant, which is good news for lines that are kept outside, but it can still corrode and isn’t as strong as steel. Mounting the washing line is straightforward; the wall fixings are good quality steel and Leifheit supply screws and standard wall plugs for mounting. However, please keep in mind that some walls such as cavity walls may require special fittings. Durable construction and easy to use, this wall-mounted washing line is ideal solution for anyone needing some extra drying space. We’re not so keen on: As a cheaper option, it doesn’t have the same quality as the Brabantia wall mounted line, but then again it doesn’t have the high price tag either. If you are a one or two-person household, look for a wall mounted line with a weight capacity of at least 8 kg . This equates to roughly one load of washing. To hold more than one load, or heavier items like towels, look for a weight capacity closer to 20 kg . I’ve decided to throw a bit of a curve ball – this is a retractable clothes line but does so againt the wall rather than a spool. The upside, it’s robust and compact making it extermely easy to put all washing out without moving or messing around so much, the down side is the price.