rotary clothes line

Are these seen in your country? The Hills Hoist

@JudyEv (342868)

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

25 people like this

26 responses

@DaddyEvil (138368)

• United States

5 Jan

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.

3 people like this

@shaggin (72635)

• United States

5 Jan

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

2 people like this

@DaddyEvil (138368)

• United States

5 Jan

@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.

2 people like this

@RasmaSandra (81292)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

5 Jan

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

3 people like this

Show more comments

@wolfgirl569 (109121)

• Marion, Ohio

5 Jan

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

2 people like this

show previous comments

@wolfgirl569 (109121)

• Marion, Ohio

6 Jan

@JudyEv I usually leave mine up

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@FourWalls (69680)

• United States

5 Jan

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).

2 people like this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@Juliaacv (51694)

• Canada

5 Jan

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.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

That's a good name for them.

1 person likes this

@LindaOHio (183254)

• United States

5 Jan

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

2 people like this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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

@MarieCoyle (39363)

•

6 Jan

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.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@MarieCoyle (39363)

•

7 Jan

@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.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@rebelann (113093)

• El Paso, Texas

5 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

So do you have an outside line?

1 person likes this

@rebelann (113093)

• El Paso, Texas

6 Jan

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.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Jan

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

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@RebeccasFarm (90618)

• Arvada, Colorado

6 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Jan

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

@rakski (127407)

• Philippines

5 Jan

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

1 person likes this

show previous comments

@rakski (127407)

• Philippines

6 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@xFiacre (13230)

• Ireland

5 Jan

@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.

1 person likes this

show previous comments

@xFiacre (13230)

• Ireland

6 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@moffittjc (121930)

• Gainesville, Florida

5 Jan

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.

1 person likes this

show previous comments

@moffittjc (121930)

• Gainesville, Florida

6h

@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!

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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

1 person likes this

Show more comments

Dr Souvik Chatterji

@sathviksouvik (19761)

•

6 Jan

I am seeing it for the first time

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

Once, just about every Australian household had one of these.

@grenery8 (11458)

• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)

6 Jan

i don't think so. my mum has it in a traditional way; 2 iron pillars and a plastic rope.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

7 Jan

That's what we had in my childhood too although I think we had a wire rope.

@LooeyVille (72)

• United States

6 Jan

Yes we have clothes lines like that here as well

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

I never know what is 'universal' and what isn't.

@GardenGerty (161307)

• United States

5 Jan

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.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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

@shaggin (72635)

• United States

5 Jan

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.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@snowy22315 (183028)

• United States

6 Jan

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.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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.

1 person likes this

@allknowing (138546)

• India

5 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@RasmaSandra (81292)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

5 Jan

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,

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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

1 person likes this

@Kandae11 (55257)

•

5 Jan

I have seen rotary clotheslines in Barbados.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (342868)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Jan

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