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?

At 8 metres long this is far from the longest washing line in this list, but considering it is completely portable, it’s a good size and more than enough for a small family on a caravan holiday or camping trip. It’s not going to be enough for huge loads like the Better heavy duty washing line of the Wallfix, but then again, it’s not meant to. Vileda Cordomatic 15 Metre Automatic Retractable Clothes Line – fixing kit didn’t feel strong enough 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.One minute it’s there, one minute it’s not. Brabantia have crafted a creation that’s perfect for those with smaller gardens, or for those who aren’t a fan of their washing line being displayed. This Wall Fix Washing Line has been made with a fold away system, allowing you to extend the airer when you need to dry your freshly washed laundry and to fold in against the wall when it’s not in use, saving you an enormous amount of space. It’s 24 meter size can hold two full loads of washing, making this useful for a family load of washing! It’s super easy to install with its solid wall fixings and drillings and has been made from high quality and durable aluminum which is weather resistant. Included with this washing line is a protective cover which will keep your dryer clean and dry when it’s not in use. One thing is for sure though, you don’t want to try to twist this in by hand – you can get a start is using the wall plugs and then you’ll need a bar of some description for leverage – this could even be a screwdriver, the main point is leverage. But that’s nearly it, with that screwed in just walk the line from the retractable unit down to the hook and you’re in business. It really is that easy

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.Although this is a sturdy washing line, one tip is to put heavy items nearer the wall and lighter items on the outside rails. This is especially important if you have cavity walls. Available from: NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Ulster Bank, which are all part of the NatWest Group, will now shut at least 172 of their bank branches in 2023 and 2024.

The majority of retractable washing lines will be housed in a plastic casing like what you can see in the following photo- , although some have metal too, like the Wallfix model. Obviously, metal is more resistant to impact damage and temperature variations, but rust is always a threat to any metal object left outdoors. Plastic housing, on the other hand, won’t rust but it can be affected and degraded by UV and frost, depending on the quality of the materials used. Something that’ll really surprise you (and me). After a good few months of use the retractable coil seems to lose it’s strength. I would say of all the models I’ve tested so far, the Metaltex seems to hold up the best. And I wonder if that’s because I haven’t extended it to near full length ever (the max being 10m on each line as that’s the distance we have: Brabantia have included all the fixings you’d need for masonry. You get four sturdy bolts, quality Fischer wall plugs, washers and wall spacers. And if you don’t have your own set of spanners, they’ve even thrown in a basic tool that you can use to drive home the bolts! Provided you own a screwdriver, that is.Another thing that puts me off the standard rotary washing line is how dirty they get when they’re left out in the elements. They’re not always the best place for your clean washing when they’re covered in cobwebs and bird droppings! By storing the line away between uses, everything should stay clean and free of the worst of the outdoors. In terms of size, look for lines with at least 24 m of line space to provide enough room for drying clothes. If you want to hang up wider items like sheets, choose a line that’s at least 140 x 140 cm . When choosing a retractable washing line for use in the house, a major factor for me is how well it can fit into the room that I set it up in and not grab too much attention when in its retracted state. Basically, I want it to be inconspicuous. A lot of retractable washing lines are compact these days, the Minky and Bedray products featured in this article are two good examples of that, but even they can’t compete with Tensor’s retractable 3-line clothesline in that department.