Then I will quite happily make you envious. I was even thinking of doing a blog
1 Like
Please do! I’d love it!
1 Like
You can buy reproduction pulley airer kits from Amazon or I preferred my local hardware shop as they give installation advice. It needs to be firmly attached to the joists above. I don’t recommend the kitchen at all because of cooking smells. Mine is on the landing. It’s amazing because it’s free, always available (unlike British weather) and is right out of the way because it’s near a high ceiling - great for duvet covers. It dries quicker than a floor mounted airer because heat rises.
1 Like
The Asians can top that. The Samsung has a 15 minute cycle. It’s not long enough for the washing powder to work at 40 or 30 degrees though, so it’s only suitable for laundry which is clean but just needs freshening. The long cycles make sense to me, they also use less water and detergent as well as electricity.
1 Like
Thanks for the advice @Jess1 I am thinking about putting one in the dining room as it has a log burner. but it is opening plan leading into the kitchen and now I am a bit worried about cooking smells.
I am worried about getting it installed as my DIY skills aren’t of the best. I may get the builders to do it when they are doing the rest of the house.
Great to hear from someone who has got this done.
If you use an good extractor fan/hood above your cooker it wouldn’t be so bad for cooking smells. Preferably one vented to extract the air outside. People need to be reminded to use one though and they do make a noise. I have heard of landlords installing a humidistat switch to a cooker hood - when people create steam the fan automatically comes on. Or wall mounted humidistat extractor fans are readily available.
1 Like
I think the position of choice in large Victorian/Edwardian houses was in the kitchen/scullery where the servants dealt with such matters, plus high ceilings for hot air rising up to dry. Victorian smaller houses now tend to have extended, low ceiling kitchens, as Helsi describes, so my position of choice would be a bathroom. I’d love one in my kitchen to hang pots/hops from, but people of height already bang their heads on low beams…
I would look for an original in a salvage yard.
1 Like
All I can say is how well done. 4 months already! We’ll have to share more features and locations of our virtual world of wine drinking together, just to up the vicarious pleasures for you. Only if it works though! Please tell us to shut up if it doesn’t…
1 Like
It’s not often that I find myself lost for words.
1 Like
What for though? An overnight booking? 2 nights? 3 months?
You do realise there are germs on literally everything! Even in the air!
1 Like
I had mine connected to the light about the kitchen bench so it goes on automatically when they turn the light on which absent a window they usually have to in the evening.
I tried my (combo) machine’s 45 minute “Air Wash” before I bought a separate dryer so I can wash and dry at the same time. Guess what? It didn’t.
Oh, I’m not squeamish about a little dirt and germs at all – norovirus, e coli and flu are what I am trying to avoid
Based on my own experience then - stay away from hospitals.
1 Like
I prefer the colour wash, actually. It’s similar to watching TV - I threw out the black-and-white TV a little while ago, watching colour TV these days.
1 Like
A friend of mine lived in Gainesville and she had to put a secret clothes line in her backyard because the local residents association(?) had banned them as being unsightly.
2 Likes
Pairing a fan with a light is a sensible solution although I guess the noise is annoying if you’re just making tea. I like the humidistat idea more because it stays on until the humidity is cleared.
The only part of an Edwardian pulley airer you might find in a salvage yard would be the cast iron ends which would probably cost a fortune to shotblast then spray paint. The reproduction ones look identical. Far better to buy as a kit where you know the lathes (slats) are going to fit and the pulleys and ropes all go together. This is a highly functional piece of equipment for daily use which obliterates the need for a tumble drier or anything else. Have a look at a company like Pulley Maid.
The reason I didn’t install in the bathroom is 1) the humidity and 2) because you need to attach to the joists above the position of the airer would probably collide with the shower cubicle etc… The landing works well because there is an updraught, and it is central to where the laundry items are ultimately needed.
Interestingly in my 3 up 3 down (now up extended) Victorian terrace, there was a separate laundry room at the back of the kitchen. I found a hearth on the other side of the wall where the range would have been. I was surprised that laundry wasn’t done in the kitchen in a fairly middling house.
Yes, who wants to look at someone else’s undergrots hanging on the line. Far better to pretend they are self cleaning. The Victorians, who put skirts around tables because they thought seeing the legs was rude, used to practically sew themselves into their underwear for the winter.