Warning: Retract Thy Free Clothesline Very Slowly

20080511_failA.jpgIn typical last minute style, I made a trip out to Home Depot to pick up a few things needed to put the final touches on the outdoor summer gazebo my brother and I built for my mother this morning (Happy Mother's Day!). I was pleasantly surprised to find that Toronto Hydro was there, giving away free clotheslines as part of their energy-saving promotion (a timely promotion that comes on the heels of a province-wide lifting of all municipal clothesline bans). I filled out the short survey, chatted briefly about CF light bulb recycling with the rep, and was on my way, free clothesline in hand.

As soon as I got back, I decided I'd suss out the backyard and find a place for it. I took it out of the box and marveled at how cheaply made it looked (what do you expect for free, right?). Anchoring the end to the fence, I pulled the line out of the retractable spindle to see just how much length I had to play with. It was surprisingly long and I quickly found my end anchor point on the house.

I walked toward the spool to retract the line so I could work on anchoring the end hook to the house, and part way in, it stopped retracting on a dime. I let go of the line and walked over to inspect the spool. It was a mess. The line had come out of the spool, and doubled back on itself to form a nasty tangle around the axis that the spindle spins on. I tried to take it on with gentle patience but failed. My fingers wouldn't fit into the casing and the spring loaded retracting action made it impossible to win. I decided I'd have to pry apart the casing a little to get at the tangle. This turned out to be a mistake - the free clothesline suffered an immediate death.

20080511_fail.jpgBefore you all start jumping on me for being too rough with it, rest assured that this was only partly my fault. This thing is really shoddily manufactured, and I did follow the instructions by retracting slowly. Maybe I got a defective one, but I'm inclined to think that they're all junk. I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one to break their new free clothesline within a few minutes of taking it out of the box. I'm also expecting that anyone that uses theirs regularly runs the risk of breaking theirs within a short time.

I extend kudos to Toronto Hydro for attempting to help curb our local energy consumption problems by giving people incentive to air-dry laundry instead of using electricity. But I have to give them a disappointing wag of the finger for partnering with Promotion Works and sourcing really cheaply made clotheslines all the way from China. I now have a heap of plastic, rubber, and metal that traveled the world and is now spilled on the lawn and destined for the garbage/recycling instead of drying clothes. Sigh.

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What the heck is that contraption? You only need a string/line and you tie one end on something (fence) and the other end on something else (tree). I see some plastic parts there - going to the landfill.

Posted by: N at May 11, 2008 3:24 PM

Geez, Hydro, you know what else is "retractable"? A spool of stout cord, no flimsy plastic or fiddly mechanism involved. It does require the ability to tie secure but releasable knots in the ends, mind you, but surely some kind of jam-cleat-and-hook arrangement could be developed for the knot-ically challenged (a group of which I am a member).

Posted by: Eric S. Smith at May 11, 2008 4:13 PM

Give it to Hydro and let them dispose of it. Why should you?

Posted by: Sean at May 11, 2008 4:23 PM

Hilarious story though. This was like reading one of those short pieces that used to be included in the Sunday papers (back when people read actual newspapers). Thanks for the chuckle :)

Posted by: sniderscion [TypeKey Profile Page] at May 11, 2008 6:47 PM

lol.. Go to the dollar store, and pick up some thick, thick string :)

a dollar is cheaper then the toll taken on your patients.

Posted by: James at May 11, 2008 7:23 PM

I'm sure hardware stores sell that fastener that joins the ends of a length of poly cord that is used in making a DIY clothes line.
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From MarthaStewart.com

Buy a clothesline long enough to span the distance between your porch and a nearby tree or post. On the porch end, thread the line through a metal eye hook, and wind it around a sailor's cleat installed about a foot below the hook. At the other end, screw another hook into the tree or post. Tie the clothesline to a snap shackle, which makes attaching and detaching the cord a breeze.

-----------------

I hope this is of some help to you.

Posted by: David Toronto at May 11, 2008 11:50 PM

You gonna use those parts for anything? Can I have 'em if not?

Posted by: Patrick at May 12, 2008 12:07 AM

My parent's home is in Markham and we've had a clothes line since I moved there 16 years ago! I honestly didn't know we weren't allowed clothes lines... anyway, I love hanging laundry outside on a sunny day because of the sun smell your clothes absorb! You just have to put it in the dryer for a couple of minutes in case there are any bugs on them. I suggest maybe tougher 'string'...or even wires because I know the one at my parent's home is this blue type of plastic wiring, which looks much more sturdy than that flimsy little white string in the kit.

Posted by: ayl at May 12, 2008 1:17 AM

@Patrick

Are you serious? If so, you can have them. Email me at jerrold [[at]] blogto [[dot]] com.

Posted by: Jerrold at May 12, 2008 8:31 AM

I stood in line a couple of weekends ago to get this same clothesline and I'm also pretty disappointed. I thought it would be a standard clothesline setup that you can wheel in and out but instead got this cheap plastic retractable line. I installed ours and immediatelly took it down due to being so crappy. I then went to Home Depot and bought ourselves a $30 real clothesline setup and installed that. This new setup works great.

Posted by: Jorge at May 12, 2008 10:58 AM

LOLOL... I've been telling people about this clothesline giveaway for like, three weeks. Now I have to go back and tell them all to forget about it! I'm not surprised at all by the shoddiness of this contraption, though... like you said- what can you expect from something given to you for free?

For a clothesline to be worthy, there need be pulleys.
Instead of schlepping the dry laundry to the clothes dryer to fry the bugs, you can probably just SHAKE them out.
And please don't screw anything into the trunk of a tree!

Posted by: Kari at May 12, 2008 5:06 PM

The clothesline offer is cynical. It's hard to imagine that Toronto Hydro would offer such an inferior product rather than a quality and "made in Canada" item.

We go to great lengths to conserve and go green and this is the thanks we get from our hydro supplier?

Posted by: David Toronto at May 12, 2008 6:05 PM

Well Hydro Toronto could have asked CordoClip(ERA Display Co. Ltd.) Canadian Manufacturer of an automated clothesline. CordoClip is much easier and faster to use. You really have to see this video demo If you want to convince newcomers to the outside laudry scene CordoClip should have been choosen and maybe they could have worked out a rebate. Online, treehugger.com did a review of the product launch in Ontario at the Cottage life show. Look at www.cordoclip.com or www.cordoclip.ca

Posted by: Nick Sabelli at May 13, 2008 10:34 PM

well let's be honest - we're all talking about how easy it is to use clotheslines to dry our laundry, instead of using dryers...which is AWESOME, and if that was the idea--which i'm sure it was--then hey, it's working!

Posted by: fc at May 15, 2008 8:20 PM

These clotheslines are also extremely saggy. I just attempted to hang our duvet out for some air (it was dry I might add!) and the line sagged so much the cover touched the ground and got dirty!
I'm so frustrated by this. We would have bought a good quality one if they all hadn't disappeared from the shelves (Home Depot) around the same time Toronto Hydro was preparing to give these poor quality lines away. (Possibly a coincidence, but I have my doubts...)
Okay, deep breath...
Nope, still frustrated.
Any suggestions of what to do with this piece of junk?

Posted by: andrea at May 29, 2008 3:33 PM

That was a pretty funny way of stating something pretty serious. Why was all that junk imported, and who paid for it?
Treehugger did a nice review on the CORD-O-CLIP, a Montreal made thoughtful, long-lasting automated clothesline. Google the word and buy it where you will; it is excellent and just came down the QE.
Much obliged, Chris McLeod, CORD-O-CLIP user/pusher.

Posted by: Chris McLeod at May 29, 2008 11:35 PM

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