Things You'll Need
Hammer
Nails
Clothesline
Clothespins
Clotheslines are simple devices that rely on wind and sunlight to get moisture out of clothing, and they dried laundry long before the invention of dryers. They still work well for people who don't have a dryer available. While you can hang clothes from the railings of your deck if you need to, a clothesline is more efficient and allows you to dry more laundry at a time. Building a clothesline on your deck can be done with some basic materials.
Step 1
Hammer a nail into the top of the rails on both sides of the deck where the line will hang. The nails serve as supports that hold the ends of the line in place.
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Step 2
Wrap a clothesline around the rail of the deck and then tie it to the nail so it stays. This allows you to set up the line when needed and remove it when it's not needed.
Step 3
Run the line across the deck to the other nail and repeat the process of wrapping the end of the line around the rail and tying it to the nail. The longer the line, the more clothes it can support. Tighten the line as much as possible so it won't droop too much when clothes are placed on it. Tie the end of the line into a loop to make it quicker to put on and remove from the nail.
Step 4
Once you're happy with the amount of line needed for your space, unhook the loop on the second nail, unwrap the line around the rail and loop the line neatly on the first nail until you need to hang out some laundry.
Step 5
When you're ready to dry clothes, string the clothesline between the nails and rail, and attach the washed pieces to the line with clothespins. Trial and error will reveal how much the line can hold to dry clothes effectively without drooping too much.
Step 6
Set up additional lines as needed across the deck, depending on how much space you have available.
Tip
Use two lines parallel to each other to dry larger items such as sheets. This helps prevent the line from drooping since the two lines share the weight of the linens. Dry larger items separately from smaller items so they have more space and dry faster.
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