For many winters my home was haunted by damp, squat ghosts. Bed sheets draped over chairs and trailing on floors, one sagging clothes horse looming over the dining table, and another enveloping all the bedroom’s floor space. My laundry, much like the laundry of everyone in the UK in winter, refused to dry and so sprawled over my rented flat, emitting aromas of detergent and damp.
As a renter in London, I’ve never been overwhelmed by excess floor space. Not a problem in the summer as we can dry our clothes on our little Juliet balcony. But drying clothes in winter – or without outdoor space – as you will well know, is a different story.
I can wax poetic about the stale-smells but ultimately it was a constant irritation: the cold and damp London air meant the drying process was achingly slow. I’d invariably end up overloading the clothes horse, which would then take so long to dry the sheets smelled dank, making the fact they were technically ‘clean’ redundant. And it took up so much space! Cautiously skirting around the laundry to get to the kitchen sink became the winter way of life.
Sure, there are some obvious solutions to this problem. We could turn up the heating – though this doesn’t solve the damp problem and is expensive in a cost of living crisis. We could buy a dehumidifier but that would be expensive and cumbersome, and wouldn’t solve the problem of temperature.
We could get a heated drying rack, but I’ve heard mixed results from friends and didn’t want to add to the clutter unless it definitely worked. Or we could get a tumble dryer which deals with both, but would be both even bigger and more expensive – we’re renters that feel lucky to be able to fit a table in our kitchen, so more white goods are not an option. Plus, all of these other options are far from environmentally friendly and I like, where possible, to feel virtuous.
Then, last year, my wife had an idea.
At my parents’ house, an Edwardian conversion in South West London, they have a ye olde contraption that’s been there for decades. In their utility room (brag) they have a pulleymaid, a ceiling-mounted mechanism that you pull(ey) up and down and use to dry your laundry overhead. Laundry disappears up into the ceiling before re-emerging dry when you next remember to check.
This seemed like the perfect solution. The top half of a room is just free storage space! And so, as my wife was in what she calls “her wood era”, she decided to make our own.
A quick trip to Leyland for materials (she estimates around £30) and some searching on Google and that was that. I went out on a Saturday and our laundry was earth bound, and by the next morning it was sky high, dangling over our kitchen window.
The beloved pulleymaid means the dog can easily still watch the world outside (Photo: Teri Pengilley)I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. Anytime I have guests over now, I brag unbearably about it, before dragging my wife in to get her to explain how she made it. I am told it’s “honestly, quite easy” (though obviously I will never really know). All you need are a drill, some pieces of wood, various pulley contraptions, rope and the ability to fixate on a project. We’ve even managed to convert friends who say they are going to replicate their own.
I would, and very much do, recommend it to anyone. As for why? There’s several reasons.
One: the laundry is actually, properly out of the way. Good for my feet, even better for my dog (who can now still reach her favourite window perch).
Two: the pulleymaid makes use of the fact that heat rises, meaning the laundry dried far quicker than it used to.
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Three: (and this, I’m embarrassed to say, is crucial) it’s honestly quite chic. With its roots in Victorian sculleries, the pulleymaid, according to Ideal Home, has “a strong design logic”. I’m not saying we need to return to jugs of water and a basin as a sink or – heaven forbid – copper bedpans. But there’s something very charming about features that use traditional technologies and maybe even have some flourishes in the design.
I’m delighted every time I use the pulley system rather than pressing yet another button. It brings a hint of whimsy to what is otherwise just another endless chore.
I will happily take the slight impact on natural light when washing bedsheets for the convenience and cosiness it brings. This only ever really happens on dark days (a double bed sheet hung over covers max a third of the window) and at that point we’ve already got all the lights on.
I think that everyone should have one. Naturally this doesn’t have to be a DIY project (I’m aware not everyone has the desire to make furniture, or a partner who will do it on a whim). If you do have that burning desire, this guide is very thorough and easy to follow. You can also buy them ready made from £35, though you will have to stump up more money for a Victorian-inspired look.
All you need is to be able to screw it into the ceiling. And if you rent you may of course be cautious of creating holes. But the holes are only very small and filler can work a world of wonders.
We now plan to install one of these in every home we live in. The ghosts of laundry past, present and future are firmly banished – and I can wholeheartedly recommend this exorcism method.
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