Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, so long as the airer is not side on to the slope.  If it’s end on, the pulleys will be vertical and both ropes can be set to different lengths so the drying rack remains level.
This is fine on a slight slope but if it is steep then you should use a wooden wedge to ensure the ropes do not catch on the pulley frames.

Alternatively, our flat plate pulleys (see Accessories) will work in this instance. If in doubt please contact us.

Clothesmaid have designed and developed their own Wall Brackets to get over this problem. These are strong ready assembled wall brackets in white or black and suitable for our Popular and Clothesmaid airers only. This enables you to fix to the wall instead of the ceiling. For more information click on the wall bracket TAB on either the Popular or Clothesmaid airer page.

By gently tapping the ceiling with the handle of a screwdriver a hollow sound is heard where there is no joist. When this changes to a solid sound this should be where the joist is. Use a small pin if necessary to confirm. Ceiling joists are normally evenly spaced. If in doubt please see our installation video. here

Yes, we provide full assembly instructions with our products and these can also be found on our website, click here.
We also have a YouTube channel with an installation video, click here.

When fully hoisted to the ceiling our space saving Popular model only needs 20cm clearance to avoid a door. The Woody needs 21cm, The Clothesmaid needs 26cm, The Five needs 24cm and The Six needs 24.5cm clearance.

Yes we provide Flat Plate Pulleys that can be drilled and fixed to concrete and metal surfaces. These are available in black only. See our Spares/Accessories page.

This is a generous 57cm wide. This top selling ceiling airer in its most popular length of 2m, gives 12m of indoor hanging space – longer than many washing lines!

This is only 36cm wide. This space saving drying rack has a low profile so when fully retracted takes up only 8 inches (20cm) of space in the ceiling void.

This is 39cm wide. Its traditional Victorian design comes with unique pulleys with metal wheels in a choice of black or white. The perfect airer for period properties.

This 46cm wide. It is a contemporary modern, stainless steel airer that looks great in all surroundings.

This is our most sustainable airer and is 46cm wide with generous 12cm gaps between the slats.

When you are positioning your airer in a larger room away from the wall. The extra pulley will keep the rope close to the ceiling and provide a good angle down the wall to the cleat. Please see diagrams here.

This is useful when you are positioning the clothes airer away from the wall or if you have high ceilings. In this case it’s advisable to buy an additional double pulley. See diagram on assembly instructions.

Whilst not essential and a matter of personal preference, they prevent your wooden slats from sliding. Clothesmaid were the first company to provide these many years ago.
Available in black only. Please see the Accessories page.

These are popular for hanging small clothing items and for drying items such as herbs and flowers. Some of our customers buy a small airer to hang kitchen utensils using the hanging hooks. They also come as standard with our Pot Shelf for hanging kitchen utensils.

Click on the orange question mark ‘?’ and these will be explained.

Our high quality hand finished slats are 15mm wide x 33mm high but oval shaped so they fit most cast rack ends. These are the best quality pine slats on the market.

We provide standard lengths of 0.9m, 1.2m, 1.5m, 1.8m, 2.0m and these are found in Accessories. Clothesmaid can supply bespoke lengths up to 3m, hand finished to customer’s requirements.  Please contact us for a quote.

Our high quality wooden slats are made only from  Grade 1 Scandinavian Pine, sustainably sourced from certified forests and finished to a high standard. We source, cut to size and finish these by hand. We have tried many suppliers, even those who supply our competitors and we believe ours is the best quality.

This is to prevent any staining or discolouration of clothing. This is the traditional and tried and tested finish and will not stain or snag your clothes. Sometimes with prolonged dampness the slats can bend a little but this will not affect their performance. We manufacture and hand finish all our slats which are the best quality.

You should check where your ceiling joists are as this is where the screw pulleys will go in to. We can supply alternative types of pulleys for solid ceilings. Please see our installation video for more info on this.

If you have a high ceiling and/or your airer is to be positioned in large room away from the wall cleat, you will likely need a 15m rope and an additional double pulley. Click on the orange ‘?’ on the product page for further explanation.

All Clothesmaid ceiling airers come with high quality rack ends, pulleys, wall cleat, best quality wooden airer slats and 10m of braided cotton rope.

Using a traditional airer will allow you to dry your clothes without the need for a tumble dryer. Hang your washing machine load overnight and they will be dry by the morning. See our Eco-nomics page for more details.

The ceiling mounted hanging airer utilises the warmth of the ceiling void to quickly dry clothes. It is a very robust drying rack which won’t topple over like the flimsy metal airers if accidentally knocked. It can be kept completely out of the way when not in use.

Clothesmaid supply quality cast iron, powder coated pulleys with either cast wheels or nylon wheels in a range of colours. These are black, white, red, green and blue. See our Spares/Accessories page.

Clothesmaid stock 10m and 15m lengths of quality bio degradable Jute rope available for immediate delivery. See our Spares/Accessories page.

We provide standard lengths of 0.9m, 1.2m, 1.5m, 1.8m, 2.0m. We can also supply larger custom lengths to customer requirements up to 3m. Please note that for airers or slats longer than 2m this is to customer requirements and at their risk.

Clothesmaid supply solid cast iron, powder coated rackends for durability in a range of colours. See our Spares/Accessories page.

Clothesmaid stock 10m and 15m lengths of quality cotton sash rope available for immediate delivery. See our Spares/Accessories page.

Clothesmaid are meticulous about quality sourcing our materials from long established companies. There are cheaper ones on the market but ask them if they are providing FSC certified Grade 1 Scandinavian Pine for the slats, British made quality cords and solid cast iron fittings that are powdered coated for durability?

“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that’s all.

When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.

The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”

John Ruskin (1819-1900)

Clothesmaid charge a very competitive rate for delivery given the size of our products. If the order value is over £175 then we do provide free delivery within Mainland UK, excluding Highlands. Some competitors offer free delivery on everything but there is no such thing so you will be paying for it one way or another!