Sheila Maid 6 Rail Cream 57"

We decided to hang this in our enclosed garden picnic shed. Since the beams were already exposed, hanging the drying rack was a relatively simple affair. The instructions are a little cryptic at times, but after googling exactly how to tie the ship's knots for the line, we were ready to hang the first load of wash - and it really does fit an entire load! It looks great, and handily hides away in the rafters when not in use. It is of course a little heavy to lift, as you're hanging a fairly large pile of iron and wood and wet laundry, but the pulleys are as smooth as silk so it's not a chore to use.

This drier is clearly very high quality, the powder coating seems thick and durable, even the screws for the wall cleat are coloured the same. The cream blends in so much better than black or white, the only colours I could find for off-brands. Instructions were a little unusual, but I found it a breeze to put up. I used a 4.5mm standard drill at maximum reach for the main wheels as my 4mm wood drill wouldn't drill deep enough to get the very long threads all the way. This still gives a very strong grip as the screws are 6mm. After that it was simple enough put the cleat on the wall, tie the cord to one hanger, feed it through the wheels to the wall and back to the second hanger. With them both hanging at about waist height when the loop was over the cleat, I tied the second hanger off, pulled it to the ceiling to even it up, tied a knot in the twin cord where I wanted it's lowest point to be, then just fitted the slats with about 3 inches through each hanger. We have an elderly cat sleeping under it most of the time, so I put some clear cable ties left and right on slats 2 and 5 as they went through the hangers to stop them slipping off by accident and hold it all in place. I saw some people use elastic bands, or a small screw to achieve the same. Nearly 30 years ago my mother had this same brand of airer. I checked around for the various brands and copies about, and they seemed mostly be poorer quality and also almost the same price as this one, as well as mostly just being black or white. Very pleased with this all round.

Quality all round

The items were well packaged, with fixings included, plenty of rope, and full directions about assembly and fitting. Screws were included to match colour but I didn't have the right sort of screw driver bit to use them. Provided you locate joists to screw into and drill a pilot hole, it is quick and easy to install.

It is lovely quality. It was not so straight forward to put up if you followed the instructions included. A quick visit to YouTube sorted that one out. The instructions could be better. Overall, a very happy purchase and it looks lovely even with clothes on.