Sheila Maid ®, Original Indoor Ceiling Clothes Laundry Drying Airer Rack - 6 Rail - 72" (183cm) long - White [Energy Class A+++]

As defined

Love this Sheila Maid , can easily air and dry my washing on the wettest and coldest of days as it’s set up in my kitchen , not only is it useful it is lovely to look at too giving a feeling of bygone days , considering getting a second

Quality all round

The cast iron ends are solid and well-finished, and the wooden batons are strong and clean-looking. I found the instructions for lacing the rope through a little hard to decipher, but after about 20 minutes of reading and re-reading the descriptions I managed to work it out.I dropped a star because of the instructions and for the fact that the batons don’t fix in place at all once slotted through the end brackets, so they can move about when you’re hanging your clothes on, or if you knock it whilst hoisting it, but I’m sure you could fix them in place with some strong glue or even wedging the gaps with a bit of card or tape to make it a more snug fit.Once constructed it works exactly as expected, and the 42” version fit perfectly in my little laundry room. It looks great and good quality.

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.

Great quality item

Easy to use and install. Hooked in self-built conservatory. To prevent the wooden sticks from sliding I have made a small hole at 1.5cm at each end of all sticks and then secured them to the cast iron frame using small cable ties. Now, they don’t move anymore and if the pulley accidentally inclined, they will stay put, without the risk of falling out. Don’t know why the company didn’t think of this in the first place as it’s very easy to do and gives better rigidity to the whole system. It only took me 5 minutes to drill the holes and secure the sticks. Overall, really pleased as solid quite a lot of hanging space for clothes. Highly recommended.

I have always wanted one of these brilliant racks but never had the space for it until now. Once you've got it fixed up it is the simplest thing in the world to use - just release the cord and lower the rack on the pulley, load up your washing - no pegs needed - and hoist it up again. If you have a high ceiling then the laundry will be well out of the way above you, but otherwise find a space where you can leave things hanging without getting in the way. If you can open a door or window near it, then even better and everything will dry that much faster. My tumble drier packed up recently and I am certainly not going to bother to buy a new one as I can dry everything on the Sheila Maid. It is very well made with cast iron ends, very good quality rope and sturdy wooden bars. Highly recommended.