CHOOSING THE CORRECT
ROTARY CLOTHES
LINE COVER


Congratulations if you have recently invested in a rotary clothesline, we believe that you found your way into this article because you are curious about rotary washing line covers, and we like to think that by the time you are done reading this you will be able to better choose the correct type of rotary clothesline cover to purchase.


Rotary Clotheslines Cover


We cannot highlight enough the benefits of having a clothesline cover, it is a very simple accessory to your rotary clothesline but the benefits are certainly more considerable than you may think. Please read ahead in order us to further explain how a simple cover further boosts the value of your rotary clothesline.

Benefits of Having a Rotary Clothesline Cover

Most people think of having a rotary washing line cover only because they need to shield their clothes from the rain but believe it or not, there are a lot of rewards to be reaped in having one—it is not just to protect our clothes from getting wet in the event that a drizzle suddenly occurs.



Not only does it offer protection from water which keeps your articles from soaking wet, it will also keep them from being exposed to excessive amounts of intense ultraviolet/UV rays.

As many of us know, the sun’s UV rays cause premature damage in our skin, a blatant proof of this is clotheslines with cheap plastic fittings which tend to suffer from brittleness and colour fading as the years pass by and the same thing can be said about clothes.
PVC Rotary Clotheslines Cover
That factor alone makes it a must have for many households, not only does it fade away the colour of your favourite [and possibly expensive] shirt, it will also cause the cotton fibres to become brittle which equates to quicker degradation with every wash.
The benefits of having a clothesline
cover is limited only by your
imagination.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Another good thing about having a rotary washing line cover is protecting your articles from dust and debris—including bird droppings.

We are completely aware that having bird droppings on clothes is a very rare occurrence, so too is particles falling down from the sky.

If you are a little obsessive compulsive about those kind of things getting to your newly laundered clothes then it is an undeniable fact that you should seriously consider a rotary washing line cover.

PVC Rotary Clotheslines Cover

For those with kids or pets that love to hang out in the backyard, your covered rotary clothesline can double as shade for them to play under. They can pretend to have their own little world away from the sun and heat.

If you have a huge 5-metre wide rotary clothesline, you can even use it as a canopy for a picnic table!

One brilliant idea is if you have a portable hoist, you can purchase a small round table that has a hole in the middle where the main column can pass through for securing into the ground socket.
A rotary clothesline with cover can
double-duty as a small shade for
children to play under.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
This way, you and your friends get enjoy your margaritas once the laundry errands are done. See? Rotary clothesline covers are not limited to just protecting clothes, if you get a little creative you can find ways to further take advantage of them.
Type of Material to Choose

It is time to get down to business. There are several types of clothesline cover materials, mainly:

PVC and PE are very similar overall but in terms of water penetration, PVC trounces PE fabric anytime of the day.

Since PVC is basically a thick plastic skin with an internal cotton or nylon weave to provide tensile strength, water or air will not penetrate the material and it offers the best protection from rain so it is extremely advisable for those who live in rainy territories.

Polyethylene fabrics are very similar to the material used in making tents. It’s basically a very flexible [somewhat breathable] fabric formed by very thin strands of polyethylene which are tightly woven together. Water resistant, yes, but not quite on the same level as PVC covers.
Rotary Clotheslines Cover
PVC is denser than polyethylene fabric therefore it will be heavier than PE covers and more durable. You can have both of them can installed on your rotary washing line full time but expect PE to degrade faster than PVC covers.
PVC is a durable, waterproof, and
practical material of choice.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The purpose of weaved nylon or ‘shade cloths’ on the other hand, is to block at least eighty to ninety percent of sunlight while allowing heat, humidity, and air to pass through so it won’t impact the drying of your clothes and provides protection from UV rays as well as other particles to a certain degree.
Rotary Clotheslines Cover

Shade cloth covers are not designed to protect your clothes from water, as we have mentioned, its sole purpose is to regulate the amount of sunlight that reaches your clothes to keep them from fading and degrading in an accelerated manner.

PVC is best suited for rainy territories, nylon shade clothes are for dry, sunny areas. PE covers are recommended if the place where you live is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
PE fabric/cloth is breathable, durable,
and water resistant, great combination
to protect fabrics.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
There are some third party companies out there that can fashion a custom-made acrylic or galvanised steel rotary clothesline cover too but be weary of these no matter how much you want to consider them for aesthetic purposes.
First and foremost, these more often than not, require intensive labor and making custom anchoring/mounting points on your clothesline which means—you guessed it—modifications.

Having custom-cut, aluminium cover/roofing welded onto your hoist may seem overkill but some people do get it done!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Custom-made clothes line
covers are not always the
safest bet.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Mostly if they have invested in heavy duty units such as a Hills Heritage or Austral Super which have durable frames and fittings but there is another big caveat to this.

Not only will those covers void the warranty, you will end up with a clothesline that won’t last as long since these are not engineered to carry the weight of aluminium/galvanised steel panels.


The additional load may cause damage to the bushings and lifting mechanism, as well as the frame itself.

Cloth covers like the ones we have talked about allow strong winds to glide through them via the small slits, stiff panels do not react the same way and will rip apart or “uproot” your investment, so avoid custom covers at all costs.

Correct Sizing and Best Ways to Fasten a Clothesline Cover

You should be able to determine the type of rotary washing line cover you need after reading our tips above; now you have to measure the length of the outermost line of your rotary airer from one end of an arm to the other in order to determine the correct size of rotary clothesline cover to purchase.

Please be mindful of the four outside lengths which should be equal to the size of the cover as pictured below (a little allowance should be fine):


Rotary 4 Outside Lengths
Most online stores offer covers with sizes starting at 3.3 metres all the way to 5 metres since these are the standard sizes for rotary clotheslines, the majority of them are multi-fit by design so it is completely okay if the cover is around 300-500 millimetres larger than the hoist itself since the excess can be neatly tucked away.

Manufacturers have come up with tons of ways to fasten a rotary clothesline cover but the three most popular methods are:

  • Drawstring Style
  • Velcro
  • Laced

The drawstring method is the simplest, most convenient way to secure a rotary washing line cover because it only involves applying tension to the rope in order for the cover installation to be completed.

The only drawback of this format is if some of the supporting structure (mostly consisting of fibreglass poles) or anchoring loops are not fastened securely to the inner lines, really strong winds can pull the cover off just like how a bedsheet slowly gets ‘peeled’ off the bed.
Rotary Clotheslines Cover

In our opinion, the is one of the easiest way to secure a washing line. Most Polyethylene covers use the drawstring method because it takes less time and effort.

Velcro is also another convenient way to secure a rotary clothesline cover in place, just centre the cover, fasten some of the anchoring points of the cover to the inner parts of the frame or lines, then fix the velcro loops around the edges of the over.
A clothesline cover fastened using
Velcro, it’s a fast and convenient way to
secure the fabric of your choice.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
We think that the only downside to this design is the velcro straps—they are prone to becoming brittle over time.
As the fine/soft fibres of the velcro become weathered, they are more prone to breakage and lose the ability to stay fastened (just something to keep in mind), polyethylene and shade cloth covers use this method of fastening.

Last but not least is the laced style. This is the most time consuming method to secure a clothesline cover.
This involves securing a rope around the outer drying lines while being interlaced through a row of eyelets situated at the edge of the canopy/cloth.

Yes, this is also the most reliable way to secure a cover and the intent for permanence is pretty blatant; that is also why most PVC canopies or rotary clothesline covers use lacing as a way to be secured on to a clothesline.

When the wind blows, the forces are distributed directly throughout the edges of the cover and this design makes the material last longer since it won’t be prone to breakage or tears unlike velcro straps.
PVC Rotary Clotheslines Cover
We are not being biased against velcro and drawstring methods but in our honest opinion, lacing a clothesline cover is the best route to take.
A PVC rotary clothesline cover
with the edges laced over the
outermost drying lines.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Costs and Recommendations

Let us be blunt here, the quality of rotary washing line cover you will be able to acquire is largely dependent on your price range, of course, higher quality ones are not cheap and the most expensive ones are not always the best. What you have to do is to strike the perfect balance between the two.

We always say that the best value lies in the way a product works for you, not necessarily by getting the most features for the least amount of money because if it is too good to be true then it probably is.

They have to cut the costs somewhere in order to offer a very affordable price and shorter lifespan of a product is usually the consequence of this.

The same goes for rotary clothesline covers, we know it is very trivial to talk about something as simple as an accessory to your airer but everyone wants to get their money’s worth. Right?

We took the liberty of making recommendations for you and narrowed it down to just three choices—a representative for every category of clothesline cover, all of which we have tackled earlier.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Higher quality covers are not
cheap and the most expensive
ones are not always the best.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Most clothesline covers from renowned manufacturers have a starting point of around $170 to $180 AUD, the larger the cover you will need the more expensive it’s going to get. In most cases, it will reach around half the price of the rotary clothesline itself, just to set your expectations.

As odd as it may seem, many online stores that sell rotary washing line covers offer PVC variants at a cheaper price than both PE and shade cloths. Shade cloths actually cost more than its water-resistant cousins.

If you reside in a region where it is sunny most of the time, we recommend the Aussie Shade, which has a 90% blocking rate and features a drawstring set up so you can install it in a snap. It comes in Heritage Green colour too, so it will not look out of place in your backyard.
Shade Cloth Rotary Clothesline Cover

It is made of heavy duty nylon and sizes range from 3.14 to 4.21 metres, so if you have a super-sized rotary washing line with a diameter of 5 metres, this will not work for you.

The Aussie shade is one of our highly rated and very popular rotary clothesline covers, it boasts a good track record in terms of durability and most people recommend it, this cover is definitely worth a shot.
The shade cloth works best in regions
where sunshine is abundant and rainfall
is predictable.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯


If you prefer the spartan of rotary washing line covers, you can check out the PVC rotary clothesline covers in our store. It is a very durable and heavy duty canopy designed to withstand years of abuse from the harsh Australian weather.


The good thing about this is it is suitable for any region since it offers great protection from water and sunlight without worry, it is technically the same material used for retractable awnings however, a bit more lightweight to facilitate ease of installation and to allow the canvas to sway along with the wind thus preventing damage.

It comes in tan colour and sizes are a little limited for this one since it is only available in 2.83 to 3.35 metres.

PVC rotary clothesline covers are very affordable too so you won’t be hard pressed to convince yourself into acquiring one. It’s reasonably priced, lasts a long time, and helps prolong the life of your clothes, allowing you to get more out of your hard-earned money.
The best rotary clothesline cover that we can recommend is the Clevacover. It is made from UV stabilised polyethylene fabric and is one of the best selling clothesline covers on the market as of this moment.

It has a simple design and comes with fibreglass poles to keep the cover taut, which works in tandem with the slits built into the cover to allow fast drying times and keep unwanted odours at bay.

The best thing about the Clevacover is that it is very accessible, and since it comes in multiple sizes, it doesn’t matter if your airer is 3.3 metres in diameter or something gargantuan like the Hills Heritage or Austral Super series, which reaches 5 metres.
Rotary Clotheslines Cover
They’ve literally got you covered although, the colour range is very limited as it only comes in beige.
The Clevacover clothe cover is one of
the best rotary clothesline covers
currently out on the market.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
There are hundreds reviews out there from customers who have acquired a Clevacover and are very happy with it. The price is a bit up there, but we think it is very reasonably priced for something that will last for ages and provide busy people an added peace of mind when doing laundry.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Nothing beats the feeling of
complacence knowing that your
clothes are protected from the rain.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Nothing beats the feeling of complacence knowing that your clothes are protected from the rain when you are busy with something else so getting a cover won’t be like letting your money go down the drain.

It is not hard to find the value in rotary washing line covers and we hope that you will now be able to choose the correct type for your needs by simply following our tips.
So good luck with your purchase! We hope that your new rotary clothesline cover will provide you with years of worry-free service and fresh smelling clothes with every laundry session—the cool shade it will provides during hot afternoons is just a welcome bonus!


Image: Clevacover