Within the geek family we are not very good at any kind of DIY activity. Before the geekdaughter was born we bought a new bathroom cabinet, which remained in its box at the bottom of the stairs until after her first birthday! The geekdaddy is always willing to do these little jobs, but I have to catch him at just the right moment in order to actually get stuff done!
This was not foremost in my mind when I was asked if I’d like to review a product from the Brabantia range. I knew that Brabantia made lovely kitchen bins (and having now lived with one for the last year I can categorically state it is the best kitchen bin I have ever owned), but I didnt realise they made so many other great things as well. A couple of my girfriends had recommended the WallFix – a wall-mounted washing line – to me, and it struck me as a good way to try to wean myself off my tumble dryer and reduce my electricity bills. In my excitement I failed to realise that there would be a certain amount of wall mounting required, which is usually the geekdaddy’s domain.
It arrived very promptly last summer, and then proceeded to sit in its box in the hall for months. Every now and again I asked the geekdaddy if he would put it up for me, and he’d say yes of course he would, but it would never happen. So we lost the whole summer, and the few good drying days when I could actually have used it. Finally last November it all got too much for my Mum, and she decided that she and I would make a stand for “girl power” and put the dratted thing up ourselves. This tends to be the way that a lot of the DIY goes in our house if I’m honest!
Thankfully the WallFix is extremely easy to install. We only had to drill four holes in the wall and screw the screws in to mount it. If I’d known it was going to be that easy I’d have done it months ago. Seriously. We almost managed it all by ourselves too; there was just one hole to drill which needed a bit more strength that we had (tricky bit of brick I think) and we needed to enlist the geekdaddy’s help. We almost managed it all without him.
The WallFix is a beautifully designed piece of equipment. Picture what is essentially a rotary washing line, but instead of it sitting on top of a pole it is mounted to your wall. It’s designed to easily fold down when not it use, and takes up minimal storage space. It really is very easy to use, and that’s why I love it. I’ve never been a great user of washing lines up to this point, as I am too lazy to retrieve the line from the shed, string it across the garden and then hang the washing out. But this thing – I just step out from the back door with a basket of washing, pull it away from the wall to lock it in place, and hang the washing out. It easily holds two loads of washing, and provided the weather is reasonable it gives a great dry. Now that I’ve lived it with a few months I can say that it is proving a great alternative to my tumble dryer when the weather is good, and I absolutely love it.
It even comes with a cover so that when it’s folded away it is protected from the weather. It’s a beautifully designed piece of equipment, and I recommend it wholeheartedly. In addition for being great for lazy people like me it would also be ideally suited for gardens where there is not much space available for a traditional washing line.
If you’re going to get yourself a WallFix I would advise considering carefully where you will locate it. Our house isn’t brilliantly positioned for catching the sunlight, and I made the mistake of positioning the WallFix in the most central part of our wall, not the part that would maximise the amount of sunlight that fell on the drying area. I still get a great dry with the WallFix, but with more careful positioning it would have been even better.
I have managed to find the Brabantia WallFix on sale online for between £50 and £60 – it’s currently listed on Amazon
Disclosure: I was provided with a Brabantia 50L kitchen bin and WallFix for review purposes
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I adore my whirlygig in the middle of my lawn and have found memories of playing in amongst the sheets of my mum’s when I was a nipper. I hate a washing ‘line’ and love this style. The fact that yours sits firmly closed against the wall is rather marvellous.
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