The cord on my ancient but still good Hozelock rotary washing line is perishing and cracking.
Is it easy to replace? I have looked on YouTube and they make it look so easy to replace but in real life, it’s usually a different story!
I have seen adverts for a Brabantia Lift- O- Matic Rotary Washing line and they look impressive.
Should l buy one of those and ditch my old one instead?
No, save your money and simply thread a line of cotton through each of the arms.
It’ll be reet.
Get a Hills Hoist, they are the original and the best.
As it happens I have to restring mine but I have done it a couple of times before (my Hills Hoist is nearly 40 years old) It is pretty easy to do. The hardest part is controlling 30 metres of cord without tangling it but if you lay it out it goes well.
Bruce, The advice l’ve read is to use 5mm cord. The one you recommend is 3.5 mm. Is that just as good? I need to get 60m as it’s a four arm rotary dryer.
I can see me getting in a tangle threading it! 
In addition to my two long standard lined, I also have a 60M Lift-O-Matic that uses the garden parasol mounting which is set into the side patio. I use it for the large fitted sheets that cover my 7ft bed as they do not hang well on the standard lines. I drape the sheet over the whole thing and then it dries quickly. I’ve had the 4 arm Brabantia for many years and it’s still in A1 condition, but then I do fold it and then put in away when it’s not in use. I’ve used rotary lines for as long as I can remember and found replacing the line material fairly easy providing I ensured the correct tension 
Mine is a 6 line Hills Hoist and you are right it is a 60 metre line, I picked the wrong illustration. Sorry
3.5mm seems OK it is plastic coated poly core (whatever that means) It lasts over a decade in my experience my hoist is nearly 40 years old and this will be the second time I have replaced it. It is still usable but the line is getting hairy as the coating breaks down but it has never broken.
If you can gain help from an assistant, threading the new line through the arms is far easier than struggling on your own.
Sorry about my earlier reply, Angel.
I think I’d go for the 5mm just to be sure and I have a feeling that the price will not be a great deal more than 3.5mm
Just one serious suggestion: if yours is like ours, Angel, don’t raise the arms fully before you thread the line through. That will make it easier to thread, Angel, and then when you have finished and tied it off, Angel, raising the arms further will tension the line more tightly, Angel.
LD, l’m impressed! The Lift-O-Matic rotary washing lines get great reviews. Costco had them on offer for £47.98 but the offer has just finished and they are £66 now.
I think for now, re-cording is my best option.
Thank You, JBR. You are being very mischievous, JBR, but it makes me really laugh, JBR.
I’ve re threaded mine and to be honest it was a bit of a pain but doable. Not so much of a pain that I could justify the cost of buying a new one but fun it’s not 
Maree, l watched a video on how to tighten the cord and it looked so easy.
Yet, when l tried to tighten mine, the twirly bit kept sliding down the shaft and whacking me on the head!
I will get someone to help me.
It is easier as a two person job, otherwise you need three hands! 
I’d wear some thin gardening gloves if I were you, all that threading and pulling is a bit sore on the fingers
Errrm, Maree, You forgot to mention a helmet to safeguard my skull. 
Oops! And that Maybe some goggles, you could take an eye out like that!
The modern Hills Hoists have tensioners built in but personally didn’t have any trouble doing mine before (mine is an old one). From memory the first step was doing the outer line to get the arms aligned there after it was just threading until it was all done then instructions tell you how to tie them to keep the tension in,
That is the best option if you wish to keep your sanity 
I did mine with the arms fully locked in the highest position to avoid the hub sliding further down the mast. I weigh in at 6’ 5" so reaching the height is easy for me but a smaller person such as a woman might struggle, so some kind of hop-up would be beneficial and any turning of the line’s arms will be done by the assistant
If you eventually opt for a Brabantia L-O-M, the replacement line kit comes with clips to make line stability more substantial.
One tip I will pass on → don’t over tension the new line or the arms could distort when heavy with laundry.
I’m really pleased that someone on here has a good sense of humour.
I believe that there are those who don’t and perhaps I might explain later when I’m better aware of the level of freedom of speech is permitted on here.
I should have explained in my earlier post that mine can be locked in a number of positions below the topmost. I intended to say that I’d thread the thing with the arms locked at a position rather lower than the topmost position and that would then permit further tensioning the leads afterwards by raising the arms higher or possibly to the top, Angel.
The design of your rotary clothes lines seem very odd to me from your descriptions. Mine is a foldaline so that I could fold it up or remove it all together when the kids were little (and still do for family gatherings).
The lines when in use are locked in the horizontal position but can be raised or lowered from about my shoulder height to a point where they arenearly too high for me to attach clothes.
I had to move mine when I built the car port the socket and cap is still in the ground somewhere but is now lost 
This is the modern one (with mine the cap is flush with the concrete and the concrete has less of a camber so it didn’t interfere with the kids footie)
