PSA: I spent $40 on a travel clothesline and it was a total waste

On my trip to Lisbon, I bought a fancy rubber travel clothesline for about $40 because I hate paying for hotel laundry. The idea was to wash stuff in the sink and hang it up. In reality, the suction cups wouldn't stick to the old tile in my bathroom, and the line sagged so much my wet clothes touched the floor. I ended up using a free trick a hostel worker told me: just use the shower curtain rod and some regular string I got from a market for a dollar. The expensive line is still in my bag, unused. I feel like a lot of travel gear is just overpriced when a simple fix works better. Has anyone else bought a specific travel item that completely failed on the road?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_john3mo ago

Honestly, it's just a clothesline, not a life support system. You tried it, it didn't work, and you found a better way for a buck. That's just how travel goes sometimes.

elliot_allen653mo ago

Wait, you spent a buck on a clothesline?

finleythomas1mo ago

I bought one of those expensive travel clotheslines in a shop in Barcelona a few years ago, the kind with the rubber grippy bits and a fancy carrying pouch. Same problem with the suction cups on the tile in my hotel bathroom, they just popped right off as soon as I put a wet t-shirt on it. I ended up looping it around the bathroom door hinges and tying it off, which actually worked fine and kept the line tight. That was the only trip I ever tried to use it, now it lives in a drawer at home with all my other strange travel gear. You are right, a piece of string and a bit of common sense is usually all you need.