laundry or other articles to be aired on the clothesline for preference two or more parallel lengths of such line extend between each pair of adjacent arms the pipe 16 is similarly provided at its lower end with a rubber or plastics seal 26 which is plugged into the end of the pipe 16 and which has a peripheral wall resiliently bearing against the inner wall surface of the pipe 15 to effect a hydraulic seal between the two pipes 15 and 16 in the area enclosed by its peripheral wall the seal 26 has a generally planar pressure surface 26a against which water under pressure acts to extend the pipe 15 out of the pipe 16 as will be described in more detail later mounted on the upper end of the pipe 16 is a conical metal cover member 27 the diameter of which is greater than the external diameter of the casing 11 and which provides a closure for the upper end of the casing 11 in the collapsed state of the clothesline as shown in fig1 four ties 28 for example ropes cords wires chains or other flexible or rigid connections are each attached at one end to the cover member 27 and at the other end to a respective one of the arms 22 at a point approximately midway along the length of that arm the arrangement.