Clothes airers are a great way to help conserve energy by not using a tumble dryer, but you must be careful when looking for an airer from eBay sellers. Many of the airers are of a poor quality. The pulleys are usually made from pressed steel and not solid cast iron as in the original Victorian Airers, even the "cast iron" ends can be made from pressed steel. This can mean the airer won't last you very long before is breaks. A good quality airer will last you a lifetime. It should be solid cast iron throughout and the ends should be powder coated to prevent them from rusting. It's worth doing a search on the internet an looking for reputable web sites selling the clothes airers. Have a look on google for Kitchenmaid or Cast in Style. The best ones are the company’s who manufacture them themselves. Some of them even have the wooded slats made from re-newable forests, to give a truly ecological product.