Clotheslines Or Clothes Drying Racks
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Building Materials & Home Structures · CPSC Code 1821
Down 38% over 5 years
The verdict
Clotheslines Or Clothes Drying Racks carry a danger score of 33/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 1,695 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 38% over the last five years.
- 33/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 1,695
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 8.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1821 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 33/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for clotheslines or clothes drying racks - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume1,695 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)8.9%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-38%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Clotheslines Or Clothes Drying Racks (CPSC product code 1821, in the Building Materials & Home Structures category) generate an estimated 1,695 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 33,895 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 33/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 38% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2012 (2,458 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2022 (741 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for clotheslines or clothes drying racks is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 3,098 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (2,269 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 9,731 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 8.9% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how clotheslines or clothes drying racks fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 1,251 | 603 | |
| 5-14 | 5,735 | 3,996 | |
| 15-24 | 2,453 | 1,006 | |
| 25-34 | 1,901 | 678 | |
| 35-44 | 925 | 1,763 | |
| 45-54 | 1,468 | 1,971 | |
| 55-64 | 657 | 1,630 | |
| 65-74 | 964 | 1,631 | |
| 75+ | 827 | 4,439 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Lower Arm | Fracture | |
| Neck | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Wrist | Fracture | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Arm | Fracture | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Shoulder | Other | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Elbow | Fracture |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
79YOF PRICKED HER LEFT INDEX FINGER ON A CLOTHESLINE, HAS TENDERNESS AND SWELLINGDX: FB LEFT INDEX FINGER.
6YOF FELL FROM CLOTHES LINE AND LANDED ON RIGHT ARM. DX: FRACTURE OF RIGHT DISTAL HUMERUS
4 YOF WAS TRYING TO SWING ON A CLOTHESLINE SO SHE CLIMBED ON THE FOLDING CHAIR AND THE CHAIR GAVE OUT ON HER AND SHE FELL ON HER ARM. DX: DISTAL RADIUS FRACTURE
4 YOF SWINGING ON A CLOTHESLINE AND FELL DX: L RADIUS/ULNA FX
47YOF SWELLING TO LEFT EYEBROW, RAN INTO A CLOTHESLINE DX: ABSCESS OF EYEBROW
77YOF WAS IN HER HOUSE WHEN IT STARTED TO RAIN AND SHE RUSHED OUTSIDE TO GET CLOTHES OFF CLOTHESLINE WHEN SHE TRIPPED OVER HER SOFA AND FELL DX: FRACTURE LEFT FOOT, STRAINED LOWER BACK
81 YOF FELL ABOUT 48 HOURS AGO UNDER A CLOTHESLINE AND WAS UNABLE TO GET UP. DX: FREQUENT FALLS, WEAKNESS
63YOF PRESENTS TO THE ED WITH A LACERATION TO THE LEFT CHEEK, STATES SHE WAS HELPING HER MOM HANG UP CLOTHES ON THE THE CLOTHES LINE. THE POST OF THE THE CLOSE LINE FELL AND HIT HER IN THE FACE. STATES SHE WANTS IT TO BE CHECKED. DX: FACIAL LACERATION
70YOF, WAS LETTING HER DOG OUT WHEN TRIPPED AND FELL HITTING FACE ONTO CLOTHES RACK, NO LOC OR BLOOD THINNERS, DX: LACERATION OF RIGHT EYELID
36YOM PRESENTS AFTER HE RAN INTO A CLOTHESLINE, AND FELT PAIN TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER, AND DEFORMITY. DX: SEPARATION OF ACROMIOCLAVICULAR JOINT
73YOF HAD A MECHANICAL SLIP AND FALL AT HOME, TRIPPED OVER A CLOTHING DRYING RACK DX: CONTUSION CHEST, CONTUSION RIGHT KNEE
4YOF WAS WALKING WOBBLY TODAY AFTER A LONG CAR RIDE, WAS AT HOME WHEN SHE STRUCK HER HEAD AGAINST A CLOTHES STAND AND FELL TO THE FLOOR. HAD A SEIZURE-LIKE MOVEMENT AND BROUGHT PT TO THE ED. DX: CHI; ADMIT
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to clotheslines or clothes drying racks on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are clotheslines or clothes drying racks?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, clotheslines or clothes drying racks have a danger score of 33/100 (low risk). An estimated 1,695 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from clotheslines or clothes drying racks?
The most common injury is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 3,098 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from clotheslines or clothes drying racks increasing or decreasing?
Down 38% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for clotheslines or clothes drying racks injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 9,731 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by clotheslines or clothes drying racks?
Of all ER visits involving clotheslines or clothes drying racks, approximately 8.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (91.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with clotheslines or clothes drying racks?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Building Materials & Home Structures
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 33/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 5-14 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
