Air Dry arm orientation: left and right arm fix

If your two arms look identical and you think you've been sent two of the same side, you have the correct parts. One arm has simply been opened the wrong way around. It takes about two minutes to fix.

Do not unbolt anythingNo tools are needed for this fix. Nothing needs to be loosened, unscrewed or taken apart. The arm simply folds back flat and opens again the other way.

Nothing is missing. The arms are symmetrical until they're opened. Whichever way you open an arm decides which side it becomes, so if both were opened the same way, you end up with what looks like two lefts or two rights.

Does this look like your setup?

Two Air Dry arms with both arms bending the same way, incorrect
Both arms opened the same way. This is the problem, and it's what most people see first.
Two Air Dry arms mirroring each other, a left and a right, correct
What you're aiming for. The arms mirror each other: a left and a right.

Watch the fix

If you would rather read it, the same fix is written out step by step below.

How to tell which way an arm is opened

There are two things to look at, and they always agree with each other.

Arm opened the incorrect way, BACK sticker visible and spring on top
Incorrect: you can see the BACK sticker, and the spring sits on top.
Arm opened the correct way, no BACK sticker visible and spring underneath
Correct: no BACK sticker in sight, and the spring sits underneath.

The fix, step by step

  1. Find the BACK sticker

    Each arm has a small sticker marked BACK on the mounting bracket. If you can see it from the front, that arm has been opened the wrong way around.

    Close-up of the mounting bracket with the BACK sticker facing the front

  2. Check which way the spring sits

    Look at the arm side-on. If the spring is sitting on top, that arm is opened the wrong way around. Opened correctly, the spring sits underneath.

    Side profile of an arm opened incorrectly with the spring on top

  3. Fold the arm back to flat

    Close the arm completely so it's flat again. Again, nothing needs to be unbolted.

  4. Turn it over and open it again

    With the arm flat, turn it over so the BACK sticker faces away from you, then open it out from there. Check it against the two points above: no sticker in sight, spring underneath.

  5. Compare the two arms

    Lay both arms down side by side. They should now mirror each other rather than bending the same way, giving you a left and a right.

Quick check

An arm is opened correctly when:

  • The BACK sticker is facing away from you and isn't visible
  • The spring sits underneath the arm, not on top
  • Laid side by side, the two arms mirror each other

Still not right?

Send us a photo of both arms laid flat side by side and we'll confirm it for you.

Email sales@theclotheslinestore.com.au or call us during business hours.