apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

A drying rack in the bathroom while the dryer runs or in the living room.
In winter, the air in MN has little moisture. This means that clothes dry fairly quickly.

Cheers!

I have a drying rack in the bathroom. When I lived in smaller digs, it was still a plastic or wood drying rack that I could fold away and put back into the shower area.

I put drip-dry clothes on hangers and hang them in the closet (I push the dry clothes apart to make room), or if they are drippy items, I'll hang them from the bathroom shower rod.

I drape the clothes over a hanger and then hang that on the shower rod, but I don't have many things that can't run through the dryer.

Um... is a drying rack really this new of a concept? My dad and I didn't have a dryer when I was growing up, so we always hung up everything on two drying racks, one in my dad's room and one in the hallway outside of my room.

I have a cheap wooden folding drying rack that I put in the shower (I have an enormous shower stall) when I need to dry my hand-washed.

I have (ok now it's past tense) a terrific retractable line that has four lines and wraps up into a neat little box. Problem - it's CHEAP PLASTIC and broke after less than 6 mo of use. I would LOVE to have one in wood!!!! Anyone know of where I can find one? You wouldn't believe the lengths I've gone through to continue to use this broken line - it's a juggling act to make sure one side doesn't see saw the other side or it all comes tumbling down.

I put the wet clothes on hangers and hang them from the top of the door jambs (doors open, of course).

All of my hang-dry clothes go on hangers and placed on a tension shower-rod that I have in an alcove in front of my bedroom. That, and they get stick on door headers, door knobs, and in an empty part of my closet (with the dry clothes scootched over).

Like kimg924 , I hang the items that drip on the shower rod and other damp items in the closet away from dry clothes.
My floors are polished concrete and wet spot would mean a visit to the ER.

We don't put anything in the dryer, so come laundry day all hell breaks loose in our apt ;)
Walking past the tub with many items hanging on the shower rod feels like you're in the jungle navigating through the foliage. The Ikea contraption works well - we just put it by the rad and all is dry quite quick. One day I hope to have a laundry room!

We only dry our clothes in the dryer for 5 minutes, to get the wrinkles out. We have a closet rod hanging above our washer and dryer, that sit side by side. The apt. is fairly dry so everything dries in a couple of hours and we can close up the accordian closet doors to the laundry area. For sweaters and delicates, we have some mesh sweater dryers that we lay around the living room floor. When not in use, they store flat, next to the washing machine.

Theres items that cant be dried in the dryer??

I have that Ikea rack and highly recommend it. No, it's not a new concept, but this is better than some I've had before. It is very stable, holds a lot of clothes, and is really adjustable as well as affordable. In the summer I dry clothes on it outside, and in the winter I can put it in the bathtub.

I have this one, and I love it.

http://www.target.com/Hamilton-Beach-5-Garment-Station-Hangers/dp/B000R8E7NQ/sr=1-10/qid=1229546445/ref=sr_1_10/187-1982900-3385634?ie=UTF8&rh=k%3Adryer%20racks&page=1

I hang moist clothes on the canopy bed. Then I can wake up to curtains made of jeans.

I have a collapsible drying rack that I set up in the corner of my bedroom; when not in use it stores neatly behind the laundry basket in my closet. A good, sturdy drying rack is one of those little things that really simplifies chores and makes your home feel tider and better organized.

I haven't used the Ikea rack, but it looks a little flimsy. This one costs a bit more, but is well-reviewed and ships for free.

Michael Graves indoor clothes line & clothes horse by Target, as well as any piece of furniture for quick-dry, lightweight clothes when I run out of space on the clothes horse.

OTHER:

you shoulda had an option for simply hanging it from the shower curtain rod - usually on a hanger, though. - because i refuse to use a contraption, refuse i say! nor put wet clothes on my wood furniture! my grandmother used to yell at us for putting our towels on the dining room chairs after we went swimming. she'd flip her crazy grandma lid!

Tiny living makes a fantastic little hang-dry apparatus that you screw into the wall; it has about six holes that you can put your hangers through, and it folds up against the wall when you're not using it. Check it out!

For sox and underwear I use the wooden folding drying rack. For shirts, I put them on hangers and hang them on the shower rod in the bathroom. With the fabric softener I use in the wash, the hanging clothes make my bathroom smell nice!

I have two large wooden drying racks from Gaiam; I do the laundry just before I'm going out or to bed and set the racks up in the living room. They've got all day/night to dry without being in my way. The racks fold up nicely and fit into a closet when not in use.

my hand washables go in mesh bags and are thrown in the delicate cycle, then i either hang them from the shower rod, or put them in the dryer on air. i hate the stiffness air drying causes.

Drying rack in the bedroom with socks, pants, ect. and t-shirts and shirts go onto hangers on the shower rod. The drying rod fits into the shower room when not in use.

I used to have different hangers that came from stores, but recently bought some white plastic ones, and it all ready looks much nicer.

We have a tiny laundry room/nook, but really high cielings. I mounted a shower curtain rod (with U hooks for stability) high up on the ceiling and we hang our laundry here to dry. I use either a step stool to reach the hangers, I suppose I could get one of those long hook things like they use in a department stores to reach the high racks. It gets our random items out of the way too.

caliann24, have you ever seen the drying racks that can be lifted up and down with a pulley system? They are everywhere here in Brazil, and work quite nicely. Something like this: http://www.americanas.com.br/home/begin.do?home=AcomImgAmp&itemId=632827

Since my place lacks a washer/dryer, I learned to do laundry by hand in the bathroom sink. Drying, I found, was the biggest challenge - and I quickly learned that the shower rod wasn't going to cut it. So I found a 5-line retractable clothesline, and installed it so that any dropping water would land in the tub.

http://www.shopatclares.com/Items/item.aspx?SKU=WDMD-61

It's cheap, and it works like a charm - especially in the hotter months, or if you can train a fan on it!

On hangers over my curtain rod. A British friend, with whom I shared a small cruiseship cabin recently, said of the sight of all my handwashing drying like that, it resembled a famous Christmas pantomime character setting: "Widow Twanky's Laundry"...

I feel better that my place has stuff drying all over a lot of the time since I'm not the only one. Yuk. I put wet stuff on my two rolling wire bins from Container Store that I use as laundry baskets and a chair with arms (lots of hanging surface). These are all placed near sunny windows. Occasionally, I pull out a folding chair to hang stuff on and/or use the shower curtain rod, but usually I don't need these. I hate having to air dry stuff all the time, but that's the status right now.

The Ikea FROST drying rack is seriously my favorite ikea purchase of all time. Fits ALL my wet clothes (and I basically just use the dryer for towels), and folds up very thinly. We can slide it under out couch when not in use, and you can't see it at all.

I guess I don't have as much to air dry as I thought. I have a rod next to my dryer- I put the shirts and jeans there. I don't usually have more than one sweater at a time that can't be dried so I have a small rack that goes over my washer. When I had my apt. I used the shower rod and had a small wooden rack that folded up when not in use.

I can't believe that no one has stated the obvious: For items you don't want to put in the dryer, simply don't wash them all at once!

If you know you can only manage a few items hanging around your tiny space, don't do a full load of drip-dry-only clothes. Spread your drip-dry items across different loads, and your hand-washing across different days.

I have a smaller, sturdier Ikea rack that fits better in my space, I also noticed one day that the pipes on the celling of the laundry room were warm ( probably hot water pipes) and started hanging hangers with shirts on them to dry. The pipes increase drying time a lot. I'm now thinking of insulating the pipes (cheaply, as i rent) but still keeping them narrow enough for my hangers

Clothes that can't go into the dryer go directly from our washing machine to hangers in our closet, spaced widely apart from each other and from already dry clothes. (Our washing machine has a wicked spin cycle, so we don't have to deal with dripping wet clothes.)

When we lived in Iceland, we noticed that most houses had small "drying rooms" but not dryers. Drying rooms were kept warmer than the rest of the house and had clotheslines to hang up wet clothes.

I have an over the door clothes rack that is on the bedroom door, it also serves as a space to hang coats when we have guests. It was $3 or $4 at Home Basics, the 99cent type home store on Clinton Street. It's a long bar that holds cloths on hangers, not a bunch of hooks.

Second the recommendation on the Ikea FROST. It slides behind our dining room hutch when not in use. I unfold it in front of the radiator in the winter. The Ikea JABBA is great for unmentionables. It looks like an octopus, with each leg having two clothespins hanging from it. The legs fold up against the body and stretch out for drying. It hangs from the shower rod. I guess it might not "go" in every bathroom, but it's fine in ours. People ask about it and think it's a great idea.

Wow, kimg924, we have the same lives. That IKEA drying rack sounds pretty tempting. But there's something fun about draping damp clothes all over the place, isn't there?

I purchased a 5" shower curtain tension rod from Home Depot. It's in the bathroom over the bathtub. It's great for hanging laundry not appropriate for the dryer, and anything I hand wash.

I have one of those wood dowel dryer racks, but mine is tends to spontaneously fall over, so I hardly use it.

i lived in the US for a while (i'm australian) and i was amazed at how addicted to tumble dryers most are. so much power being wasted. i understand in the cold months but i found even people in houses who have space outside for a clothes line and sunny days used dryers....?

anyway, i'm in a townhouse in australia now and i use a rack, which i put on the balcony or i hang things on the staircase bannister. i use my dryer in winter.

the rack is terribly designed though as you have to assemble it just so or it collapses. arrgh.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PRIMITIVE-CLOTHES-DRYING-RACK_W0QQitemZ200288807204QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFolk_Art?hash=item200288807204&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Sorry, forgot to add, I have an antique rack that hangs flat when not in use, works great and holds a lot (like this ebay one, but mine is bigger).

Wow, marfa - I have one of these clothes dryer things in my bathroom. It's inside a little closet attached to the wall and has a little rope so you can raise and lower it. I never use it cause the wood is all discolored and dirty.

It's funny to see how people took care of laundry in 1913, which is when my building was built (Brooklyn, NY).

makes me wonder whether Wes and Kayla own hangers.

> makes me wonder whether Wes and Kayla own hangers.

Makes me wonder whether you own sweaters. Medium- and heavy-weight knits should be dried flat to avoid stretching out the neck and shoulders. I drape mine over two or more rungs of the drying rack to distribute the weight.

I hang my clothes on the line outside and on a wooden dryer rack during yucky weather. I think if I needed more space I'd make a drying line inside the house. It can't be that hard, can it?

As a kid, my parents use to line dry all our clothes. they used hangers if there wasn't room on the line in our backyard. Our clothes always got out of shape and the darks always faded. To this day, I associate line drying w/ poor people. I remember when we first got a dryer, we still only used it sparingly to save on electricity. Once, during the rainy season, our neighbor asked to use our dryer to dry his jeans. My mother said no. It took them 10 years for them to become friends again. It's wierd, now that we are in a green movement, I don't mind line drying my clothes.

We use these mesh drying racks from The Container Store for sweaters and things that can't go in the dryer...
http://containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?searchId=17588022&itemIndex=6&CATID=77008&PRODID=60112

They stack, so you can put a few of them over the tub and let things dry overnight.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00119042

THIS is my favorite! Great for pinning socks and undies up and since it goes up and down, it's out of our way with no ladders! With a shower curtain rod across the end of the hall and this unit, we can dry up to 4 loads of laundry within a day (or two during our rainy NorCal winters). We don't have a dryer, so everything hangs to dry. We only run towels and jeans during those cold rainy months when they just won't dry otherwise.

certain clothes I only like to dry for a few minutes then hang up on plastic hangers and the closet pole we put over the washer & Dryer till their dry. Works for us (me) and just have a laundry closet....wish a room.

I've seen devices that have a line on a reel that you can pull out, attach somewhere, and it retracts back when not in use. Don't know what or where, but you could no doubt Google this.

I put them on hangers and hang them on a veranda outside. All Japanese apartments have small verandas for this purpose. You put a plastic, metal or bamboo rod through some hooks and then hang things on the rod. Very few people in Tokyo have clothes dryers.

I hang my clothes on plastic hangers hung from the shower curtain rod in the bathroom. If I need something to dry quickly, I have a small fan that I turn on and aim at the clothes. This technique renders them dry in 3-4 hrs, 12-15 without.

I teach fifth grade, and have summers off. My challenge for myself this past summer was not to use the dryer. I used a chrome hanger stand on my balcony for towels, and undergarments, but hung clothers on plastic hangers throughout the house. I draped bed linens over the bannisters. I was amazed by how quickly everything dried. Oh! I slung my husband's jeans over the balcony, and across the adirondack chairs.

Can accomplish much drying of things that can't be tossed in dryer.......use a combo of an Ikea drying rack in old-fashioned tub, plus shirts on hangers that go onto the shower rod, small items just tossed over doorknobs, a sweater or nice t-shirt over the towel rack...and if something is just damp and won't leave any water, I toss a dry towel over the back of a wood chair and then place the item onto the towel. Use to do this on bathroom or kitchen floor if I was desperate, but now our miniature, long-haired dachshund gets obsessed with our laundry and will sit on anything he can. He prefers the still-warm folded laundry in the laundry basket, but anything will do....once he said on a piece of 8 x 11" paper as if it was a rug.

Drying Rack...best one at Container Store because it attaches to the wall, and folds away. Mine is in my walk in closet, so clothes dry where they are stored. Put it any where you can conceal it.
http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?searchId=17622517&itemIndex=5&CATID=77008&PRODID=60113

I have two heavy duty wooden drying racks, that collapse when not in use, and store neatly under the bed. There is a laundry room down the hall from my apartment, and I wash my clothes and then put them in the dryer, but after about 10 minutes, I pull out those items that can be hung to dry the rest of the way. If you pull them out when they are hot and steamy there are no wrinkles and you can move them to the wooden racks or hang on hangers from that point. I use skirt hangers to hang my slacks upside down from the legs and the weight of the damp fabric keeps them taught and the creases nice while they dry, so that I can usually avoid any ironing.

I got something like this at Target, but it was 10 dollars cheaper:
http://www.target.com/Extendable-Folding-Dryer-Mesh-Shelf/dp/B0000CNQXC/sr=1-6/qid=1229811802/ref=sr_1_6/192-9429161-6315412?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Adrying%20rack&page=1

Seriously, though, a drying rack is not some new-fangled "contraption" that IKEA introduced to us from Sweden. This post reads like an infomercial for the innovative drying rack.

We (UK based) have a traditional drying rack like this:
http://www.pulleymaid.com/Classic_Clothes_Airer.htm installed over our stairs.

A full load dries overnight, even cottons and jeans. We don't have an electric dryer any more because we just don't need it. I hang t-shirts, jeans, towels and sheets directly on the rack; shirts go on hangers then hang on the rack.

I've had racks like the Ikea ones as well, but works so much better - you can pull the clothes out of the way and it dries faster as well because more air can circulate.

I try not to own stuff that can't go in the dryer. If it can't then I just dry clean. For bras and stuff, I do resort to the shower curtain rod trick.

We hang dry the lighter stuff (shirts and light-weight pants) in the bathroom on hangers on the shower curtain rod, the little stuff goes on a drying rack and the heavy jeans and sweatshirts go on hangers and get hung from every door hinge, door knob and hook in the house. Sweaters and delicate tops get dried on mesh sweater racks in the bathtub.

We have a washer (finally!! after 9 years with using the local laundromat) but no dryer. Not using the dryer keeps clothes from wearing out quickly (and stains from setting). Plus it saves quarters and electricity. We only dry towels and sheets.

I just discovered the motherlode of traditional drying thingamajigs at Lehman's:
http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?itemID=728&itemType=CATEGORY&iMainCat=673&iSubCat=728&show48=1

I've gotta get some of those pant stretchers to get the wrinkles out!

I hang these hook/clothespins, or plastic hangers, from my shower curtain rod.

I was brought up in Scotland where it rains most of the Winter (and Summer too sometimes) we had a pulley like brokenbetty. I have a rack in the guest room so that I don't have to see the washing. I prefer not to use an electric dryer for eco reasons. If it is not raining they go out on the line.

Add two shower curtain rods parallel to the one holding your shower curtain. Pull back the curtain after doing laundry, and you've got three rows of hanging space over your tub!

I got the Wallfix for my tiny studio and is the coolest thing since sliced bread.
It's mounted right between my closet and bathroom. I realized recently that I could clip a sheet to it, stick a primary pouf in there, and create a makeshift dressing room for when there are visiting guests.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFPXesgez9Y

I use my shower curtain. Just push the rod half way into the shower area and place all your wet clothes on the rod to dry. Or, you can use an inexpensive tension rod for curtains as a trying line in your shower. Very simple and very affordable.

hi Patty1H i think we may live in the same building! I saw your post in Mystery Devices. and am researching pre-war information. Since I just moved into a pre-war in Bay Ridge I need help figuring out what all this weird stuff is!
my personal email is sreina26@yahoo.com. I hope im not bothering you!

This folding garment rack slides in easily between the washer and wall in our tiny laundry closet. In the warmer months, I just slide it out onto our patio.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=/qid=/ref=br_1_1/180-5546545-8174357?ie=UTF8&node=13814291&frombrowse=1&asin=B000KHPFGC&rh=&page=1

We also have a neighbor who mounted this retractable line on our half-fence. I've seen her hang multiple heavy comforters and the like on it, so it seems pretty sturdy. I'm debating whether or not to try it out myself. Anyone have experience with this?
http://www.target.com/Whitney-Design-40-Retractable-Dryer/dp/B000JYFNY0/qid=1237662588/ref=br_1_14/180-5546545-8174357?ie=UTF8&node=13828281&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1

I've lived in Hungary for almost five years now, and I still miss my dryer. They do exist here (as in, I've seen them in shops), but they're unbelievably expensive. My personal campaign to convince everyone how great they are hasn't made much progress, so I, like everyone, use a drying rack. It's very basic (see the link below) like most I've seen - that IKEA one looks like it would take longer to put up and take down than the clothes would take to dry!

http://131.165.52.42/cb/images/40415/58

I have a little cumbersome drying rack that I plan on eventually switching out for an Ikea one and using it for dying and painting silks instead. At $2/dry and $1.75 per wash in my house, and an all inclusive rent, I opt for handwashing everything i can!!!
(PS- someone gave a tip once about wearing your jeans into the shower. It works incredibly well. Get a bar of laundry soap for extra deep cleaning)
I used to have a bathroom in residence with a drain in the floor, so I would just put it over that (wheelchair friendly bathrooms in all dorm rooms, so there was still loads of room to get around) but now, I have a bathroom that I can hardly close the door in if there is anything more than one small person inside! I've been using the shower curtain rack, and then the drying rack in the kitchen if I need it.

When I lived in an apartment, I set a drying rack into the bathtub, and I hung everything over that. Now, in a small house, I mounted one of the IKEA shelves (the one with 4 or 5 stainless rods) over the laundry area sink and I hang wet laundry on that (spread over the shelf on a towel, for delicates, or on plastic rod clothes hangers).

I have some nice retractable dryers that I sell in my online shop (for people who live in small homes). One mounts to the wall and only pulls out when you need it; another mounts to the ceiling.

http://www.citymouseshop.com/laundry.html