Drying Center in a Guest Room
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My house has a tiny excuse for a laundry room in the hallway to the garage, which is more like a mini-niche with the washer on one side, the dryer on the other and inches to spare between the machines and the wall. DH put up rods from which to hang clothing over the units, but you run the risk of getting slapped in the face by a wet shirt or undergarment if you're not careful. I like the guest room idea better. When we have overnight visitors, I'll fold up the drying rack and tuck it into the master bath.
Should have done it years ago but didn't think of it 'til the last time I popped into the store for inspiration.
By Holly from Richardson, TX
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RE: Drying Center in a Guest Room
I am a single mom and always cut corners any way I can. So, I hang my clothes any chance I get, even though it is more work than just throwing them into the dryer. I have a clothes line on my back covered patio, but when I have company, you can see the line and any clothes on it and I don't like that.
We recently have moved into a new house and for the first time in my life, I have a guest room and now, I can put it into even more use. I really like the idea of using my guest room to hang clothes to dry, I never thought of it. Thank you for the post and the idea!
Post by nmpeters
RE: Drying Center in a Guest Room
To Jojo: Can you include a picture? Sounds interesting!
Post by cookwie
RE: Drying Center in a Guest Room
I admit that I do prefer to line dry, I have a wall mount line which I can fold down flat against a wall (not that I ever do that!), my line is also undercover. But...because I work long hours, I often spend my day off catching up on laundry. While my outdoor line holds up to 2 washloads, I often also resort to my indoor clothes airer. I find them incredibly useful and I can fit a full washload on this also. My indoor airer is different to yours, there are quite a range of styles to choose from as people have different sized spaces to fit them in. Mine is about waist height with 2 rows of rails either side which drop down when not in use and the whole thing folds flat to tuck up the side of a couch in our sunroom which is where I keep it. With the door closed this room is very warm as all the walls are glass but when I hang a wash on the airer, I always open the sliding door and a nice breeze comes in (otherwise my washing wouldn't smell too great when dried).
Some of the 'cheaper' airers are very flimsy, I doubt any of them are designed for heavy weights but I hang jeans etc. on mine with no trouble. I also hang small items like socks over the little gaps of side-rail between each rung. If I get really stuck for space, I also have a mobile clothes rail (spare robe!) on which I can hang jumpers on hangers to keep their shape.
Thanks for sharing your great idea :)
Post By jojo (Guest Post)
RE: Drying Center in a Guest Room
It's not flimsy. It's also made to be portable, so it's not heavy, either. I put everything on a hanger that needs to be hung (balanced around the edges), smaller things are draped over the wires (2 wires under each piece to provide for max air circulation), delicate sweaters and tops are placed horizontally on one of the three racks, good air circulation is present here (although possibly not in your house), the frame is not heavy duty (but it's solid enough for my purposes), it is sturdy (no sway unless you give it a push), very little assembly required to do at home (just snap in place the plastic rollers on the bottom and the racks). I didn't roll it from one room to the other - I just picked it up and carried it as the steering takes effort and it's light weight enough to move by myself.
The store clerk (she had one for 3 years and uses it daily) pointed out to me that two of the legs are shorter and two are longer, so be sure and put the longer wheel assemblies on the shorter legs! When you get it home you will know what I am talking about.
My daughter washed her quilt and hung it over the whole thing to dry. No problem. The paint is rust resistant and designed by an engineer who actually understood the situation. If this ever wears out from use I am going to be very upset.
I normally drip dry almost everything. This makes it much more convenient that the previous more public and inconvenient arrangement in the hallway to the garage.
When I put the 3 sides down, it sets flat against the wall and projects 14", which is less than some of those accordion folding dryers. This is how I had it when it was in the master bath (bottom shelf down and laundry hampers underneath) at the time we had company. DH liked it enough to ask me to leave it there, rather than move it to the guest room.
The racks are not sturdy enough for heavy storage, so if a person thought of buying one and using the top rack for storage and the rest for laundry, I'd like to point out that you'd have to limit the weight of the stored items.
Each shelf folds in half and can be left horizontal, vertical or doubled. If one entire side of it is closed, the dryer frame forms a capital "T" shape. 59 1/2 inches tall.
I hope this helped answer the questions.
Susanmajp suggested using a ceiling fan and although I haven't done it, am glad she did. Might be useful in the future to speed up the drying during the long, damp, cold winters.
Post by cookwie
RE: Drying Center in a Guest Room
Holly, do you just fish each piece of clothing between the wires on each shelf, or do you lay them out flat and do them a few at a time? Is there good air circulation between them in a crowded multi-layered space? Are you hanging your clothes on hangers and balancing them all around the edges, too? It seems that it was designed more for sweaters? I have a spare, garage exit 30' hallway of closets that I placed tension rods across and dry things on hangers this way. I also use an old clothes rack for the daily challenge of having to wash a sleeping bag my grandson uses because of his bed-wetting, when I cannot afford Good-night pull-ups @ $7.50/wk. Is the frame of the one in your photo heavy-duty and rust resistant? Are the connectors real sturdy and does the whole thing sway easily as so many of those "assemble yourself" metal tubing things do? I saved several "dorm" dryer racks from the 60's and can use them on the floor area below the tension rods if I need them. Since it will be a LONG time before I have a spare unneeded $50, I will have to be satisfied to just read about your success. lol God bless you. : )
Post By Lynda (Guest Post)
RE: Drying Center in a Guest Room
had one of them racks and hated it........rather use the shower rod instead....but if you are enjoying it more to ya........:0)
Post by grammar
RE: Drying Center in a Guest Room
I have a rack that I also have set up in our unused bedroom. I think it makes a brilliant way to use the space! Between seasons, when we're not using the heat or air conditioner, I put the ceiling fan on to circulate the air and help the clothes dry faster. And that space over the washer and dryer units (same problem, different house)-- we took our rod down and put a shelf up. It's a great place to store extra paper goods (toilet paper, paper towels) and small cleaning stuff.
Post by susanmajp
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