Hanging Clothes To Dry

**kellieetter** · 03-30-2009, 02:43 PM

I have started hanging our clothes to dry and the only place I have room to do this is my bathroom, I use the shower rod. I have two questions:

1. Any ideas on hanging boxers/underware/socks
2. When my clothes dried they were crisp feeling and I had to stick them in the drier to get the wrinkles out!! Any ideas????

**MoonMommy** · 03-30-2009, 02:45 PM

I find that if I used some kind of fabric softener, they aren't as crispy. I know some of the villagers use Vinegar for fabric softener. You could try that.

**IntlMom** · 03-30-2009, 02:50 PM

course we love crisp blue jeans and towels at our house!!!

**kellieetter** · 03-30-2009, 03:01 PM

I would like to hang my towels to ,does anyone know of a clever trick to hang them??? Remember I have been using my bathroom shower rod.

**sabrelvssammy** · 03-30-2009, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by kellieetter

I have started hanging our clothes to dry and the only place I have room to do this is my bathroom, I use the shower rod. I have two questions:

1. Any ideas on hanging boxers/underware/socks
2. When my clothes dried they were crisp feeling and I had to stick them in the drier to get the wrinkles out!! Any ideas????

use vinegar in the final wash.....

put the clothes in the dryer for 10 mins...BEFORE you hang (they won't be crisp when they dry...don't know why....(i'm a frugalite not a scientist)...lol.....

i hang everything boxers,underware,socks,washclothes, anything small by the little 'skirt' hangers...(or whatever they are called)...they have the built in clips on them ...some kids clothes come on them.... you can hang 2 socks on each hanger....one from each clip...hang undies, or anything else that you can 'clip' on....

same with large towels...clip them on lengthwise and hang....

**Momto2Boyz** · 03-30-2009, 03:38 PM

They actually make a softner for line dried clothes. Once you hang them on the line, you spray them with the softner. I have never tried it, becuase I absolutely hate fabric softner...crisp line dried clothes are the best feeling in the world to me!

When I need to hang clothes inside, I use hangers. I hang clothes on the hangers, then hang them over the curtain rod. For socks, undies and towels, just use clothes pins, and pin them to the hangers.

**2ndGenGranola** · 03-30-2009, 04:47 PM

I use hangers too. I put them on and give them a couple good pops in the air. My socks and such I put on a small, fold up clothes rack. Before my "men" killed my sweater dryer, that was perfect for little things.

**IntlMom** · 03-30-2009, 05:00 PM

can you get a drying rack?
you can get them at WalMart or Target for not too much - mine has been around forever, it seems.

You can move it in the sun from the windows, near your heat source, over vents........

**kellieetter** · 03-30-2009, 05:35 PM

I just started a load of towels and added vinager for the first time, hopefully with all the good advice you guys have provided it will work out!! A drying rack is on my list of things to get!! Thanks again!!

**Grainlady** · 03-30-2009, 07:39 PM

- For hanging clothes on lines to dry, use the slowest spin on your washer to help prevent wrinkles setting in your clothes from high-speed spins. Those 1000 rpm (or faster) spin cycles are made to use with the dryer. My washer has a special spin cycle that's for line drying and the clothes come out of the washer less wrinkled and also much wetter, which is a good thing when hanging clothes to dry.

-Take clothes out of the washer and hand-smooth them. That helps relax wrinkles.

-You can also toss the wet clothes in the dryer for about 5-minutes and the heat will relax the wrinkles, if you can't control the spin cycle.

- Everything I would normally hang on a hanger in the closet also get hung on a wood hanger or a TIDE Smart Dry Hangers (these are perfect for heavy items) to dry on. I occasionally will spritz a few things with a fine mist spray of water and smooth out wrinkles with my hands. You can also use Wrinkle Release (or less expensive Wrinkle Releaser from Dollar General) on wet clothes to get wrinkles out before you hang them.

- Because the clothes are a little wetter when you use a slower spin, you will get less wrinkles because gravity will help pull the wrinkles out.

- Stiffness is generally caused by detergent build-up. I use Charlies's Soap - http://www.charliesoap.com/ - to eliminate detergent build-up. I liked it so much (and I line dry all my clothes either inside or outside), I purchased the 5-gallon bucket (1280 loads). We figure it will last us 3.5 years and recently purchased another bucket when we found out they were no longer giving free shipping.

After I switched to Charlie's Soap, it took about a month of washing clothes in Charlie's Soap to get rid of all the built-up detergent that had accumulated in the clothes from my former product. I couldn't believe how clothes were so much softer -- even wet out of the washer they felt softer. Bath towels are soft. Recent overnight guests asked me where I got my towels because they were so soft. Would you believe on sale at K-Mart AND they were line dried. I NEVER use fabric softener. Occasionally I'll add vinegar to the rinse of kitchen towels or bath towels, in case there is any soap residue, but I don't think I even need to use it on them. I also don't use extra rinses because it's unnecessary using Charlie's Soap.

I must add one caveat... Low-grade cotton will always remain somewhat "stiff" when line-dried. Better quality cotton (like Egyptian cotton, or Pima) will dry soft. My knit dishrags made with inexpensive Sugar & Cream yarn will dry stiff, while quality 100% cotton yarn leftover from knit garments will remain soft.

- A little breeze will also aid in softening the clothes, so add a fan to your drying routine to get some air-flow and movement to the clothes to mimic a breeze.

- I dry socks on a pull-out drying rack in the laundry room - looks like this except it's not wood - [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Gaiam-Natural-Laundry-Drying-Extends/dp/B0009L8GPG/ref=sr_1_60?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1238451496&sr=1-60"]Amazon.com: Gaiam Natural Laundry Drying Rack, Wall Shelf, Extends to 22": Home & Garden[/ame]. I'd suggest a number of drying racks. They are easy to use indoors. If you have floor vents, set the rack over a vent for the air-flow to aid drying.

I even have one kind of drying rack where I can pin clothes to each of the lines. The drying rack looks similar to this one: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Polder-Argento-Deluxe-Freestanding-Dryer/dp/B000IBFUE2/ref=sr_1_59?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1238451496&sr=1-59"]Amazon.com: Polder Argento Deluxe Freestanding Dryer: Home & Garden[/ame] I can get a ton of clothes on this rack using clothes pins.

I was using a number of drying racks inside, and I also put up a line in the garage for awhile. Now we've converted an unfinished room in the basement and I have 6-lines up in that room and will occasionally use a drying rack if there are too many clothes for the lines only. I also have a clothes rod on one wall where we hang everything that is on hangers to dry - a ceiling fan aids in the drying.

**Siebrie** · 03-31-2009, 07:25 AM

We use fold-away racks over doors and heaters, and a free-standing rack. I do use the fastest spin on the washing machine, because it spins most of the water out of the clothes. This will make them dry faster and leave no dripping garments to worry about. Leave some space between the clothes for air to circulate.

**Michelle** · 03-31-2009, 08:24 AM

I would use hangers on your rod and get a rack as others have suggested for the socks, underwear, etc. You can set it right in the tub if need be. The only items I don't like line drying w/o a bit of drying in the dryer first are jeans & towels.

**joyofsix** · 03-31-2009, 08:31 AM

Great tips, I hope mine aren't redundant.
1. Drying racks! I use them for t-shirts, pants, towels, etc.
2. I hang dh's work clothes on hangers. I 'snap' them with a brisk shake or two before hanging which seems to remove the wrinkles. A quick touch up with an iron if I have too.
3. Socks and undies go on the little hangers with clips[IMG]http:// Whitmor 6171-844 Clip and Dry Hanger
500 x 491 - 96k - jpg
www.housewaresandbeyond.com[/IMG]
I found mine at dollar general.
4. Outside is better if the weather is good. A breeze and sun really help.
5. If post 24hr my jeans are still damp I finish them in the dryer.

**LucyOctopus** · 03-31-2009, 06:56 PM

You can get drying racks -- giant ones that fold into tiny little spaces when you aren't using them -- on the cheap at Asian grocery stores. That's where I bought mine. I love it!

**khjmom** · 03-31-2009, 07:48 PM

Just a note for the drying racks....I have found it was better to have the drying rack with the vinyl covered rods....the plain wooden ones can leave a brown streak on your clothes after awhile. Those racks run just a few dollars more.