How to Air Dry Laundry in an Apartment

Apartment dwelling has its pros and its cons, and one of the cons is almost always the issue of laundry. Hauling laundry to a friend or relative's house on the weekend, searching the couch for quarters for the coin-op machine, and paying an ungodly amount to dry your laundry only to have it come out damp again and again is annoying. So maybe it's time to air dry. Read on to learn how to air dry laundry in an apartment.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Come up with a plan of attack. If you do laundry once a week and don't go through clothes very fast, you may only need to air dry one load of laundry a week. If you do laundry once a month or have kids, you'll need a more organized system unless you want the laundry to take over the apartment.

2. Choose a location. Devote a small amount of your apartment solely to letting your laundry dry, preferably by a window or fan. Put it away for company, but this way it'll be out of your way and won't take over all available surfaces.

3. Buy a standing fold-up drying rack and park in on the patio, in your bathtub, or under a ceiling fan if you don't have a lot of laundry to dry at one time. It's going to take about 24 hours to dry, so make sure it's located in a well ventilated place to speed up the process.

4. Purchase a flat drying rack with tiers and netting for sweaters and items that need to be laid flat to dry. This is also great for heavier items that take longer to dry as well as small items that won't easily hang on a vertical drying rack.

5. Use the previously mentioned drying accoutrement in addition to an actual hanging clothes line if you have a lot of laundry. You can easily install one from wall to wall in your apartment, and there are even portable options if you aren't allowed to make holes in the wall.

Tips & Warnings

• Always use plenty of fabric softener in the rinse cycle if you're planning to air dry your laundry unless you want it to stand up by itself.
• If something comes out stiff or wrinkled, spray it with a wrinkle releaser and allow it to dry or bust out the iron.
• Plan in advance. If you know you need something tomorrow morning, you need to wash it the day before.

Resources

• Tips and Ideas for Housecleaning
• More Advice and Apartment Solutions

[zigguratmonk]

on 10/21/2009 Hey. I live in an apartment and air dry my clothes. I use this rack called the EcoDry rack. It attaches to my window or tile surfaces with suction cups. I like it because I can put it in a sunny window, and then take it down when I'm not using it. It also folds up which makes it easy to store, and can hold a full load of laundry. www.windowdry.com

[ctaylor11]

on 6/22/2009 I live in an apartment and I found a great way to air dry my laundry. A few weeks ago I found this product AirDry, it's a laundry rack that mounts to the ceiling and it's not using any floor space. I installed it over my bath tub. I think the website is: www.airdry.org

[ctaylor11]

on 6/20/2009 I live in an apartment and I found a great way to air dry my laundry. A few weeks ago I found this product AirDry, it's a laundry rack that mounts to the ceiling and it's not using any floor space. I installed it over my bath tub. I think the website is: www.airdry.org