Best way to dry clothes

[u/ResponsibilityDue974]

Trying to preserve my clothes and keep the shirts in good condition. I try drying using the drying rack but they smell I guess it's not warm enough here.

Does anyone have any recommendations i.e. putting the laundry in the dryer on air dry for 20 minutes then hanging then out to dry?

I find the joggers at the waistband never dry properly when using the hang only method.

Thought I'd try to get further insight on this matter thanks!

[u/NotAGoodUsernameSays → u/[deleted]]

Also, dry air. Consider getting a dehumidifier.

[u/Maculica → u/[deleted]]

It doesn't? How do my clothes dry out in the attic without any airflow (closed windows) then? 🧐

[u/PaintedDream]

Fan to move air by the drying rack

[u/bluehillbruno → u/PaintedDream]

This. A small fan blowing at the clothes will drastically speed up the drying time. We do this when we are on a long trip in our camper. Anything that doesn’t go in the dryer gets hung on hangers with a 6”fan blowing on them. Everything is bone dry by morning.

[u/Terror_Raisin24]

If the clothes smell, it doesn't have to do with the drying rack, but with the washing before. Especially dark clothes will still smell if you washed them at 40°C, they collect bacteria from the washing machine if you're washing at low temperatures most of the time. A dryer will kill the bacteria afterwards because of the heat, but there are other ways

• using additional antibacterial rinse
• run your washing machine at high temperature from time to time and clean your washing machine (especially the rubber seal parts and the drawer for the detergent.
• if possible, put the drying rack outside. Wind and sun help a lot.
• don't hang too much on the rack. The more space between layers, the better.

Greetings from Europe, where dryers are not as common as in the US and drying racks are the standard.

[u/Intelligent_Map_7849]

Visit the r/laundry subreddit. You'll learn lots. Questions similar to this are asked often.

[u/ResponsibilityDue974 → u/Intelligent_Map_7849]

Thanks!

[u/sqeeezy]

On the washing line on the lawn in the sun and wind.

[u/Connect_Rhubarb395]

Warmth doesn't dry clothes. You need the air to be dry so the humidity escapes the clothes because the surrounding air is drier than the clothes.

I use an electric dehumidifier with a clothes drying setting. It is SO good.
I hang my clothes on hangers and they dry in about 4 hours with the dehumidifier.

[u/ResponsibilityDue974 → u/Connect_Rhubarb395]

Can you share a link? Thanks for the tips!

[u/Connect_Rhubarb395 → u/ResponsibilityDue974]

Mine is from a brand called Eeese. They have different models.

[u/Sophiad12]

Also very important is to hang the clothes properly on the drying rack. Pants inside out and on the sides of the rack, otherwise the fabric of the pockets takes forever to dry. If you can, hang clothes over more than one bar, increasing the distance between the wet panels - as others have pointed out, air flow is crucial!

[u/EmuMountain4894]

just point a fan at the rack airflow stops the smell completely lol

[u/yarndopie]

Clothes not drying properly is a sign that you have an overall problem with moist air in your home. It's really common in "older buildings" that haven't been built to today's standards, so go ahead and get a dehumidifier. Most kinds will do.

[u/Sayonaroo]

use a fan

[u/fridayimatwork]

I hang over towel bars and the shower. If things smell you might try a bit of ammonia in the wash water in addition to laundry soap

[u/VeryStableGenius66 → u/fridayimatwork]

We use vinegar in place of fabric softener. It helps by really getting extra (dirty) detergent out of clothing, towels, etc.

Fabric softener is evil. Bad for your washer, your clothes and for you.

[u/fridayimatwork → u/VeryStableGenius66]

Yeah I never use fabric softener

[u/squashed_tomato]

Are you leaving them in the washing machine for too long before hanging them up? That can make them smell. As someone else mentioned make sure you are doing a cleaning cycle without anything in the machine regularly. The manual will tell you how to activate it if you are not sure how to. I also like to wash my towels on a hot cycle to help get rid of any bacteria in the machine as I wash everything else at 40.

You don't mention if you have access to an outside space because that would be the ideal. If you are stuck with drying them inside keep an eye on the humidity levels in the room. The water has to go somewhere and it can make rooms damp if you are not opening the windows every day. If will also take longer for them to dry if the humidity levels are too high.

[u/ResponsibilityDue974 → u/squashed_tomato]

Thanks! Put it on cleaning mode now with vinegar and baking soda after scrubbing the plastic part down with vinegar. I take them out right after the cycle and dry towels in the dryer without any smell. I have a small patio at my condo but will they dry in the cool Canadian weather I'm on the west coast so it's about 12 degrees today, but the patio doesn't face the sun.

[u/squashed_tomato → u/ResponsibilityDue974]

There's an app I've started using called Laundry Timer - Drying Times that gives you a timer on how long your laundry should take to dry based on the weather and temperature in your area. There is a setting to adjust it for being in shadow which I haven't used personally so I don't know how well it works but the app is free for the base features so maybe worth trying out?

[u/not-my-first-rode0]

We have a dehumidifier in the basement (which is where our laundry set up is) and this helps with clothes drying properly on the drying rack

[u/PrairieFire_withwind]

How much detergent are you using?  Often if you use too much it is left in the clithes and feeds microorganisms.

So 1. Less detergent. 2. Vinegar instead of softener 3. Hang in sunshine for uv. 

[u/PuzzleheadedBet6634]

This is not necessarily a cheap or easy way, but it does work well in certain circumstances. When I was on the road as a truck driver, I had a couple hair dryers and a wire basket. That way, I could literally wash whatever clothes I was wearing in the truck stop shower and dry them immediately in The wire basket with the hair dryers aimed at them. Also works for hotel rooms, and I suppose it could work with gym showers if you finesse it somehow.

[u/poop-dolla]

I just put them in the dryer on the lowest heat setting. I usually have to fluff them, clear the lint filter, and run it again after it stops the first time to get them all the way dry.

[u/flyingmonkey5678461]

To destink, soak overnight in a basin of cold water and a cap or so of white vinegar then wash as normal. To dry, summer outside, winter we have a heated rack. Dries overnight usually. 

[u/Late_Duck_]

I would start with washing your clothes with a laundry deodorizer with enzymes.

When you hang on the rack, put a fan under it. Doesn’t need to be high speed, just need circulating air. If you’re doing this in an in closed room, you may need a dehumidifier in the room.

[u/Total_Mood6574]

I always dry nicer clothes using the air fluff mode and then hang dry afterwards.