This post gives tips on how to air-dry your laundry in an apartment.

Having lived in France for the past 12 years, I had to learn very quickly how to dry clothes and linens inside.

Luckily for me, one of our neighbors was a lovely older lady who didn’t care that I couldn’t speak French and walked me around her apartment demonstrating how to air-dry laundry in an apartment.

Transform your living space into a laundry sanctuary perfect for apartment dwellers.

From shaking out your clothes to maximize drying efficiency to the secret behind preventing sun-bleaching, we’ll cover it all. We’ll even explore alternative options for hanging your laundry, keeping your clothes fresh, and speeding up the drying process.

Read This Post About The Laundry Hamper: The Pillar To A Good Laundry System Here
Give this post a try Laundry Solutions for Small Spaces: An Innovative Guide To Having No Laundry Room

Benefits Of Air Drying Clothes.

Air drying helps to save on energy costs, and maintain the longevity of your favorite garments. Is the most eco-friendly approach to laundry.

No more cramped laundromats, no more worrying about your delicate fabrics being ravaged by tumble dryers, and no more late-night laundry room escapades

Having tips on how to air dry clothes means fewer quarters and the drone of tumble dryers. To the fresh, eco-friendly, and budget-conscious world of apartment laundry.

Important Things To Know On How To Air Dry Laundry In An Apartment

Humidity and ventilation are very important. Crack the window when drying your clothes to not only ventilate but also let out the moist air.

In the same area of ventilation is airflow. Create as much airflow as possible to hasten drying time. As well as reduce the change of your clothing having a musty damp small.

Depending on where you live you could dry your clothes outside all year round, the main rule is to know if the humidity is low enough (lower than 70%) and if the clothing is in the sun. They should dry.

Placing your drying rack next to a sunny wide and near a radiator is the best place. The window allows ventilation and heat from the sun while the radiator gives a boost of heat and usually dries the air out which is what you need.

Use a drying rack or clothesline indoors to air-dry clothes.

Drying racks are a brilliant thing. Use your drying racks to dry your clothes inside your apartment or move them onto your outside space to dry items quicker.

Choose a drying rack that works with your space. There are so many styles available. Check out these from Amazon.

If you have a room in your home that is warm and deals well with humidity such as a well-ventilated bathroom try a wall-mounted retractable line to free up some floor space.

Hang clothes the right way

Hanging your items up to dry these ways prevents wrinkles and maximizes airflow.

Sheets and Towels dry best folded in half and placed over the rail or pinned at the edges. Spreading the towels two lines wide. To maximize airflow place your underwear hanger in between the two halves to prevent them from touching.

Pants have a fast chance of drying and look good by pinning to the line by the legs. Try to avoid folding pants over the line as this creates too many layers of fabric.

Shirts dry best and with the least wrinkles by drying upside down and pinned at the bottom at the side hems.

Shake out clothes before hanging

Give your laundry a shake before hanging it up removes excess water and reduces wrinkles. Coming straight from the washing machine items are always a little twisted and bundled up. Shake them straight to help with air flow as well as reduce wrinkles. The fewer folds and layers your clothing or linens have the faster they dry.

Dry clothes inside-out

To prevent sun-bleaching dry clothing inside out. Even drying clothes inside clothing is susceptible to the sun’s effect though greatly reduced.

Clean your clothespins

Especially if you are drying on a balcony or outside space, dirt and pollution from the air can build up on the clothespins. Give them a rinse in soapy water and dry them in the sun.

If you dry clothes inside then don’t use them. Not using pegs also minimizes the chance of creating indent in your clothes from them.

Use hangers to dry delicate pieces — and maximize space

Underwear and delicate hangers are great space savers. Leave the lines for bulkier and heavier items and place underwear and socks or hangers.

Putting underwear and delicate items in dryers can greatly reduce their life. These hangers have a hook so you can hang them almost anywhere.

TIP: These are cerate for washing kitchen towels and cleaning cloths.

Use a towel to remove excess water

Remove excess water from clothes before hanging them up to dry by rolling them in a towel and giving them a little squeeze. This is great for jeans and winter items, removing a little bit of moisture can help immensely.

Press clothes with a hot iron

Additionally to absorb excess moisture and gently dry items use a hot iron to quickly run over the clothes. The iron with give the clothing a head start in drying as well as reduce the moisture in the items.

Ensure good ventilation

Create as much ventilation as possible, air circulating through the line helps avoid dampness and mold growth. Placing your drying rack in front of a cracked sunny window is a great start at ventilating your line. Placing your clothes outside on a sunny day with low humidity can help as well.

Use a dehumidifier

Remove cold air and moisture from the room with a dehumidifier. These are a lifesaver, in the middle of winter when everything just feels wet in addition if you live in a really humid location a dehumidifier helps cut the amount of humidity in the air. For drying clothes they work best in a small room however the closer the dehumidifier is to the line the better.

The Lidl Dehumidifiers are highly rated. Here are highly-rated dehumidifiers from Amazon.

Use an oscillating fan to speed up drying time.

The easiest way to create ventilation and speed up drying time is to use a fan. Either the same fan from the summer or a small desk fan that can be placed near the clothes.

Placing the fan between a heat source and drying clothes blows warm air into your clothes, speeding up drying time. This is mainly for the winter but a fan is still great for the summer, especially on still days.

Heated fans are available, the Dyson heated fan and air purifier are highly recommended however it is very expensive. Here are some budget-friendly heated fans from Amazon that have a good rating. Combining a heated fan and a dehumidifier is a great combination.