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Wall-mounted Drying Racks, Hanging Clothes Airers, Portable Stands & Clotheslines

When choosing a clothesline or drying rack, it’s important to know the different types so you choose one that works in the space of your laundry room or external area.

The more compact your laundry room, the more carefully you should plan it, so you find a place for everything. Choosing the right drying rack type will surely contribute for an organized space.

The various types are classified by where they are installed (or only supported).

Wall-mounted clotheslines and drying racks

This type is suitable for both laundry rooms and external areas.

Fixed wall-mounted racks are not common, as they take up space unnecessarilly when not in use. To avoid this, here are the most common solutions:

Folding drying racks

Practical and good-looking, folding racks are ideal for external walls and large laundry rooms, as they take up much of the wall space when folded.

In small rooms, you probably need that wall area for cabinets.

Collapsible drying racks

A more compact type of wall-mounted drying rack. When collapsed, it takes up a smaller area of the wall. When expanded, the rods are usually closer together, so the rack doesn’t reach as far as folding models.

But they usually look worse…

Retractable clotheslines

These are cheap and discreet pieces that keep one or more coiled clotheslines. Some models have larger strings, which can pass through hooks to go back and forth a few times. Others have multiple strings, which you pull at the same time.

This type is ideal for rooms where you don’t always hang clothes, including bathrooms. But you need a propitious layout, with free space to attach both parts on two walls facing each other.

Hanging clothes airers

This type is hung from the ceiling by means of strings, which pass through a pulley and attach to hooks on the wall.

As they‘re usually larger than wall-mounted models, it‘s important to check the product dimensions and access how it will fit in your laundry room. You need to think carefully about its position so that it doesn’t hit any other element and still leave space so you can stand in front of it and use it.

If the area is small, you probably won‘t be able to have any cabinets above the sink and the washer, as this is where the rack can be installed.

Also check the possibility of attaching the pulleys to the ceiling. If you already have a plaster false ceiling, it won‘t support the rack.

If there‘s a future false ceiling in your project, it‘s possible to leave a wooden or iron reinforcement in the position of the pulleys, above the plasterboard. When you make the hole for the screw, it goes through the plaster and reaches a stronger material, which will support the weight.

Freestanding clotheslines and drying racks

Portable clothes stands

This type is ideal for various situations.

In houses or apartments with a terrace, it allows drying clothes in the sun even in rooms that are not suitable for that. You can take it to the terrace or garden on laundry day and collect it at the end of the day.

If you don’t have a laundry room, but a washer and dryer in the kitchen or bathroom, a fixed rack won’t look good. So you can use a portable clothes stand when needed, and collect it when you want the room to look tidier.

It can also be used to complement other clotheslines. If you have a small laundry room and a large family, you can have a hanging or wall-mounted rack, but it probably won’t handle the volume of laundry. So you can use a portable clothes stand as well when needed.

In addition to being versatile, portable racks are also cheap and require no installation.

Folding clotheslines and drying stands

These models have all the advantages of portable clothes stands and are easier to store.

Umbrella clotheslines and poles

These are great for homes with large external areas. If that is your case and you have a hidden spot to hang clothes, you have the opportunity to dry them in the sun.

So, have you decided which type of drying rack or clothesline is right for your space?

You may also want to read other articles about Laundry Rooms.