Try Cloth Diapers Risk Free

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Like Tweet

Line Drying Inside

When I first switched to cloth I wanted to do everything right. I had read that line drying covers helps to extend the life of the elastic and PUL so I knew I wanted to line dry them, but I couldn’t seem to find the “right” way to do it. Well, it turns out that there is no “right” way.

All things being equal, it is probably best to line dry outside where the sun can assist in bleaching/sanitizing the diapers, but if it too rainy, too windy, or too cold outside or if you do laundry at night like I do so that in the morning my entire stash is clean (except of course the diaper being worn), then outside really isn’t an option. So around the house they go.

Some mornings I walk downstairs to my beautifully hanging diaper covers strewn about and wonder if anyone else “decorates” their house the way I do.

Depending on what other laundry is also drying and how organized my laundry room is I might do any of the following:
  • Scour the house for hooks (coat hooks, towel hooks, bag hooks) and drape the cover over the hook
  • Hang the diaper over the long part of a hanger, like I would hang pants, and then hang the hanger from the shower curtain rod, cabinet drawer or cupboard handles, really anything
  • Lay the cover over the edge of the laundry basket or the back of the kitchen chairs
  • Or simply lay the cover on a towel on the floor
What “right” way do you use to dry your covers?

Bio:  Toria is a stay-at-home-mom who loves playing with her very active 3-year-old boy and delightful 18 month-old girl. She started cloth diapering when her little girls was 9 months old and hasn’t looked back since.

22 comments:

Jen said...

I am lucky to have a great wire shelf above my washer/dryer in my laundry room, so it serves as the perfect line-drying spot! I have saved about 10 or so plastic hangers from kids' pants that I use for a large chunk of my BG3s. They are just the right width for the top of a diaper! The rest of the stash gets hung over a hanger--like you suggested--with 2 on each one. If I'm washing the whole lot at once (I have 24), then I have a couple of extras that I hang on the ironing board holder, or lay flat on top of the wire shelf. Wish there was a way to add a picture on here to show you what I mean. I love the way it works~

Anonymous said...

I have a drying rack that has arms that have alot of bars to hang stuff & I can hang 2 days worth of diapers on it in my kitchen. Keeping a 15 month old boy out of it is another story...

Brooke said...

Ha I thought I was the only one who did the laundry basket and hanger drying techniques. My laundry room looks like a Chinese laundry, but it works for me.

katherine said...

We bought a clothesline from Home Depot for 12 bucks. Its retractable and heavy duty! Kind of like this one but I think ours is shorter. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&productId=202863315&R=202863315

Amanda said...

I bought a folding clothes rack that I can put covers and inserts on to dry. If it's staying inside the house I just lay the covers over the bars; if it's going outside I use clothpins to secure them. When it's not in use I stash it under my bed.

BleuMoon said...

I have found that the hangers with the clips (usually on childs pants or skirts) works great to dry two covers at a time and takes less space. Clip one diaper on one side and a 2nd diaper on the other - then I hang them over the curtain rod - works great!

Unknown said...

We have a folding rack that we got at Target for $10 that I pull out to dry diapers. It works well, especially if I put it near a floor vent. I can also use it outside on warm, dry days. It can hold three diapers across on each of 10 spindles.

Heather said...

We live in a small second story apartment. Drying outside is rarely an option. But my daughters room has a great south facing window with a large windowsill. Between hangers and laying em out i can dry 12 diapers in the sun all day! It's amazing what we can make work if we need to! Thanks for the post. Glad to know I'm not the only one playing the indoor hanging game!

Jeannette said...

I use an indoor drying rack. You can pick them up at Bed Bath & Beyond or Target during back-to-school for less than $20. Lots of times I'll put it in front of the sliding glass door to catch the sun even when it's too cold to dry outside. It still gets the stains out that way!

Anonymous said...

I have a really nice set up in my basement where my washer & dryer are. I just use a wooden drying rack like this http://www.ecohousekeeping.com/images/302-Drying-Rack.jpg . Then I just face a fan towards it blowing on it (I do this during the winter...during the summer I put the rack outside.) It dries very quickly this way (a couple hours I think). It looks really nice too. :) AND the rack holds lots and lots of diapers...got mine from walmart for like 15 bucks or so.

-Chloe

gibsonfam said...

I bought this from Ikea: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80189663/
and hang on a shower curtain rod.It's the greatest $5 investment!

Nicole said...

My "right way" has always been to air dry on our porta crib that we have in the dining room.. on the chairs.. and anything else. We are in an apt and aren't allowed to dry clothes outside so I put them as close to the open window as possible. NOW Santa brought me a drying rack so I get to use that. I am so excited!

Sandi said...

I bought a wire hanging fruit basket at a garage sale. It had three tiers. With the help of some clothes pins I was able to hang most of my diapers on it. Then I could hang it on my back porch or move it to my front porch for more sun, or bring it inside if it was getting wet or windy outside. It's nice to have them so portable while they're drying. However, for drying inside they take a little longer because of their proximity to each other.

melissa said...

Ha. I love it! Whatever works :)

I strung a clothesline from one end to the other of the curtain rod on the inside of my sliding glass door and I hang to dry indoors there, but also get the benefits of the sun. My diapers always looked lovely hanging next to our formal dining table ;)

awoods87 said...

I hang all my diaper covers on the shower curtain rod. I used to use the kitchen chairs, but the shower rod fits more covers.

awoods87 said...

I use the shower curtain rod, love it!

Unknown said...

Our laundry room is narrow, so we put a shower curtain rod above the washer/dryer, right under the shelves we have. I then drape my covers of the rod - I can usually fit around 10-12 covers across it. I also bought one of those octopus hanger things from IKEA so I can clip 8 additional diaper to that, and then hang it from the shower curtain rod in our bathroom.

Sweet Trix said...

This is what I use: a sock hanger: http://riometaltex.hu/pics/559801.jpg

Takes up very little room, and everything dries really fast as it allows the air to circulate between the diapers.

This is mine: http://bezzeganya.postr.hu/cimke/moshat%C3%B3+pelenka

http://images.postr.hu/uploads/blogs/744/23904/post_23904_20110330223907.JPG

I don't know which link will work.

Anonymous said...

I put my covers on a collapsible wooden drying rack. It's got a ton of rungs so it holds a lot, but it's compact so I can move it around (or outside) easily and it doesn't get in the way.

~Theresa

carolaontour said...

I usually dry my covers on our small collapsible drying rack (along with the inserts - though those get 10-15 minutes in the dryer). If you don't have a space for a dryer rack, you could look into one of those sock dryer racks. They look like this: http://i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/233001006/stainless_steel_sock_hanger.jpg (or make your own with a hanger and clothes pins) That way you can hang a lot of covers without taking up too much space.

Anonymous said...

My washer and dryer are in a little space. It is just the right width to hang a suspension shower rod. I use this with kid hangers to line dry all my covers and pockets. Since it is a small area they dry quiclkly while hanging above the dryer drying my prefolds and inserts.

liz said...

I live in a teeny rowhome so I don't have the luxury of a spacious laundry room... the "pressa" from Ikea has been AWESOME! It is an octopus looking thing with 16 clothes clips.. it is inexpensive, compact and folds up nicely when not being used. I highly recommend it for cloth diapering mamas! (I assure you that I don't work for Ikea.. I just love it!)