Clothes Drying Racks

A seemingly universal experience when going away to college is buying a clothes drying rack, and it seems like all the stores promote and sell the same one. In my opinion, there are a lot more options that are regularly stocked or being promoted so I’d like to take you through the clothes drying racks that I’ve had or used and what I would buy today, as someone who still weekly uses a clothes drying rack based on your space requirements.

There is no space

When you have absolutely no space to dry clothes, you still have options. These options assume you’re already using the back of your door to store more permanent things instead of the temporary clothes drying rack. However, these collapsible drying racks might still be able to fit on a corner of your door, or even on the side of your bed. They’re small enough that they can be stored in a set of drawers when not in use, and budget friendly enough that you could possible buy two sets of them and have enough for all your clothes. However, if you do purchase these, I would recommend also buying socks/underwear clips, something that is narrow and comes in a hanger form. Or, you could use these individual clips if you don’t have space for the hangers.

You can go for something like this which expands, but it requires drilling into the walls and is permanent. Which can be good or bad depending on how limited your space is. Also, it seems like it would be more likely to break when actual clothes are put on it’s furthest out point.

However, if you don’t even have space for a wardrobe, and you don’t have hangers, I’d recommend looking into something like this: a clothes line. These are great because they’re surprisingly sturdy (be mindful of jeans though) and they take up almost no space when not in use. When you are using them, you just fold your clothes over it and let it dry. Hopefully near a window or in the bathroom so your space doesn’t mold.

Space is a serious premium

Now, an alternative, that is very small when in use and during storage is an umbrella clothes drying racks. I haven’t used these but this one looks pretty good, because it has the socks/underwear clips. However, a note of caution, I would only purchase these if you expect to hang all your clothes, because this one requires everything be hung on a hanger. Also, be mindful about balancing it to avoid tipping. But, if I had a tiny room, I might opt for the umbrella clothes rack because it really does fold down small and can be more easily stored in a cranny between two pieces of furniture unlike the next one.

Space is at a premium

Now, to be fair, the accordion style drying racks is a college classic for a reason. It excels during college where space is at a premium, with some wiggle room, and clothes are presumed to be at a minimum. However, my issue with the accordion style racks is that they don’t have a good place for socks, underwear, or jeans. This one by black+decker has socks, and underwear, clips, and it’s expandable! If I had to buy an accordian drying rack, realistically, I’d go for the black+decker one.

Space is less at a premium

When space is less at a premium, everything’s possible!

You can get expandable drying racks.

Non functional racks that function as art.

But if I had to choose, I’d go for either drying racks that come down from the ceiling, or double/triple heavy duty layered racks.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I really like the style of drying racks that come down from the ceiling, but unless you have tall ceilings, it can be annoying to walk under them. Now, you can get around that annoyance by being intentional with how you place the drying rack, and as long as there’s some airflow nearby, this is actually my favorite! Bonus: they come in so many types and styles so you can find one that matches your home and works as a piece of art almost.

However, what I currently own is something like this one. It’s got two layers and a dedicated clip for socks and underwear. Another option I’d be interested in is this triple layered one, as long as that mesh can come off the bottom layer. I think this would be great! Now you might be tempted to buy almost any clothing rack, for example, this one but note that for essentially the same cost you’d be purchasing half or even a third of the real estate of the ones listed previously.

Some notes

Whatever you choose, I would prioritize coated metal over plastic, as you can bend metal back into shape while plastic just breaks. I would also prioritize heavy duty. There will be a time when you’ll need to move the clothing rack while fully loaded and you don’t want a clothing rack so fragile it can’t handle moving a couple of inches.

There’s a hard balance to be struck on how much to spend. Originally, I bought cheaper clothing racks (about $12-$16 each) and they were great for what they needed to be. They were relatively study, and they held together well for the first year. Then they started to loose parts and fall apart, but I kept using them for about 2 more years until they were eventually too bent out of shape and some of the hinges had fallen off.

So, I upgraded. I bought a nice heavy duty two layer rack and got rid of my two single layer ones. Immediately, it took up less space, they were sturdier, there weren’t any parts to loose, but I’d spent more than double, (about $60 on one). And it still has flaws. One of the bottom layers has a looser fit so part of it will regularly come undone, but it’s an easy fix and I’m happy so far.

In conclusion, buy the clothing rack that fits your space and needs. If you only need a rack for a year, or you’re unsure how long you’ll need it, spend less than $20. If you know you’ll need it for longer, spend more, but don’t spend over $100 unless it’s also an art piece, or made out of wood. Even the best made metal ones will realistically only last you a couple of years, unless it’s incredibly heavy and made of cast iron, in which case, it’ll rust.