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We have a downstairs bathroom (big enough for a bath) that mrsfoo wants to also use for kit drying. At the moment sometimes we hang stuff on the small radiator / shower but there is not enough space for all the kit after a wet muddy ride.
I'm looking for ideas on how to create more drying space when we refit the bathroom – more space to hang stuff? Folding rack? Heated rack? Build a drying cupboard?
I'd quite like to retain the bath though mrsfoo is less bothered and thinks there will be more space for drying with just a shower, though I think fitting a full wet room floor is more work. My thought is a folding rack over a bath, and a bonus if heated. Does such a thing exist?
It does need to be good looking as well as functional. I’d like to see or hear ideas from other STWers.
Surely a traditional clothes pulley would be the answer?
Clothes pulley over bath and let it drip in to the bath - easier to clean up and also contains it all.
Might not be so good for having an actual bath if you have the gear hanging there but that probably isn't such a huge concern if you have a shower elsewhere.
We use a dehumidifier. Hang the clothes up, switch on and shut the door. Dry in a few hours.
APF
Will you need to upgrade the heat source and ventilation? Or will it be fine for all this wet gear?
Traditional clothes pully over the Aga.....
alexpalacefan
Full Member
We use a dehumidifier. Hang the clothes up, switch on and shut the door. Dry in a few hours.APF
i was wondering about this myself - do you find the room needs to be quite warm for it to work?
I've got a ludicrously big downstairs toilet/wc 2.5x2.5m and i thought about putting electrics in there (i can drill right through from another room). It's all underfloor heating, so when it's on, it gets really warm, but when it's not it stays quite cool which is nice during summer.
i was wondering about this myself – do you find the room needs to be quite warm for it to work?
You just need dry air to dry clothes, the temperature isn't that important. The dehumidifier also warms the room, acts like a 200W heater.
but when it’s not it stays quite cool which is nice during summer.
Should work absolutely fine there.
You just need dry , ideally moving, air to dry clothes, the temperature isn’t that important.
+1 for dehumidifier - the rest of the space isn't that important. We have a big one in the conservatory - dries washing and wet kit all through the winter, and still keeps the room from turning into a big mouldy fridge. Dessicant type, so warms the air a bit as a by-product, and can be used as a (probably not terribly effective) standalone heater if required. Plumb the drain hose into a waste for maximum faff reduction.
Point taken on ventilation, this is something the room doesn't have (badly built 100 year old house) so will need to be sorted anyway.
dehumidifier
Prefer to keep electricals like dehumidifier out, though there is scope for hidden fans / gear in roofspace (converted bungalow)
traditional clothes pulley
Traditional? No. Designer? Maybe. I still want it to look like a swish bathroom just occasionally used for drying. Maybe go as far as building a floor to ceiling cabinet with ventilation to keep it smart, though dealing with dripping might be an issue.
I'd definitely recommend a dehumidifier, fixes the drying clothes indoors in winter problem. If you don't want electric stuff in there then perhaps there's a loft based solution? If you don't have some kind of dehumidifier going on and you just heat a closed room then you've built a sauna.
I'd check the bath outlet might be useful.
I have a downstairs one goes straight into the main drain so I can wash off sand and stuff. (Amazing how much there is (often handfuls) - that would otherwise go into our washing machine filters/pipes)
Sometimes in winter I just get in the bath fully clothed and use the shower attachment (I have a shower in the same bathroom but the drain is nowhere near as good)
I then hang stuff over the bath and switch the big extractor fan on...
The day our dehumidifier broke we bought another one.
One of life's essentials.
My thought is a folding rack over a bath, and a bonus if heated. Does such a thing exist?
Heated racks exist, my old housemate had one. Folded up like an ironing board, would probably fit in a good sized bath
Electric heated drying rack in the bath? Sounds a bit dodgy to me.... toaster in the bath anyone...?
My wife bought a heated drying rack thing with a heat reflective cover around it not long ago. I was really sceptical, partly as I'm a tight arse, but I've got to say it is a miracle for drying stuff in no time. Might be the 'dry soon'
We used to have a nightmare getting clothes dry and them creating damp in the crappy old house we rent and having to use a dehumidifier. The heated rack is ace, even though Ive just seen how much it probably was I still think it's ace😂
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/24909/Dry:Soon-Deluxe-3-Tier-Heated-Airer
A second for the heated rack, I have that Lakeland one and it is very good.
I also highly rate dehumidifiers. If you genuinely want a drying room, this is the only way forward.