Clothes drying rack repairing and building

[Myakka]

I adore my clothes drying racks, but they are somewhat fragile and apt to break. I use the wood ones that fold up when not in use.

It would seem to be possible to remove a broken leg or dowel and replace it. It would seem possible to build a better stronger one than the ones sold in stores.

I've been looking around for a guide to teach me how to do this. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[jacob]

Easiest would be to just copy the pattern of one sold in a store but make it out of oak.

I wanted to DIY a rack too but even when building it out of pine, it's not going to be cheaper than a commercial model. When they break, I just sister in a piece of wood with glue on the broken part.

[George the original one]

Ditto Jacob. My mom's drying rack had a piece glued & supported by electrical tape... think it lasted over 20 years in that condition.

[jennypenny]

You can replace the inside dowels with nylon rope.

That kind of rope is easy to string between any two points and then you don't need a drying rack. I keep some in my suitcase to use as a makeshift clothesline when I'm traveling.

[jacob]

You can also replace them with AAA batteries

[jennypenny]

Ok ... I know you're making fun of me, but I don't get how. You can't replace all of the dowels but you can replace the inside ones that aren't part of the structure.

fyi: I've used this portable clothesline for 6 years and it's never broken even though I drag it inside and outside all the time, my dogs have knocked it over countless times, and I've tripped and fallen on it. Twice.

[jacob]

No, seriously. The inside dowels on the "standard" racks are exactly the diameter of an AAA battery. I used one as a pivot point for years until I finally decided it was too ghetto and glued in a replacement dowel.

[cmonkey]

If you have an Aldi near you they sell seasonal items and a fold-up laundry rack almost identical to this one is one of them. We got ours for ~5 bucks if I remember and it holds a medium sized load. It is super strong and has withstood blowing over a couple of times.

[Campitor]

In your spare room, the one you don't let guests see, put some eye hole screws on opposite ends of the room - make sure you hit a stud. String up rope whenever drying clothes - ditch the drying rack.

You can even use hook screws so you can put permanents loops at each end of the rope so you can hang/remove the indoor clothes line more quickly.

Don't want permanent hooks in the wall? Just put the hooks into a board and hang the board from the wall with some inconspicuous nail hangers in the back; remove it at will.

Good luck!

[Chris]

In your spare room, the one you don't let guests see, put some eye hole screws on opposite ends of the room - make sure you hit a stud. String up rope whenever drying clothes - ditch the drying rack.

I'll second the indoor clothesline. Very versatile and compact to store. Though not compact when in use.

Depending on your living space, you may not even need the screw eyes. Wrap the first 18 inches around a doorknob, then loop the line up around the door hinge pin. Then continue the line to another door hinge pin, zig-zagging around the house, until terminating the end at another door knob. In my current living space, I use a couple of strategically-placed screw eyes to extend the length of the line. It holds a full load of wet clothes.

[Sclass]

I was going to second just knocking off your original rack in some better material like Jacob suggested. The commercial racks are pretty flimsy.

Then it occurred to me that the problem is in the design. The requirement that the thing has to be light and foldable really puts some constraints on the durability. I don’t have any ideas yet, but I think if you really like using one and it doesn’t need to be folded and moved away between uses one can design and build a far surperior system by starting from scratch.

I just trashed two metal ones at my moms. They were from the sixties and quite tough. Our care team doesn’t use them and I figured it would be easier for them to move around the washroom with them out. I begrudgingly cut checks for a $400/month gas bill.

Great devices. My mom was really frugal about using her gas dryer during her life. I just replaced her old unit which seized up after 60 years. I’m guessing it wasn’t used much.