We all need to have more than clean clothes — they need to be dry, too! But living in an apartment can mean you have limited space for both a washer and a dryer and you may only want to have one of them. Or, you need to pay to rent an in-unit dryer or to use one at a laundry facility, which can really add up over time. Plus, dryers use a lot of energy.
But whether you don't have a dryer at home, you're trying to save money at the laundromat or you want to be a little more eco-friendly, there are plenty of ways to dry your clothes. Here are a few tips for how to dry clothes without a dryer.
You can get most of the water out of your clothes by placing them into a washing machine on a high spin setting. This may not get them 100 percent dry, but it will get them pretty darn close. You can also purchase a separate spin dryer that's made to spin at even higher speeds than a washing machine, so your clothes will end up even drier!
Pro tip: Doing fewer items at a time will get the clothes drier than if you have a large batch to spin.
A classic method, hanging clothes to dry has been used for ages. Hang your clothes up wherever you can — a drying rack, a clothesline, the back of a chair or anywhere else you can find.
To make the drying process faster, be strategic about how you do it. That might mean opening the window to allow better airflow in your laundry room, placing a fan near the clothes or hanging them close (but not too close!) to a heat source, like a radiator or heating vent.
And if the weather and your space allow, you can hang clothes to dry outside on a balcony or in a backyard.
Pro tip: Use clothespins to hold your items in place, especially if you're hanging them outside. You don't want your clothes to blow away!
A pretty simple method for drying your clothes is using a plain bath towel. Use your hands to wring the water out of a clothing item. Lay down a dry bath towel, then spread the clothing item onto the towel, so both are as flat as possible. Then, roll the towel up to encase the clothing item and twist the opposite ends of the towel. The towel will absorb the moisture from the clothing.
Pro tip: You can also put the rolled towel onto a hard surface, like countertop or floor, and apply pressure with your hands to get even more water out of it.
Hairdryers will dry more than just your hair! Using a hairdryer is a great fix for when you need a single piece of clothing to dry quickly. Just hang the item on a hanger or towel rack and blow-dry it.
Pro tip: Be sure to hold the hairdryer at least six inches away as a safety precaution.
You can essentially heat the moisture out of your clothing by laying it flat, placing a dry towel on top of it and ironing on top of the towel. You may need to switch out the towel and run the iron over it a few times to get all of the water out of your clothes.
Pro tip: Don't let the iron sit for too long in one spot on the towel and make sure you don't put the iron directly on wet clothing. This could leave burn marks and cause tearing. So, keep that towel in place and keep that iron moving.
If you live somewhere that gets lots of sun, it's one of the quickest ways to dry clothing. Lay your clothing on a flat surface that's completely exposed to sunlight — this could be on a table, chair seat or even the floor of your patio (make sure it's clean!). Or, you can hang it on a clothesline outside.
Pro tip: Don't leave clothing in the sun for too long, or else the colors might fade. Bring in your clothing once it's dry and try not to let it sit out any longer.
While dryers can be nice in many cases, they certainly aren't necessary. Once you figure out how to dry clothes without a dryer, you might not even miss having one. Save yourself the space and money, while also saving the environment and dry your clothes using an alternative method.
Morgen Henderson is a writer who grew up in Utah. She lived in the Dominican Republic for a year and a half, where she was involved in humanitarian service. Some of Morgen's work has appeared in State of Digital, The Next Scoop and TechPatio. In her free time, she loves to travel, bake, master DIY projects and improve her Spanish skills.