This Massive Drying Rack Replaced My Dryer

Taylor Fuller sitting holding a large houseplant By
Taylor Fuller
Taylor Fuller sitting holding a large houseplant
Taylor Fuller
Taylor Fuller has been writing about houseplants for The Spruce since winter 2020. She has a collection of over 75 plants in her London flat. She authored the book "The Rainbow Atlas" and her writing has appeared on Bustle and BuzzFeed.
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Published on 02/27/23

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drying rack from amazon review

The Spruce / Photo Illustration by Amy Sheehan / Amazon

At the beginning of winter this year, my boyfriend and I were a bit nervous about how much our energy bill would go up. We live in London and there was a huge spike in energy rates. So, we sat down one day and discussed how we could try and keep the cost of our electric bill down.

One of the things my boyfriend suggested was that we don’t use our dryer as much. As an American, where having a dryer is pretty standard, I was not impressed with this suggestion. You see, in the United Kingdom, it’s not that common to have a dryer in your home so people are used to leaving clothes to dry on a drying rack. (I don’t know about you, but I prefer a soft fluffy towel to a hard and crispy one, which is what happens when you leave one to dry on a rack in a cold room.)

We reached a compromise and said that we would still use the dryer for towels and sheets but all other clothes would be put on a drying rack. The one we had, just wouldn’t cut it.

I found a bigger one on Amazon. The drying rack arrived in pieces and had to be put together. It was really easy to assemble and only took about twenty minutes. It has three levels and the arms can be extended when in use and slide down when you’re storing it. It also has two bars where you can keep hangers. Plus, it has wheels so you can even roll it outside in warmer months to dry your clothing outside.

HOMIDEC Oversized 4-Tier (67.7" High) Foldable Stainless Steel Drying Rack

homidec drying rack

Amazon
View On Amazon

It wasn’t until I was halfway through building it that I realized it was way too big for my space. My tiny apartment made it look absolutely massive. (I thought that I had gotten the measurements correct but it turns out that I had mixed up centimeters and inches.) Instead of being kept in the intended location behind a door, it lives in our spare bathroom that has turned into a bit of a storage closet. 

Though it takes up so much room in our small bathroom that we literally have to move our garbage and recycling bins into the kitchen when we use it (yes, we keep our garbage and recycling bins in the spare bathroom), it does allow us to spread out our clothes so they can dry more efficiently. You can fit a ton of clothing on it, which means you don’t have to smush things together to make more than one article of clothing fit on a bar.

Unfortunately, though the drying rack is great, we're parting with it because it's too big for my tiny apartment. The only place we can keep it was the spare bathroom, and when we have people over, they can’t actually use it comfortably.

But despite it not working in my space, I think it would be great in many other spaces as long as they are big enough. If you have a laundry room or utility room where you can use it and then store it when you're done, it's the perfect choice.

My one tip, no matter what you’re in the market for? Don’t just look at measurements of the object. Also get a measuring tape out and see if what you’re looking to buy will actually fit in your space.

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