As a continuation of my laundry battles, dilemmas and infatuations I decided that I would build myself a laundry drying rack for those items that need to “lay flat to dry”.
I don’t wear a lot of delicates being a DIYer, but my ENJO cloths cannot be dried in the dryer, so each week I spread them out here and there to dry. We’re talking on top of the dryer, over the back of the couches and chairs – perhaps I am a small culprit in the laundry chaos that is my house?
Regardless, M-D Building Products carry aluminum sheets (which won’t rust) in 24″ by 36″ – the perfect size for a laundry drying rack right?
I cut up some leftover plywood to create a frame around my aluminum sheet:
This is 1/2″ plywood, but if I were to build this again (properly) I would use 1×2’s to give it a bit more strength.
I sandwiched the aluminum sheeting between the plywood pieces, glued them together and then reinforced with finishing nails.
Repeat on the opposite side and then the top and bottom.
The patterned metal sheet is perfect for letting the air flow through my laundry drying rack.
You could add hinges to this and attach it directly to the wall to flip-up and down when needed (it’s very light) or, what I did, was use some scrap 2×2’s to create legs to keep it off of the ground.
This laundry drying rack is a prototype – so it’s not pretty – but it totally works!
I could fit two blouses on this and they’d dry in half the time they did before.
I painted it in the same gray-blue of my laundry dresser and just set it on top when I’m not folding.
This laundry drying rack also fits over my washing machine and dryer for when I want to have a little heat to help things dry faster.
The aluminum sheeting is available at Home Depot for around $10 for a 24″x36″ sheet. You don’t need to cut the aluminum unless you want a smaller drying rack, so the only labour involved in building this is cutting your 1×2’s to length and then gluing and nailing them together.
Easy-peasy!
It’s still a basement laundry room – but now it’s outfitted to better fit my family’s needs.
Have a great one!