The Redneck Dryer
75Something's missing
Imagine yourself with piles upon piles of laundry. They sit there mocking you. Your kids are complaining because they have nothing to wear and your husband wore the same pair of socks 2 days in a row! YUCK! You know they need to be done… yet, there is a slight problem with that. How do you get the laundry done?
The simple answer would be… why wouldn’t you just use your washer and dryer? Duh! Like I hadn’t already thought of that. In this case, I would love to just use my washer and dryer. Yet, there is a slight problem. We have recently moved only to discover our very expensive dryer does not work in the house we moved in to. Our dryer is electric and the hookup only supports a dryer that works with gas!
So the next logical question would be… is there someplace you can go to get your laundry done while waiting to fix this dilemma? The answer to that is yes. I have a couple of different options. We have some close friends that live nearby who would gladly be willing to lend us out their clothes cleaning appliances. (If not because they are awesome like that, but also because they are around us enough to not want us to smell!) We also have a handy dandy Laundromat about a mile or so from our house.
So, what’s the problem?
Transportation. Since I am a stay-at-home mom, we have only one vehicle. To bring my clothes to either place would require some sort of mass organization, which is something I completely lack. Either I would have to ask those whose washer and dryer I am borrowing to come pick me, my son, and my clothes up from my house, to drive me over to their house, or, I would have to figure out how to carry a couple weeks worth laundry, accumulated by 5 people, in either my son’s stroller, wagon, or bike carrier. I could use the same method to go to the Laundromat. But doesn’t that seem like an excessive amount of work (and stress).
When all else fails, try something else...
No Dryer... no problem
 | If you need a way to hang your delicates, or maybe your dryer is out of use, this is a much better buy for your money. This is a sturdy product that will get the job done! Amazon Price: $20.95 List Price: $29.99 |
 | A different type of drying rack, much sturdier than the wooden counterpart. It folds flat for easy storage when not in use. As a bonus, it also has a feature for drying shoes! Amazon Price: $34.77 List Price: $66.71 |
 | Too small for a hangar. This will keep your smaller clothes nice and secure while they dry. Amazon Price: $13.04 List Price: $15.99 |
So what's a mom to do?
A person’s got to have clean clothes, but it looks like this situation equates to a total “pain in the ass!”
I have a washer - I am just missing the dryer. So, at least one part of the process is already ready to go, right there staring me in the face. All I have to do is figure out how to dry my clothes without leaving the house!
So the other day as we were picking up necessities at the store, I breezed past the laundry section where there was a drying rack. The answer was sitting right in front of me for only $9.95. It sure beat the cost of getting the new plug installed at $350. Not to mention it would do in a pinch.
So home it was. With the washer installed, my husband decided it was time to put the drying rack together. It was simple, but somewhat imperfect. The bars used to hang the clothes off of were all different lengths. A slight imperfection that made this product nearly impossible to put together. But together it went. My husband made it work.
So finally, with a big smile on my face I loaded my washing machine. All there was left to do was wait. I was excited. (Ok - maybe I need to get out more!) But clean clothes were on their way. Sure, it wasn’t the perfect set-up, but it would should work.
Finally, the washer beeped. It was time to get those clothes hung up and dried. I filled up the basket and brought it out to drying rack. I placed the first shirt on the bar, followed by the second, followed by the third… and then crash…. All the clothes were laying on the floor. Stupid piece of junk!
So I guess that means it is time for plan B!
The Redneck Dryer
As I stared at the clothes laying on the floor, I knew I needed to do something. Otherwise washing the clothes would have been a complete waste. So it was time to get creative. This is when I came up with the Redneck Dryer… or, at least a way to get my clothes dry without using the stupid, crappy drying rack!
So I took a look around. I surveyed the contents of what I had. A few shelves attached to the wall, a pile of wet clothes, and…. some hangers. That’s it! Who needs a dryer when you have hangers and shelves.
I took a pile of hangers (good thing that was on the list of necessities picked up at the store so I had a lot of extras!) and started hanging up the clothes from the shelves.
Now you can’t forget about the breeze… that is how they dry if they are hanging up outside! So, I opened up the window and let the cool night breeze in. Voila - the Redneck dryer.
When I woke up in the morning the clothes were dry. Sure, they were a little more wrinkled then they would be if I had used a dryer, but at least my clothes were clean and dry. Yet, I have a family of five, and a whole lot more clothes.
So in pops the second great idea. If I add a rotating fan to the equation, the clothes will dry faster! And believe me, it worked!
With about a week and a half of clothes to wash, I had several loads of laundry to complete. With my washing machine and redneck dryer, a little muscle with the iron, I completed every load but one in a day’s time. Not too bad for doing things the “simple” way.
Shelves? Hangars? Fan? You got yourself a dryer!
What about you?
Have you ever used a "Redneck" Dryer?
See results without votingNote: The Redneck Dryer is not the preferred way of drying clothes. If you prefer the fresh, wind-blown freshness to your clothes, I suggest hanging your clothes outside to dry with the proper equipment. However, The Redneck Dryer will work in a pinch if ever your dryer does go out or is unavailable to use. The author can not be held responsible for the amount of drying time, or the lack of results.
This story is intended to be funny. The author in no way intended for you to feel sorry for her or her family. However, if you do feel bad for her, feel free to take the laundry and do it for her since laundry is her most hated chore. If you can’t help that way, feel free to send your credit card information so she can get an electrician out stat to install a plug for her dryer to work so she no longer needs to use an The Redneck Dryer. Or, just have a good laugh and share with your friends and family.
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Lol... This is too funny! Of course I have had to do this or similar things MANY times. Stupid dryers... I think you even came over once when i had all of the clothes spread all over the house. I laid them over the back of the couch, the arms of the couch, the backs of dining room chairs, over fans, whatever I could find that had space the clothes would be over the top of them. Of course a lot of the times they were only damp because the dryer half worked, but there were a couple of times when they were soaked all the way through. And the washer sucked as well so they were dripping wet. At least a good dryer does a spin cycle that squeezes most of that extra water out... sometimes my furniture was soaked! lol. Ahh good memories of a cheap apartment. lol.
I sure did get er done... I still have a couple loads left to go, but at least we have some clean clothes. The only negative is it took all day because I had to iron everything. I don't like the stiff feeling from clothes hung out to dry and ironing seems to loosen them up a little bit. I mean - I even ironed Eli's boxers... lol - A little obsessive! :)
@Myth - Lucky for me we have a really good washing machine. Now if we were using our old washing machine, it would have been a whole different story. Our washing machine spins the clothes so dry some of them don't even seem wet when they come out. I think that is the only reason why this worked out so well for me. Hopefully though it won't be a long time solution, because it is surprisingly time consuming! LOL Ahhhh - the things we do! :)
Dear Barber girl,
I loved this and I have to tell you I have used this redneck dryer many times..for one to cut down on electricity costs, also to save wear and tear on the clothes..During the summer I use this method alot..I really liked your article..it is amazing what we can do without some modern gadgets..I once had to wash clothes in the sink with dish soap when times were hard in the earlier days..Times are hard and these things are not so far off to many...Thank you for sharing and giving me a smile..
Talk to you later..have some clothes to hang up..
Sunnie
Redneck dryers do the trick. When my dryer has been broken I have had clothes hanging all over the place. I've even strung up cord in the basement as a temporary clothes line. One time I took the racks out of my deep freeze and used them as clothes racks. (Great for socks) Great hub and I feel for you. Hope that you don't have to be without a dryer much longer.
@Sunnie Day - This whole adventure has taught me a few things. The first is I have an HE washer and didn't realize I didn't pick up HE detergent. What was making my clothes kind of hard and stiff was the detergent. If I used less, this method didn't leave the clothes all stiff and wrinkled like it did for the first few loads (of course the first few loads were smaller cause I was still playing around with it!) Second thing I learned was I really need my dryer for my jeans. The dryer shrinks them down so they fit again. I put on my jeans and they were falling off because they never shrunk back. Either that or I need some new jeans that fit me right! ;)
Glad you got a smile out of this. It was a bit of a task but I can only imagine how much money I have saved. Hangars are far cheaper and reusable than the electricity for the dryer! :)
@Just Ask Susan - It does work in a pinch. I have called a few electricians already and got there quotes... I am still trying to see if I can find it cheaper. The problem is it was an unexpected cost of moving and $350 (or more) is a hard amount to just choke up when you already have so much other stuff you have to rebuy. However, my husband has been working two jobs so it shouldn't be too long. Unfortunately, he has been working two jobs and what I have been feeling is I am getting taken advantage of by the electricians because I am a girl and they don't think I know what I am talking about. I think if he calls he might get better results! But he needs to be home for longer than it takes for him to jump in to bed first! Might be a month, but no longer! I just won't let them get overwhelming. You know - a load or two every other day. It's the way it should be done anyway! :)
Oh BBG - my brother in law is an electrician! Too bad he lives so far - I mean shoot I could buy him a round trip ticket to CA to fix it for that much! Hey or maybe you could call an 2nd hand appliance store and see if they will trade you??? It might even be cheaper to buy a new dryer!
Too bad we are not closer as Al could install a dryer plug and hook it into your panel. Wish I had a jet :)
Yep I up what Susan says:)
@Real - that would be awesome if I new someone that was an electrician. My father and brother-in-law work with electricians and we asked them to see what they would charge but haven't heard anything yet. Well, maybe Eli has but I haven't really talked to him in like 3 days because he has been sooooo busy.
I did bring up getting a new dryer, which would ultimately be cheaper than using ours but we got ours as a set and just bought them in May of 2010. The dryer alone retails for over $1000 dollars and I really hate to get rid of it. Eli flat out said no - he would rather keep our dryer and pay for the plug. When he pays the rent tomorrow though he needs to talk to the landlord. Who knows, maybe they will pitch in half since it is upgrading their house! :) Keep your fingers crossed!
@Just Ask Susan - Man - I wish you guys had a jet too. I mean - not only because then he could help fix my dryer issue, but because having a jet would just be awesome. LOL
@Real - I do to... too bad all the people willing to and knowledgeable enough to help all live so far away. Where is the electrician close to me that will work for a good homecooked meal! LOL
barbergirl28...I was born in India and after washing clothes; the sun would be the natural dryer for us :) it sure has a lot of advantages such as save up on electricity and other hygienic concerns which we tend to miss out here in the United States since; use the dryer.
However, with the increase in prices...I see many households around me tend to use the natural sun by drying their clothes in the backyard :)
Ok, put the little munchkin in the dryer with the door open and tell him it's a "hamster wheel" just for him. Then throw in the clothes and let him tumble them dry! Put the fan in front to keep him and the clothes cool. Call it the Flinstone dryer :-)
Hi Barbergirl, the Redneck Dryer is certainly a very innovative idea! I sometimes hang up clothes on hangers if they aren't meant for the dryer, and then hang them on the shower rail. One day I hung up so much that the whole shower rail came tumbling down. I feel your frustration! Hope you get that dryer working soon :-)
@Ruchira - I remember when I was younger, my grandparents always hung the clothes out on the line. Unfortunately, we are renting and we don't have the ability to put a clothes line up at our house. For somethings it is a complete advantage. I wish I had the choice!
@Austinstar - That is an awesome idea. Although, he is a dirty little boy. I swear I could give him a bath and 2 seconds later he is full of dirt again. It must be a boy thing. I might have to enlist my oldest daughter to do that instead... lol
@Cloverleaf - Ironically, when I was trying to figure out where to hang the clothes the shower rail never came to mind. I guess sometimes we overlook the simpliest of things! LOL But now that you mention it... next time I can do bigger loads because I will have more space to hang the stuff. I think I need to run to the store and get more hangars. I have the super super capacity washing machine. If it wasn't for sorting loads based on colors - I might be able to do all my laundry in 2 loads! ha ha!
I give you a thumb up for ingenuity. One does whatever to provide clean socks and underpants! Once my dryer went out and we were expecting days and days of rain so I hung my laundry out in the sun on hangers and even draped towels over bushes. A lady stopped and asked if I was having a yard sale. It was one of those moments to hilarious to be embarrassed at the time. I like your photos too.
So what outlet does your washer plug into? Is the dryer 220 or 110?
My son moved into a house where the back entryway was set up for a washer and dryer (even had a nice wall cabinet above) but NO outlet to plug either appliance into. Landlord said he never noticed when he was remodeling and spiffying up the place to rent out!
Anyway, until the wiring could be re-done and wall plugs added, Son simply ran a heavy-duty extension cord to an outlet in another room. Not the ideal solution, but it was only temporary and MUCH better than hauling dirty clothes to a laundromat! ;D
@Hyphenbird - it is funny that you mentioned someone asking you if you were having a yard sale. When we moved into the house, people thought we were having a yard sale. couldn't you tell we were moving! LOL
Oh my, I've just been doing some laundry and then read this. LOL This was funny to read but I understand how you feel. I had a similar problem, only the other way around. Our dryer was fine, but our washer would spray some sort of oily residue on the clothes, after every few washings. Suffice it to say, after many weeks of hand washing and loosing some clothes, we finally bought another machine. Thanks barbergirl28 for writing and sharing this with us. You are quite resourceful with your Redneck Dryer. Take Care my friend :)
Regards,
A.CreativeThinker
What an original hub and very interesting.
I still dry my clothes when it's wet outside on a 'redneck dryer' or as it's known by over here; A clothes horse.
Unless grandkids come to stay it's only the two of us and don't feel the need for a tumble dryer.
Thanks again for sharing this one.
Take care
Eiddwen.
OK...I have your dryer...the problem? Not enough pink wrapping paper to get it wrapped and sent... I think this is just another example of (great writing, obviously...and...) that typical ingenuity that only a mother can pull out of her over-sized bag!! PS...if you decide to walk the wet laundry to the laundromat to dry them...yeah...wet clothes way heavier than dry ones...
OMG - You mean you are supposed to put the wash in a dryer after washing them? Who knew?
@JamaGenee - The outlet needed is for a 220. Unfortunately, I have been looking all over the place for a heavy duty outlet with no success. However, the landlord came over today because he is friends with a retired electrician. So, we have an appointment with the guy who quoted us for $350 on Oct. 10th. The landlords are taking care of the bill! Sweet. So, I might have to use the redneck dryer a little longer - but at least at there is a light at the end of the tunnel! :)
@JamaGenee - The outlet needed is for a 220. Unfortunately, I have been looking all over the place for a heavy duty outlet with no success. However, the landlord came over today because he is friends with a retired electrician. So, we have an appointment with the guy who quoted us for $350 on Oct. 10th. The landlords are taking care of the bill! Sweet. So, I might have to use the redneck dryer a little longer - but at least at there is a light at the end of the tunnel! :)
A.Creative Thinker - Thank you for reminding me that it is a good thing it is my dryer not working and not the washing machine. I would probably suck it up and take my clothes elsewhere if the washing machine was doing that. I did however get a scare from the washing machine when we set it up. After doing a load I walked into the laundry room and the floor was soaked with water. Luckily, it was only the result of the hose not being screwed in tight enough!
I guess the best thing to say... you never know how good you have it until one of your washer or driers goes out. Ha ha - especially since everybody hates doing laundry!!
@Eiddwen - that is interesting that they call it a clothes horse. I don't mind doing some of the laundry outside on the line - I just hate when the personals get hung out. We used to live next to an older couple that had there laundry on the line until it went below freezing. Unfortunately, her clothes lines were the view from our kitchen sink. Everytime I was by the kitchen sink I got a view of her underwear hanging on the line. Ha ha - but otherwise, it definately is green-friendly!
@Thought Sandwhiches - Thanks for pointing out that wet clothes were heavier than dry clothes... I almost thought of hauling the wet clothes by wagon to the Laundromat and decided against it when I was forced to make my toddler walk behind me because I couldn't deal with the extra weight. However, now that you mentioned it... one of the things I did notice was when the clothes were wet, they stayed with the hangars balanced on the shelves nicely. I knew they were dry when the wind blew them off and they all fell to the floor. Luckily for me... the floor was clean! :)
BTW - I will send you some extra large pink wrapping paper so you can send me the solution to my problem... lol... or feel free to just order a pink dryer for me and have it delivered. I will except that as well, even though it can never replace the Ugly Pink Package!
@drbj - Yeah - it took me awhile to figure that out. And once I did, wearing clothes was so much more enjoyable. And cheaper. You get a lot of tickets if you run around public naked! LOL
This takes me back a few years. I still dry my shoes with a fan. Beats letting them clang around in the dryer.
@Daffy Duck - I hardly ever wash shoes... by the time they need it, they are pretty destroyed anyways. However, that would be ideal, because I think shoes have a tendency to get wrecked in the dryer. Glad I was able to jog some memories for you! :)
Great hub. When I was a child the old redneck dryer was the dryer most used. To use a phrase of another hubber,"the earth was still cooling" Mama would hang out the laundry and dare us kids to touch the clean sheets blowing in the breeze.
@Cousin Fudd - The redneck dryer is definately the way to go. It is definately more energy friendly. I think today's world has gotten much more wasteful. Although I will selfishly admit, I do kind of miss my dryer... but more for my jeans (cause I hate the crisp feeling) and my towels (for the same exact reasoning!)
Loved this from the great title to the last word. Stacey, you are a nut! (and very creative too)
@Sharyn - Thanks so much... Luckily I have had my real dryer for a couple of weeks now. The thing is, you really do take advantage of that appliance... a person usually hates them... but if you don't have one... you really miss it! Glad to have it back :)
Voted up and awesome! You have a fantastic way with words, a very funny read. I would never have thought to write about this, but I too have used the redneck drying technique when living in apartments lol.
Thanks for SHARING.
@Brett - Sadly it was the way of life for a few weeks until we got the electrician over here. I can honestly say this is what happens when you move across country. One area that has electrical appliances and the other mostly gas appliances. The two don't work together... LOL - I laugh now because my dryer works... I wrote this with tears... ok - only kidding... but it is a pain to do when you have a 5 person household! LOL
RealHousewife Level 8 Commenter 8 months ago
BBG - now I understand a few things! Lol! Well if that isn't being resourceful I don't know what would be? Got 'ER done! Lol