Hanging things to dry...

[Bethwte]

Alright ladies (and men I suppose if you have ventured on over here to this very nice subsection)- I need some advice! It's not truly cruise related, but it's vacation related, and hopefully some of you will be able to help a girl out :D

 

I have been very spoiled in the fact that I've grown up with a washer and a dryer, and a mother who usually did it for me. I now know how to do my own laundry after having been away at school, but in a few weeks I am going to be going to Italy for three weeks to take a course abroad, and thus I have a dilemma. We ended up with apartments that have washers (which is amazing!) but not dryers, as those are very uncommon. I have never in my life had to hang dry anything other than lingerie and bathing suits. What on earth am I supposed to do? LOL I am hoping it will be as simple as just tying a line and hanging things from it, but for some reason I feel like there is more than that to it. Are there any tricks to it? Are there clips that will or will not leave indents on clothing. Is there a way to avoid as many wrinkles as possible? Etc. Thank you so much in advance- I really appreciate it!

[endosunshine]

No tricks. Just a clothes line, clothes pins and go to it.

Using fabric softener in the wash seems to help some with wrinkling, also if you shake out each item before hanging that knocks out a few. Make friends with your iron:), anything cotton is most likely going to have to be ironed to look presentable. Synthetics and cotton/synthetic blends wrinkle much less or even not at all.

 

Clip the tiniest amount possible with the clothes pin to help eliminate "dents". IE - just the edge of a hem, etc.

[cb at sea]

If you're hanging something "stretchy", fold it over the line---you don't want the places where you hung the item to stretch and be longer than the rest of the garment!

 

Almost everything that is "line dried" will have to be ironed, so it really won't matter HOW you hang things!

[Bethwte]

Thanks to you both :)

 

Great, now I have the new dilemma of learning to iron ;) ! I have done it a few times before, but rarely. I wonder if I would be able to find an iron to buy in Florence- it doesn't seem like something I would really want to pack and lug all the way from NY to Italy. I think though I may have read about travel irons here, but I think mostly in discussions about them not being allowed, rather than about their quality. Are there any good ones out there?

[iheartbda]

I disagree about "stretchy" things. Folding them over a line will still leave parts hanging down to stretch out plus possibly leave a line from the clothesline. Best to dry those flat placed on a towel.

 

You may need a little trial and error to see what works best. There are plenty of line dried things that will not need ironing. You may find that your at home standards relaxing a bit. ;) After all, having 3 weeks in Italy and taking advantage of your time there is more important than having prefectly pressed clothes.:D

[Betsy's Mom]

Do not bring an iron from the US, Italian irons work on a different current! Generally speaking US electrical appliances need converters and different plugs to work on Italian current. Do not fuss the wrinkles, wear Tees and crinkle skirts etc. and enjoy your short time in Italy!:)

B.

[Bethwte]

I'll already have a couple of converters with me (I can't be buying a laptop over in Italy just for 3 weeks use after all ;)), but thank you for the reminder anyway!

[klauer]

Plastic hangers are good.

[JanineM]

I spent about 5 years with just a washer and no dryer ... you learn a few tricks along the way!

 

Really shake things out before you hang them - that gets some of the bigger creases out so they won't dry wrinkled.

 

If you can hang outside where there is a breeze, this will help to keep down the wrinkles - especially on cottons.

 

If you have whites and can hang them outside in the sun, it will help to bleach out any grayness or stains.

 

For button down shirts, put them on a hanger and button them.

 

If you're going to iron things, either iron when still slightly damp, or sprinkle/spray with water, roll up for a few minutes, then iron. Makes it about 10x easier!

 

And if you can find a steamer to use instead of an iron (or in addition to an iron), that will help a great deal. I recently bought a cheap $20 steamer at CVS and it is better than my $79 Rowenta steamer. See if you can find something simple that will work with your adapter.

 

Enjoy your time overseas!

[endosunshine]

WaterBaby - you are right! I forgot to mention that damp things iron much more easily than totally dry ones!:p

 

As far as irons go, just buy one in Italy and leave it behind.

[yogi2929]

To make things dry faster I use one of those yellow towels. I get mine at the fair, but they are now selling them all over. ShamWow (?)

 

Put your thicker clothes on it and roll. Then line or dry flat. Sweaters dry flat. It really works. We also use them for camp towels and drying hair. (I do not sell these, but have used them for 8 years)

Get some metal hangars, bend them rectangular and put into the legs of pants.

Spray starch. A light spray works wonders.

 

Google electric converters- I remember something about a heating appliance needs a something different.

[yogi2929]

WaterBaby - you are right! I forgot to mention that damp things iron much more easily than totally dry ones!:p

 

As far as irons go, just buy one in Italy and leave it behind.

 

You are so right! Lots of things get re wet and rolled into a ball, then ironed.

 

Google the proper way to iron. Ironing a dress shirt has a certain order to it.

 

http://www.betterlifestyleproducts.com/how-to-iron-clothes.html

[Happy ks]

Many of my clothes are washed and hung to dry, I think the dryer ruins clothing from the heat faster than anything else. Of course, I always iron everything with the exception of my underwear, I just like a well pressed look.

 

Although......you are only going to be gone 3 weeks and you haven't learned to iron your clothes yet, I think I'd be shopping for easy care fabrics. Purchasing an iron over there can be quite costly, an iron purchased from here with an adapter will not always work as well as one may think.

 

I think I'd go with the suggestion to roll out your clothing with a Shamwow or other travel towel, then shake, shake, shake. Hang on hangers instead of clips and these could come in handy:

 

http://www.magellans.com/store/Clothing_CareTL612?Args=

 

Here are some travel towels from the same site:

 

http://dyna.magellans.com/cgi-bin/mitcus/dyna/dynaiqnHX7?page_number=1

[happyaussies]

Shake shake shake

Always hang on a hanger where possible

Always fold clothes straight from the line & pack away

 

I have never ironed since I've been married....35 years