Learn how to make a simple drying rack to dry your laundry! Hang drying your laundry not only saves on your electric bill, it also helps to keep your clothes looking like new longer.
Living off grid means not having a dryer. But, I found a way to dry my families laundry in an efficient, space saving way. This drying rack can go out on your clothesline, or on a hook in your laundry room. I like to hang mine in my living room close to the wood stove.
When I was growing up, we didn’t have an electric dryer, but we always had several of these drying racks hanging around. And with a family of 10, they really came in handy!
I’ve seen wooden and plastic drying racks, but this one made out of PVC pipe has to be the sturdiest one I’ve ever seen! It would be almost impossible to break.
Here’s how to make a drying rack for your own use:
1. Gather your supplies.
I also picked up some Poly Twisted Mason Twine (not pictured) to string some extra clothespins.
2. Cut the pipe and drill the holes.
Measure and cut your PVC pipe into 12 – 10 inch sections. Drill holes in all of the PVC pipe for the clothesline rope. I drilled two holes, 3 1/2 inches apart. Next, dry fit all the pieces to make sure everything will fit together correctly.
3. Build your base.
Make sure to do this in a well ventilated area. The fumes from the Purple Primer are very strong! Both the primer and the PVC Cement will stain, so in order to protect your work surface, do this part of the project on a piece of cardboard.
4. Feed the rope through the drilled holes.
This part can be a bit tricky! I found that melting the end of your rope a little with a lighter can help to feed the rope through more quickly.
5. Fasten the chains to the drying rack.
6. Drill the holes in the clothespins.
I drilled the holes about 1/2 inch down from the top, so that there’s less of a chance that they split during the drilling process.
7. String the clothespins.
You did it! Your new drying rack is now ready to use.
8. Dry some laundry on your new drying rack!
I love using my drying rack to dry all those smaller clothing items. Especially baby socks. They have a tendency to get lost in the laundry!
DIY Laundry Drying Rack
Materials
- A 10 ft. piece of 1 inch PVC pipe
- Clothesline rope
- 3 1/4 inch wooden clothespins
- 1/16 inch Poly Twisted Mason Twine
- 4 - 18 inch long chains
- Snap hook
- Purple Primer
- PVC Pipe Cement
- 1 - 4 Way 1 inch PVC Cross Elbow
- 4 - 90° 1 inch PVC Elbows
- 4 - 1 inch PVC Tee Fittings
- 4 flat head Philips 1/2 inch wood screws
Tools
- Cordless Drill
- Cordless Impact
- 7/64 inch Drill bit
- 1/4 inch Drill bit
- Phillips Impact Driver bit
Instructions
- Gather all your supplies and lay a piece of cardboard down on your work surface.
- Measure and cut your PVC pipe into 12 - 10 inch sections.
- Drill holes in all of the PVC pipe for the clothesline rope. I drilled two holes, 3 1/2 inches apart.
- Dry fit the cut PVC pipes with the proper fittings to make sure that everything is going to fit together correctly.
- In a well ventilated area, carefully apply a thin layer of Purple Primer into an elbow fitting, followed by a layer of PVC cement.
- Insert 1 section of the 10 inch PVC pipe into the elbow fitting that you just prepped. You will need to move quickly, as the cement dries very fast! I put these together with the drilled holes facing inward.
- Next, prep the Tee fitting and fasten it to the pipe on the opposite end of the elbow. Make sure the two fittings are lined up with each other. Try to re-position them before the cement is fully dried.
- Continue to prep and fit the pieces together until you've used them all. I found it helpful to keep an outer corner piece to install last versus one in the center.
- Once your base is completed, grab an end of the clothesline rope and start feeding it through the holes in the PVC pipe. Only use 12 of the holes going in one direction. The rest of the holes will be used to hang clothespins fastened to a string. If the end of your rope is fraying, use a lighter to melt it a little. Be careful with this step to avoid burning yourself!
- Once you have successfully fed the rope through the correct holes, pull the rope taunt and tie a double knot in the end to hold it secure. Cut off the excess rope.
- Next, drill a hole into each of the 12 clothespins. I drilled mine 1/2 inch down from the top to prevent the wood from splitting.
- Cut 12 pieces of Poly Twine into 9 1/2 inch sections. Melt the ends with a lighter to prevent fraying, and to help the Poly twine feed through the clothespins more smoothly.
- Feed one end of the Poly Twine through the first clothespin, then feed that same string through one of the holes in the PVC pipe. Grab the other end of the string and adjust the size of the loop to your preference. A bigger loop will result in a lower hanging clothespin. Put a knot in the string to secure it to the pipe, then pull the knot through the hole in the pipe to result in a neater finished product.
- Continue to string the clothespins and fasten them to the PVC pipe until all 12 of the holes in the pipe have a clothespin hanging from them.
- Next, fasten one of the chains to the corner elbow with a screw. Try to keep it more towards the top then the side. I used a multi-tool to crimp the the chain link to help secure it a little more. Repeat the process for the next three chains.
- Fasten the Snap Hook to all four of the chains. I opened the last link in each chain, fed the loose end through the bottom of the Snap hook, and secured it.
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