It's that time of year again. Time to start getting things ready for the cool months of autumn and winter. One of the things I do each August is wash and hang dry all the quilts. I could do this late spring or early summer, but our weather is better for air-drying large items in August. And I like that the quilts have that nice, fresh smell just as we're needing to use them.
I'm one of the fortunate ones, I think. I inherited this really wonderful quilt-drying rack from my parents. They bought this back in 1967, and it's still works great. 45 years old and going strong! These are some of the aspects that I love about my quilt-drying rack.
It's adjustable. I can expand it to fit King-size quilts, contract it to fit Full-size ones, and it has a built-in separator, which allows me to hang 2 Twin-size quilts at a time, side by side.
It's water-proof. I can leave it out in the rain all winter long and just hose it off in spring and we're good to go. In fact, my parents never brought it inside. It stayed out on our patio the whole time I was growing up. I leave it on our deck year round. Never had a problem with rust, corrosion, rot. Maybe a bit of moss, but that just washes off each year.
It allows air to get underneath, so the quilts do not need flipping over to dry completely. We have cool-ish summers here, so I try to get the wet quilts outside in the AM. But they're completely dry by late afternoon.
My quilt-drying rack is extremely sturdy. It can take about 800 pounds of weight, although I'm not sure we've ever tested those limits. But, yes, it is extremely sturdy.
It's durable. I think I mentioned that it is 45 years old now. It will be around for many years to come, too.
These sort of quilt-drying racks come in a variety of materials, from plastic (and even recycled plastic) to aluminum and wrought iron. And at a variety of price points. I've seen them stacked up in front of Walgreens, at Home Depot, Target and many other stores.
It's so very versatile too. Without a quilt drying on it, I can disassemble my rack and it provides seating for 4 people. Now when was the last time you took apart your drying rack and made it into seating, I ask?!
Yes, one of these new-fangled quilt drying racks is the way to go. You may already own one. If so, feel fortunate to own such a versatile and efficient appliance. Here's a photo of my rack. Is yours anything like mine?
Washing and air-drying all the quilts -- check! One more thing done on my August to-do list.
