How Do You Hang a Tablecloth to Dry?

Over the years, a few people have asked us over the years: how do you hang a tablecloth to dry?

Note: Some tablecloths are dryer friendly. Check the care tag! You might be pleasantly surprised. Others thought that tablecloths were dry clean-only. No, this is not true!

The most popular and convenient answer is to hang a tablecloth over a door or banister. If you’re hanging the cloth over the door, banister, or anything else made of wood (i.e. your dining chairs), note that over time, hanging wet items on wood may eventually cause mold. Lots of people are worried about ruining their banister after constant use as a drying rack.

One solution as shown in the photo: hang a plastic tablecloth first, and hang your tablecloth on top of the plastic. Lining the banister or door with a towel first also works. Those who have a high gloss lacquer on their banister say that this protects the wood and it doesn’t get damaged from the wet cloths.

The other options below were each suggested by many of you!

–Spread the tablecloth over the table on top of table pads (never put a wet cloth directly on the table). Seems like a natural solution! Many say it dried very fast this way!

–Hang it using a bedspread/tablecloth hanger. Some people fold and use a skirt hanger. When one side is dry, flip over and dry on other side.

–Line up kitchen/dinette/folding chairs (and let dry overnight). Not wood or upholstered chairs! This is good if you have metal/polypropylene/plastic chairs.

–Drape it over the ironing board.

–Hang it over 2 drying racks.

–Put it in the dryer for 15 minutes to get it semi-dry before hanging over wood.

–Over exercise equipment (elliptical, treadmill, gymnastic bars)

–Over a shower door or curtain rod

–Have a hanging rod in the laundry room for hanging. Like this one! Others say they have a rack in the laundry room which they can extend when needed like this one.

–Others suggested using a retractable clothing line. Pull it out only when you need that extra hanging space!

-Use low heat or air dry settings on the dryer (we take no responsibility!)

Filed Under: Organizing & Cleaning Tagged With: laundry