Drying Closet. Photo by Riggwelter. (CC BY 2.0)
According to Wikipedia, which, let’s face it, has an article on everything, a drying cabinet is
…an electronic machine designed to expedite the drying of items – usually clothing – that are unsuitable for a traditional clothes dryer. Such items may include delicate clothing designated as “hang dry, “dry flat”, or “do not tumble dry” on their wash instructions, as well as items such as comforters, boots, and coats.
This is the most useful of machines and I had never seen one before I came to Sweden. When my company moved to its new location around six months ago, they purchased a new one and put it in one of the bathrooms. The friends I live with in Uppsala do not have one but they have a small laundry room in which you can hang wet clothes. They have a conventional dryer which they only use for bedding–never clothes. The air in the room is very dry so things dry very fast even without the help of a drying closet. In other words, the whole room is a little like a drying closet.
But for people who don’t have a laundry room, the drying closet is a nifty invention. It’s a fabulous thing to have at work because you can hang up your sweaty gym clothes and not have a soggy mess in your bag.
I’m told some apartment buildings have the equivalent of a walk-in version of the drying closet—essentially a large dry room in which you hang up your wet clothing on laundry lines.
When I lived in the US, I was not a big dryer user. Since I am morally opposed to ironing (ha ha), I am very strategic in how I hang wet clothes up so that they don’t need to be ironed. These drying rooms really speed that process along.
My understanding is that many Swedes aren’t too fond of conventional dryers because of the high energy they require and also because they are hard on clothes.
Hard on clothes?
Have you seen these European washing machines? I am used to the washing cycle taking around a half hour, maybe 45 minutes. This is scoffed at in Sweden. This, they tell me, is only the equivalent of getting my clothes wet and then swishing them around for a minute or two. Who knew I was wearing such dirty clothes?
When I wash my clothes in Sweden, the cycle takes something like two hours and I get the feeling my clothes are getting beaten up. Then there’s all these pesky questions about the temperature of the water. Whah? I must say, I am used to the whole chore being dumbed down for me so that the question is “cold, warm, or hot?” It makes me sound sound kind of dumb, right? But the thing is, washing my clothes is not my favorite chore (um, do I have a favorite chore?) so I don’t want to pay a lot of attention to it. It feels like washing my clothes in Sweden takes a degree in Science.
The drying closet at work. It's really handy for drying wet gym towels and clothes.
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