How To Easily Build A Bathtub Clothes Drying Rack Using Low-Cost Materials

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Some clothing items should never be put into a dryer after being washed and should only be air dried. However, it can be challenging to allow clothing items to dry naturally. Wet clothes on a hanger can drip water all over the floor, and hangers can also cause some wet items to stretch as they hang. A solution that can prevent these problems is building your own bathtub drying rack. A tub rack will lay flat over the tub, allowing wet items to drip-dry and preventing clothes from being stretched. The rack is simple to make and costs little; below is what you need and how you can build your own:

Tools and houseware supplies needed

Step-by-step instructions

1. Prepare the exterior of the pipe - Grasp the ½-inch Schedule 40 PVC pipe with one hand and wrap a piece of fine-grit sandpaper around the pipe. Next, wrap your free hand around the sandpaper and begin sanding using rapid up-and-down motions along the entire length of the pipe. Keep sanding until the glossy surface of the pipe is gone and all markings have been rubbed away.

2. Measure and cut the pipe sections - Once the pipe has been sanded, measure-off ten 8-inch sections of pipe using a tape measure and pencil. Next, cut the pipe using a PVC pipe cutter along the lines marked, or cut the sections using a hacksaw if you don't have a pipe cutter available. After cutting each section, lightly sand around the edges of the cut ends to remove any burs or sharp plastic. These sections will form the long sides of the drying rack. Then, measure-off six 29-inch sections of pipe, cut them to length, and sand the edges as above. These longer sections will make up the cross-section pieces of the rack.

3. Assemble the corners of the side pieces - After cutting all of the pieces to length, find a large, flat surface to assemble the drying rack. Be sure the area is well-ventilated to help disperse the primer and cement fumes. Next, gather together four of the 8-inch pieces along with the 90-degree elbows. Lightly coat approximately ½-inch of one end of the 8-inch pieces with PVC primer, allowing it to set for ten seconds. After that, coat the same area with PVC cement and immediately push the pipe all the way into one of the elbows. Hold the pieces together for a few seconds, then sit the assembled part down to dry. Repeat this step for the other three elbows and pipe sections.

4. Assemble the sides and join with corners - Once the corners have been assembled, gather the remaining six 8-inch pieces and the tees. Following the same procedure as above, cement together tees and pipe pieces in alternating order to create one assembled piece with four tees and three 8-inch pieces joined together. Repeat this step to create a duplicate assembled piece. Next, attach the corner pieces you made in step 3 to each end of the long pieces. Once finished, you will have finished building the side pieces.

5. Join the side pieces together - The last step in building your drying rack is to join the side pieces together using the six 29-inch lengths of pipe. Prime and cement each end of the pipes and slide them into the openings of each tee and elbow on both sides. Allow the assembly to cure for a couple of hours, and the drying rack will be ready to use. To use the rack, lay it flat on top of the bathtub so the sides rest on top of the tub. Carefully lay out wet clothing on top of the rack, so it will be supported as it drips into the tub and the water evaporates.


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