Dapper Duties: Why I Hang My Clothes to Dry

Captain Dapper takes his laundering very seriously.

Laundry day around Captain Dapper HQ usually looks something like this. Shirts and pants hang from shelving, curtain rods and hooks all over the apartment. If I had outdoor space, I would definitely have a clothes line but, lacking that, spreading the clothes around the apartment works.

I do have a dryer, mind you. In fact, I only hang some of my clothes to dry. Underwear, t-shirts, socks and the like all get tossed into the dryer, along with household items like towels and bedding. Shirts, pants, jackets - they all skip the trip through the dryer. I started doing this for a couple of reasons. First, it's gentler for the clothes. I avoid a lot of the shrinkage and fading caused by the heat of the dryer. Second, I end up with clothes that don't require additional ironing before wearing.

There's a trick to that, though. Notice I said they don't require additional ironing. When I take the shirts and pants out of the washing machine, I run a hot iron over them while they're wet. This get the wrinkles out of them with minimal effort. Then I put the clothes on hangers and place them where they'll dry. Once dry, they're neat and clean and ready to wear.