Review: Amish Home Place Drying Racks

One of the ways our family conserves electricity is by using drying racks to dry clothes, instead of tossing them in a clothes dryer. Drying racks are collapsible wooden racks that can hold anywhere between 24 - 65 linear feet in a space that's smaller than a refrigerator.

Drying racks are gaining popularity again as an eco friendly way of reducing electricity usage, while prolonging the life of your laundry. While many discount department stores do carry small drying racks suitable for air drying delicates, for a super heavy duty drying rack, one almost has to shop on-line at a specialty shop.

It was at Amishhomeplace.com where I found a mid size drying rack that looked like it was of the same quality as my Grandma's old drying rack that our family still uses today.

The rack arrived yesterday and it's drying laundry in the kitchen as I write.

How good are the Amish Home Place Drying racks?

When the box arrived, the first thing I noticed was how darned heavy the rack was. Instead of weighing a couple of pounds like the department store counterparts, this drying rack weighed closer to fifteen pounds. The solid wood construction is what makes this drying rack heavier than what you'd normally find in stores. The cross pieces were made of solid aspen and the hardwood dowels measuring a full 3/4" thick. This sturdy construction will prevent the dowels from sagging over time beneath the weight of heavier clothes such as jeans and towels.

The rack I selected measured 35" wide, 67 1/2" high, and 23 1/2" deep. While the rack seems sturdiest in the 67 1/2" position, it can be raised to a height of 80 1/2" high which reduces the "footprint" to a depth of 16". This small space makes it ideal for drying clothes in a bathroom, laundry room, or in an out-of-the-way place in the kitchen.

Other positive features noted:

1) Unfinished dowels which means that clothes won't become stained as they drip dry on the rack.
2) Nail free construction. Instead of the dowels being nailed to the side braces, they are set inside a tightly drilled hole for optimum strength.
3) Portable. The rack collapses to a 35" x 27" x 7" for easy storage.
4) Locking cross bar which holds the rack erect, does double duty as a place to drip dry clothes on clothes hangers.

The only downside that I could see for now is that a heavy drying rack like this takes a bit of strength to unfold and latch into place. I imagine that over time, the hinges will loosen up and the rack will be easier to unfold.

The Amish Home Place drying racks range in price from $44.99 for a small rack, $59.99 for the model I purchased, and $69.99 for the largest version. Is it worth the money? Absolutely. This rack is large enough to hold an entire load of drying laundry, which saves me about 50¢ a load worth of electricity. At four loads of laundry a week, this drying rack will start paying for itself in six months.