Best way to dry shirts indoors avoiding creases?

Noctu

Hi all,
My OH has got a new job where the office attire is generally shirt and trousers. Prior to this job he worked for a company for 15 years which only required polo tops and jeans.

As I do the washing for the both of us, I'm now needing to wash and dry his shirts.

I was wondering if anyone can recommend the best way to dry them indoors whilst avoiding creases? Normally I put clothing directly onto the radiators and turn the heating up, which gets them nice and dry. But I'm finding it difficult to spread a shirt out onto the radiator in such a way that there are no creases.
One idea came to mind of putting them onto a normal clothes hanger then hanging them near to the radiator?

But can anyone with more experience of this recommend any better/alternative ways? I'm just trying to cut down on the ironing (!) and I've never had to wash shirts before! (I don't wear them).

Feel a bit silly asking this question but hope you can help. Thanks :-)

ciderwithrosie_2

Yes, I'd hang them on hangers. Give them a good flap when they come out of the washing machine to straighten out, then put on the hanger and do all the buttons up, then the collar and cuffs will stay neat as it dries.

They shouldn't take too long. Even on an overdoor hook, they'll dry overnight without heat.

Poly cotton shirts usually crease less than all cotton ones.

Lilyplonk

Put them onto a coat hanger and then hang somewhere fairly high up - possibly the curtain rail/track or on a hook over the bedroom/bathroom door. If the office is really particular - ie bank or similar formal establishment - then I'm afraid you're just going to have to iron the shirts OR get him to iron them himself.

OR you could get him to pay out for an ironing service :rotfl:.

PasturesNew

ciderwithrosie wrote: »

Yes, I'd hang them on hangers. Give them a good flap when they come out of the washing machine to straighten out, then put on the hanger and do all the buttons up, then the collar and cuffs will stay neat as it dries.

This is what I'd do too.

And, each time I passed, I'd give the various panels/arms a firm tug while holding each end.... to straighten it further, perchance there'd be no ironing needed either.

For ironing... the minimum could be seen as "collars and cuffs"....

good_advice

I hang shirts on the line in summer
BUT
in winter I hang washing from coat hangers and airer.
I have a high shelf I hang things on out of the way.

I wonder if you have seen ( how to explain?) like a tripod on a stick with x3 arms each end. Yellow
The x3 arms at the top I hang shirt hangers and trouser hangers.
I hang wet clothes on it and sometimes also find it useful for the ironing.
I bought mine in Lakeland plastics some years ago.

I also have ( yes, washing queen, always washing) A hook that goes over a door. Hang coathangers from.

McKneff

Agree with the hangers and curtain rails.


But always take them out of the washing machine the minute they have finished.
And remember, the higher the spin speed, the more creases will be present.

FairyPrincessk

Hangers are the most effective, but another trick is to hang them over the edge of an open door--give them a good shake, arrange the collar and then drape by the collar. It helps keep the collar in shape. If you hang them on the line, then hang them upside down, a peg at each corner and one in the middle. OH has some that are easy iron and if he stuffs them on the rack or on rads then they're a nightmare to iron. If I give them a shake and use one of these methods they really only need a quick passing over.

Another tip is next time there are shirts on an offer/you see his size in the CS (there are LOTS of mens shirts going in the CS!) or have an opportunity, try to stock up. It helps to have more in rotation both in terms of having time to iron them and reducing wear and tear on them.

Ladyluck1

On a hanger, on curtain pole above a radiator in winter or open window in summer.

theoretica

Washing machines I am familiar with have a special cycle for drip dry shirts - rinse hold I think it is called. Basically it holds off the spinning until you tell it to so you are around to take them out of the machine as soon as it has finished. Then another vote for putting them on hangars. Mine hang off the shower rail.

Nicki

Wash the shirts on their own in a short cycle with a short spin. Take them out of the machine as soon as it stops, shake them well and hang them on clothes hanger either from your shower rail or from an airer with lots of room to circulate and iron whilst still slightly damp and hang them up again and leave them to finish off drying.

If your machine is too full when you wash them, they will definitely crease as they dry, and ironing them while still a little damp will be much easier than when they are none dry and cut your time by half at least.

Even easy care, supposedly non iron shirts do look much better if you run an iron over them. If its shirts for office wear, you can't really get away with just collars and cuffs, but I often do collars, sleeves then button the shirt up and just iron the front. Enough heat passes through to make the back passable that way, as by the time my OH has put a shirt and jacket on and travelled to work in it, the back is no longer pristine and crease free by the time he arrives at work whether or not it was perfectly ironed when he left the house.

frugalmacdugal

Hi,

if he wears jacket or jumper at work, you only need to iron the wee bits that are seen.

Eh, any reason why he can't iron his own shirts?

Had a friend who was a policeman, always ironed his own shirts, because his wife always made a mess of the wee foldy bit up the front.