Wednesday
Jun032009
June 3, 2009 Clotheslines and more
My problem with clotheslines is that they often fall and don’t always adapt to the particular bathroom you may end up with. Maybe if I had a nice one like the Rick Steves I’d fell differently. Italy has been a drying challenge. We have only one single-night hotel stay (in Florence) and I’ll do no laundry there. The hotel balcony in Rome would be great for drying if it weren’t so dirty (surprise). The REI pants dried very quickly; my ExOfficio t-shirt is much slower. The Smartwool socks are doing a great job of preventing blisters. Two days out of a pair of pants and I even squeezed a second day (spent entirely in transit) from one of the Trip’r shirts. Ciao!
Reader Comments (7)
I have a braided clothesline, but more often than not, I use an inflatable hanger (for shirt) and these cheapo white plastic hooks with a clip on the bottom for socks and undies. Easier to find 3 knob-like protrusions for 2 hooks and a hangar than a clean, non dangerous place for line.
I might out myself as a pig but why are you only getting two days out of one pair of pants. I wear jeans for a week without washing them and dress pants get hung up and aerated every night after wearing them. They are good for at least ten times of wearing before they need a cleaning, unless I stain them. The same is true for my poly cargo pants which are probably comparable to your travel pants. I do admit that on dirty tourist duty in dusty cities I might only be able to get four days out of them but two days seems very strict. We must have different cleanliness standards. :)
Also, hanging them on the balcony shouldn't be a problem as long as the pants don't touch the railing or the floor, which they shouldn't.
Til, I often wear cotton jeans for several days but I haven't found any poly pants that I can stretch so far. Also it's quite sticky in southern Europe. Your non-pig status is safe here.
Try the Perry Ellis Portfolio model I recommended elsewhere. They are 100% polyester and don't get iffy or funky at all. I shower daily, of course, and I wear briefs not boxers, if that plays a role. I do easily sweat, though, but am lucky in that my sweat doesn't smell bad, or so I'm told.
So, anyway, pig or not, hot climate or not, I bet you could get three full day wears out of your REI pants. I won't offer to smell your pants to verify. :) Just trying to reduce your laundry hassle.
Till
I searched in vain for the clothespin/hook things - used to have some. Pants hangers with two clips work well for undies, clip two and hang one on the hook.
Door handles and chair posts (depends on the design of the chair, of course) also work great for undies. Even bathroom light fixtures can be abused for this purpose. You see I've gotten inventive before.
Undies on door handles might shock your significant other but you can always use it as a stress test for the relationship. :)
Till
try this place for what appears to be sold as "Hang and dry plastic clothespin hooks" http://housewares.hardwarestore.com/37-186-clothespins/clothespin-hang%27%27n-dry--673429.aspx . More sites if you google those words.
Mine came from the laundry aisle of the grocery area and have no metal parts, and are of stronger looking plastic.