How Do You Hang a Tablecloth to Dry?

You’ve asked us this over the years. So, we asked you for all your tablecloth drying solutions.

Over the years, a few people have asked us over the years: how do you hang a tablecloth to dry?

Note: Some tablecloths are dryer friendly. Check the care tag! You might be pleasantly surprised. Others thought that tablecloths were dry clean-only. No, this is not true!

The most popular and convenient answer is to hang a tablecloth over a door or banister. If you’re hanging the cloth over the door, banister, or anything else made of wood (i.e. your dining chairs), note that over time, hanging wet items on wood may eventually cause mold. Lots of people are worried about ruining their banister after constant use as a drying rack.

One solution as shown in the photo: hang a plastic tablecloth first, and hang your tablecloth on top of the plastic. Lining the banister or door with a towel first also works. Those who have a high gloss lacquer on their banister say that this protects the wood and it doesn’t get damaged from the wet cloths.

The other options below were each suggested by many of you!

–Spread the tablecloth over the table on top of table pads (never put a wet cloth directly on the table). Seems like a natural solution! Many say it dried very fast this way!

–Hang it using a bedspread/tablecloth hanger.  Some people fold and use a skirt hanger. When one side is dry, flip over and dry on other side. 

–Line up kitchen/dinette/folding chairs (and let dry overnight). Not wood or upholstered chairs! This is good if you have metal/polypropylene/plastic chairs.

–Drape it over the ironing board.

–Hang it over 2 drying racks.

–Put it in the dryer for 15 minutes to get it semi-dry before hanging over wood.

–Over exercise equipment (elliptical, treadmill, gymnastic bars)

–Over a shower door or curtain rod

–Have a hanging rod in the laundry room for hanging. Like this one! Others say they have a rack in the laundry room which they can extend when needed like this one.

–Others suggested using a retractable clothing line. Pull it out only when you need that extra hanging space!

-Use low heat or air dry settings on the dryer (we take no responsibility!)

Between Carpools

Between Carpools is a collaboration between five talented friends who like to get a lot of stuff done “between carpools.” Since 2016, we’ve been sharing home and organizing tips, parenting insights, activities, how-to’s and DIYs, and of course, entertaining ideas, recipes, and inspiring reads both on the site and app.

10 responses to “How Do You Hang a Tablecloth to Dry?”

  1. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    Over the back of my leather couch, always (:

    1. Couch potato Avatar
      Couch potato

      Same!!

  2. Idy t Avatar
    Idy t

    Love that tablecloth!!
    Where from?

      1. M Avatar
        M

        Is it very hard to clean the crumbs from underneath the holes? I see that they also make it lined but that might be even more difficult to clean. Ty.

        1. Goldy Avatar
          Goldy

          I have it and usually use it with a plastic but I know you can just shake out the crumbs. They get out the same way they came in.

  3. Goldy Avatar
    Goldy

    Way prettier on the table than on the banister:)

  4. Rh Avatar
    Rh

    Hi!
    How do you store your tablecloths in an organized way?

  5. Miriam Avatar
    Miriam

    I fold my tablecloth into a larger rectangle and hang on a drying rack over 2 slats instead of one.
    My drying rack lives on my sukkah porch (in E”Y), and dries fairly quickly like that, and super fast in the summer.
    If your laundry is in a basement, you can do the same, just make sure to have a good fan and/or dehumidifier going while it hangs out.
    If it is a thick cotton, that really holds the moisture, you can flip over to help it dry faster.

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