We are renting small apartments in Venice and Rome, complete with clothes washers...no dryers.
What is the accepted method of DRYING your clothes? Indoors? Outdoors on the terrace (if there is one)?
Also, how HUMID is Italy? I live in Colorado where things dry quickly, so don't know what to expect in Italy.
Thanks,
I was just in apartments in Rome and Venice with washer and no dryer. You can use the clotheslines outside the building if you think you are adept enough not to drop your clothes! I just hung up my wet clothes on hangers
in Rome and they dried quickly.
In Venice the drying takes at least twice as long (maybe more) because of the humidity. My daughter's jeans took about 24 hours to dry! (I do not recommend taking jeans to Europe as they are too hot, too bulky, and take forever to dry.)
You will be surprised how long the wash cycle takes, it seems like hours!
Lots of people dry their clothes on closelines, so your apartment probably will have one. I have not been there in the summer -- if this is when you are going -- but I imagine things will dry fairly quickly if there is sun. Certainly not as fast as in Colorado though!
Ok this might be a dumb add-on question, but if you're using the clothesline outside your apartment, etc., do you need to bring/buy your own clothes pins or is there typically some hanging on the lines already?
The key issue is the type of fabric that your clothes are made of. If you have the quick-drying synthetic tuff you can get at, say, REI, you should be OK. But if you have cotton clothes, then they'll take longer to dry no matter what. Jeans take an epic amount time to air-dry, so taking them along with that limitation in mind is a personal choice. I may try a "travel" pair from Travelsmith, since I like jeans too much to forego them.
I've heard of a trick where you roll your clothes in a towel to wick away excess moisture, and then hang them up to dry (without the towel, of course). I haven't tried it, but it may help them dry faster.
The key issue is the type of fabric that your clothes are made of. If you have the quick-drying synthetic stuff you can get at, say, REI, you should be OK. But if you have cotton clothes, then they'll take longer to dry no matter what. Jeans take an epic amount time to air-dry, so taking them along with that limitation in mind is a personal choice. I may try a "travel" pair from Travelsmith, since I like jeans too much to forego them.
I've heard of a trick where you roll your clothes in a towel to wick away excess moisture, and then hang them up to dry (without the towel, of course). I haven't tried it, but it may help them dry faster.
Venice is extremely humid. On a "back door" tour there, the guide pointed out the many clotheslines in the alleyways and also made numerous comments about how long it takes to dry things there. Rome was drier and warmer, it took things less time. If the apartments have a washer, then there will very likely be a clothesline and pins to help you out. You could always take the clothesline that RS sells (no pins needed) as a backjup. Otherwise, consider the trip to the grocery to find them an adventure! As others have said, the material makes the difference - I have several items that take just a couple hours to dry after wringing them well and also rolling in a towel.
Thanks everyone!
If you have a tv, leave it on and put clothes on top of it. Venice is indeed humid and drying is slow.
We had an apt in Venice and dried clothes on clothesline . With sun, drying didnt take very long.
Get as much water out of the stuff beforehand. Wring out items and wick away moisture. Most small things, like sox and underwear and light shirts/tops, dry quickly
"If you have a tv, leave it on and put clothes on top of it. Venice is indeed humid and drying is slow."
It's never a good idea to put wet items on anything conducting electricity. While the risk is small I wouldn't do it. I was at a hotel once where the manager yelled at guests that hung wet clothes on top of lamps and left them on while they went out for the day. Not a bright thing to do.
I agree that it's all in the fabric. We're going to Italy later this year and will be in hotel rooms (with no irons). I've purchased some some inexpensive shirts in an assortment of very lightweight, "crinkled" fabrics, have already done a sink wash/drip dry test on a humid day and they've passed beautifully. The other bonus is that they'll reduce the weight and space in my suitcase! I'm taking a couple of small plastic hangers for shower-drying as metal ones can leave rust spots. Will also take my jeans but only those made of lighter-weight cotton/spandex blend, and will towel-roll them to get the excess water out. I guess I'd say to avoid heavy cottons and any high-maintenence fabrics and you should be fine.
agree w/ others about type of fabrics; for women, try Jones of New York silk & nylon short sleeve shells (dressier than T's); come in quite a few colors, OK to wash in machine in lingerie bag, dry fast
I take 2 bath-size pak towels and roll up items in the towels first; both usually dry by morning unless very high humidity.
I had all nylon, or quick dry clothes, so had no problems. Many hotels had heated towel racks, but only one was working during the summer. But that works fantastic! Also, another hint is to take a package of 9" balloons. Inflate them and stick them in your clothes after they are hung up. It seperates the fabric and helps speed up the drying. Towel rolling worked well, too. Try Academy Sports, if you have one, for Magellan brand nylon pants and shirts, also convertible zip off pants for both sexes. Works great!! Russell and Nike make quick dry shirts and shorts, too. forget the jeans--I can't imagine taking them and I love wearing jeans!
