A drying cabinet is today usually an electrical machine designed to expedite the drying of items - usually

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

- that are unsuitable for a mechanical

clothes dryer A clothes dryer (tumble dryer, drying machine, drying device, or simply dryer) is a powered Home appliance, household appliance that is used to remove moisture from a load of clothing, bedding and other textiles, usually after they are washed in ...

. Such items may include delicate clothing care labeled as "hang dry", "dry flat" or "do not tumble dry" on their wash instructions, as well as items such as comforters, boots and coats.

History

In both Europe and America, wealthier and commercial properties sometimes had drying cabinets or drying rooms associated with their laundry rooms. The cabinets were of wood or cast iron, with a series of drying racks on wheels which were pulled in or out of the cabinet horizontally. The cabinet was heated by coal, gas or wood. The Shaker community still uses these cabinets. See also Airing Cupboard. However these cabinets and cupboards were intended for the general drying of laundry, whereas the modern cabinets are usually intended for items of clothing unsuitable for a traditional clothes dryer.

Europe

Since the 1980s, drying cabinets have been common in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an laundromats, especially in the

tvättstuga A laundry room or utility room is a room where clothes are washed, and sometimes also dried. In a modern home, laundry rooms are often equipped with an automatic washing machine and clothes dryer, and often a large basin, called a ''laundry tu ...

– a

laundry room A laundry room or utility room is a room (architecture), room where clothes are washed, and sometimes also drying room, dried. In a modern home, laundry rooms are often equipped with an automatic washing machine and clothes dryer, and often a l ...

in Swedish

housing cooperatives A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically hous ...

. With the large size of the drying cabinets and relatively small size of European homes, drying cabinets have been almost exclusively found in

self-service laundry A self-service laundry, coin laundry, or coin wash, is a facility where clothes and some household textiles are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, ...

facilities.

United States

With the steadily increasing size of American homes in the last half of the 20th century, the laundry room increased in size and functionality as well. To meet the increasing

demand In economics, demand is the quantity of a goods, good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. In economics "demand" for a commodity is not the same thing as "desire" for it. It refers to both the desi ...

for luxury appliances in the US residential market, a handful of

home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...

manufacturers Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

(including Asko and Staber) have begun to supply drying cabinets for the home. A typical residential drying cabinet is approximately the size of a narrow

refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...

, and is used to supplement traditional tumble dryers.

Industrial use

Drying cabinets are particularly useful in industrial applications for the quick drying of wet weather clothing such as that worn by emergency services like fire fighters. Clothing can be dried in one hour. A boot rack can also be fitted.

References

"Behind the Ever-Expanding American Dream House" by Margot Adler. July 4, 2006

{{Laundry navbox Laundry drying equipment