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

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

- that are unsuitable for a mechanical clothes dryer. 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 A cupboard is a piece of furniture for enclosing dishware or grocery items that are stored in a home. The term gradually evolved from its original meaning: an open-shelved side table for displaying dishware, more specifically plates, cups and sa ...

. 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 large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

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

, especially in the

tvättstuga A laundry room (also called a utility room) is a room where clothes are washed and dried. In a modern home, a laundry room would be equipped with an automatic washing machine and clothes dryer, and often a large basin, called a ''laundry tub'', ...

– a

laundry room A laundry room (also called a utility room) is a room where clothes are washed and dried. In a modern home, a laundry room would be equipped with an automatic washing machine and clothes dryer, and often a large basin, called a ''laundry tub ...

in Swedish

housing cooperatives A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity, usually a cooperative or a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Housing cooperatives are a distinc ...

. 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, laundromat, or coin wash is a facility where clothes are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, and in the Unit ...

facilities.

United States

With the steadily increasing size of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...

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. Appliances are divided into three ...

manufacturers (including Asko and Staber) have begun to supply drying cabinets for the home within the past few years. A typical residential drying cabinet is approximately the size of a narrow refrigerator, 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