As a long time plastic bag washer, the winter months always present the problem of how to dry them. In the summer, it is easy. I wash and rinse them and then just hang them out on my clothesline to air dry. However, I haven't really found a good place in my house to string up a line to dry plastic bags on. I guess I could do it in the bathroom over the tub or in the kitchen over the sink but I am not sure I would like the looks of such a set up though. I couldn't help but think that there has to be a better way to dry my plastic bags. Throwing them over the handles of the knives in my knife block isn't really cutting it.
So I decided to peruse the web and see if some clever person has come up with a better way or if there is actually a device to aid one in their bag drying dilema. Sure enough, there is a real bag dryer that is made called The Bag-E-Wash Dryer. It is a wooden gadet and either sits on your counter top or can be hung on a wall.
But before I would run out and buy something new, I thought I would like to try to find other items that could be re-purposed and used as a bag dryer. Some things I came up were a retractable rack for drying clothes. The kind that hangs on the wall and then pulls out. You can hang towels, stockings or other lightweight items on it. I have one of these in my shed. It is made from wood and I have been looking for something to do with it for years now. It was given to me and I keep thinking someday I will find something to use this for. I could pull it out and hang bags on it with clothes pins and when it wasn't needed, push it back in again. It wouldn't take up much room and perhaps it could be hung from the ceiling, which would really be out of the way when not in use.
Folding racks that are used for drying clothes could be turned into a bag dryer. I think they would also make great dryers for herbs. If you have had a baby recently, you might have a bottle dryer kicking around that could be re-purposed as a bag dryer.
Another option might be to make one out of chopsticks and small block of wood for the base. All you would have to do is save up your chopsticks and then drill small holes the size of your chopsticks in to the block of wood. Add a little wood glue and push the chopsticks into the holes and viola. Instant bag dryer. I think this would work really well and be very inexpensive to make. Since plastic bags are light, you don't need something real heavy duty.
What about one of those vintage triple rack towel holders? They have the 3 arms that swing out to the left or the right. You could dry 3 bags on one of those if you had one around. Places like eBay or Amazon.com often have vintage items like this for sale and by buying something used, you are recycling and keeping things out of our landfills. Plus there is something very special about previously loved items. They make a house into a home and help save the earth all at the same time.
The website GreenHome.com, reports that a July 2002 EPA report stated that Americans discarded more than 3.3 million tons of low and high density polyethylene bags in 2000. Of those 3.3 million tons only 5.4% were recovered and recycled. Plastic bags are also among the the "dirty dozen" - the top 12 items most often found in coastal cleanups.
America alone produces 10 pounds of plastic bags per year for every person on earth! That is a lot of plastic bags. Washing and re-using plastic bags can make a huge dent in the number of bags that wind up in the landfills. One box (30) of gallon size bags washed and reused 50 times each keeps 1,500 bags out of the landfill!
One additional tip I have found helpful is that if you buy only freezer bags, they last much longer and you can wash them many times over before they wear out or spring a leak.
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