Since clothes dryers are the 2nd largest energy consumer in the house, it behooves us to air dry our clothes – it could save up to $85 a year. But many of us live in tight quarters without yards, and even though we’d love to dry our clothes outside to get that fresh outdoor smell, we can’t. Which means we must make use of whatever free space we have indoors to hang our clothes – whether that’s in the middle of the living room, on the shower rod, or all over the bedroom. Designs are getting smarter and more attractive though – take this ingenius design for instance. Designed by Rob Podell for the 2009 Greener Gadgets Design Competition, this indoor drying rack solves all of the problems. It is sustainably built, adjustable, wall-mounted, space-saving and very cool looking.

Podell’s Indoor Drying Rack, which won 3rd place at the Greener Gadgets Competition, consists of two sets of spines out of bamboo laminate in various links joined together with recycled aluminum hardware. Each spine can move independently from the others, which makes it incredibly modular and customizable for the laundry that needs to be dried. The rack is easily installed on a wall and the bottom panel of spines adds support when fully extended and loaded with wet clothes.

On top of the usefulness of the rack and its environmentally friendly materials, the rack packs flat for shipping and is put together when you get it home. This low-tech, non-electric device is a wonderful alternative to dryers and would make a smart addition to any home or apartment. Even when it is not in use, the rack is attractive enough as a show piece. We can’t wait to see this come into production and know that even at $85 per rack, it would pay for itself within a year.

via Inhabitat