In winter, especially in cities where streets and sidewalks are sprinkled with anti-icing agents, the problem of drying shoes, especially children's shoes, arises. It is not recommended to use heating batteries for this: high temperatures can cause shoes to deteriorate (especially those with glue), lose their presentation and quickly become unusable.
If you make a shoe dryer from plastic pipes and fittings, the thermal conductivity of which is two orders of magnitude lower than that of metal, then the quality and safety of shoe drying will be ensured by default.
Requirement for materials by type and quantity
Since our dryer shelves will be the same in overall dimensions and configuration, the number of necessary elements will be determined by the number of shelves.
To work we need a set:
- pipes with diameters of 1 inch (the most optimal size) of different lengths;
- fittings (angles, tees, crosses);
- Mayevsky cranes (at least two);
- fixing pipes to the wall;
- lower stops (base).
As tools, you can use a standard kit for working with plastic pipes.
Assembly sequence for a homemade dryer
1.First, you need to decide on the overall dimensions of our homemade product - width, depth and height, determined by the distance between the shelves and their number. Dimensions are selected depending on the size and number of shoes, as well as the availability of free space for installation.
2. After this, you can use a saw or knife to make a set of pipe blanks that determine the length, depth and height of the shelves. The main thing here is to maintain the same size of tubes in the set. This will facilitate the assembly, tightness and aesthetics of the homemade product.
3. The most important stage is the assembly of the bottom shelf, which is the base one, along which the remaining “floors” of the dryer will be assembled. It is important here to ensure that the base is horizontal when adjusting the height of the stops.
4. Next, the vertical posts are installed and, after checking the horizontality of the second shelf, sealed. You may need to trim one of the posts at this point to ensure the shelves are level.
5. After completing the assembly of all levels of the dryer, Mayevsky taps are screwed into the corresponding tees from above in order to bleed off the air accumulated in the pipes from time to time or after a long period of inactivity.
6. The final operation is to attach the dryer to the wall using appropriate fixtures. Each horizontal tube of our structure must be fixed in at least two places.
7. Now all that remains is to supply hot water from the heating system of the house or apartment, make sure that there are no leaks, and the dryer can be used for its intended purpose.
Tips and notes
To make a dryer powered by a heating system, it is better to use reinforced polypropylene or metal-plastic pipes. Both materials can withstand pressures of 10-15 bar and temperatures of 90-95 degrees Celsius.PVC pipes quickly soften from high temperatures and lose their shape.
You can increase the functionality of the dryer by using trays made of rubberized material. Then water and dirt from shoes on the upper shelves will not fall onto those located below. But it’s better, of course, to wash and dry your shoes before drying.
The topmost shelf can be used for drying small fabric items: mittens, hats, socks, etc. To do this, just place a plastic grid on the upper pipes.
In order to protect yourself and your neighbors below from flooding and to ensure the possibility of repairs, for example, if a dryer leak is detected, it is advisable to equip it with a shut-off valve located on the inlet pipe.
