How do I hang washing without hanger and peg marks?
Peg dents and shoulder bumps come from hanging a garment by the wrong part while the weight of the water pulls it out of shape.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 10 min
- Read
- 3 min
Short answer
Peg by seams, hems and waistbands rather than by the body of the garment, hang shirts on hangers rather than pegging them, and never hang heavy knitwear at all. The rule is that the water's weight should pull along the strongest line, not against it.
Wet fabric is heavy and has almost no recovery. Wherever it is supported, everything below that point hangs off it, so a peg in the middle of a shoulder becomes a permanent bump and a hanger in a wet jumper becomes two points a size larger than the rest. Choosing where to support the garment is most of the job.
What you'll need
- A line or airer
- Pegs
- Shaped or padded hangers (optional)
Step by step
- Peg by the strongest, least visible part.Side seams, hems and waistbands. Never in the middle of a shoulder, a chest panel or a delicate front.
- Hang T-shirts and tops upside down.Pegged by the hem, two pegs at the side seams. Any mark falls where the garment is tucked in or where nobody looks.
- Peg trousers by the waistband or the hem.By the waistband is quicker; by the hems, with the legs straight, drops the creases out under the weight of the water.
- Use hangers for shirts and dresses.On a shaped hanger, buttoned at the top, collar straight. The garment dries in the shape it will be worn in and often needs no ironing at all.
- Never hang wet knitwear.The weight pulls the whole garment down and it grows a size, permanently. Knitwear dries flat on a towel, reshaped by hand.
- Shake and smooth everything before hanging.A firm snap and a hand run down the seams removes creases while the fabric is still relaxed. It is thirty seconds that removes minutes of ironing.
- Choose pegs that do not bite.Wide plastic or wooden pegs rather than thin sprung ones. Old metal pegs and rusty springs mark and stain, particularly on white.
- Give each item space.Overlapping garments dry slowly and press their creases into each other. A shorter line properly spaced beats a crowded one.
- Turn dark clothes inside out on a sunny line.Sun fades dark dyes quickly. Inside out protects the outer face while still getting the drying and deodorising benefit.
Tips
- Hanging a shirt straight from the machine onto a hanger while damp is the single biggest reduction in ironing available.
- A mesh drying rack, or a towel on a flat airer, is the correct way to dry any knit, and it costs almost nothing.
- Existing shoulder bumps often come out if you rewet the shoulder area, reshape it and dry flat.
Common mistakes
- Hanging heavy wet knitwear on a hanger — The whole weight of the wet garment concentrates at the two shoulder points. The knit stretches there and the garment ends up long, wide and misshapen, and it does not recover.
- Pegging across the middle of a shoulder or chest — The peg compresses the fabric while it dries, so the dent sets into the fibre. On synthetics it can be effectively permanent.
If it doesn't work
Bumps at the shoulders of a jumper
Cause: Dried on a hanger while wet — Fix: Rewet the shoulders, reshape by hand, and dry the garment flat on a towel.
Peg dents down the front of a shirt
Cause: Pegged by the body rather than the seams — Fix: Steam or iron them out, and peg by the hem or use a hanger next time.
Rust marks where the pegs were
Cause: Corroded metal peg springs — Fix: Treat as a rust stain with lemon and salt in sunlight, and replace the pegs.
Stiff, board-like towels off the line
Cause: Hard water plus no movement while drying — Fix: Shake them hard before hanging and again when dry, or tumble for ten minutes at the end.
Questions people ask
Do peg marks come out?
On cotton and linen, usually, with steam or a damp iron. On synthetics they can be permanent because the fibre has been deformed while drying.
Is it better to hang shirts on the line or on hangers?
Hangers, every time. The shirt keeps its shape, dries evenly and usually needs only the collar and cuffs pressing.