Home boot dryer

[raytseng]

i also think if you have space on the floor or rack already to organize your boots, a number of portable boot dryers that blow air go in your boots with a power strip ie a solid option.

E.g. see thermic refresher / snapdry for examples.

The benefit of a unit that goes in a standing boot is it is less hassle than upsidedown boots. If you also buy half the units; this style also makes it easy to pull the lighter dryer out out of 1 pair and plop them into another pair versus having to handle and rack boots and getting dirt everywhere.

Plus as portable units you can also take it for travel.

Downside is these smaller units maybe somewhat pricey for what you get and they will eventually get noisy or fail.

 

[Wade]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I’ve been offline for a couple of days (no cell service or internet in Yellowstone ), but have had a chance to check out all of the responses.

To answer a couple of questions:

My new place is a condo at the base area of a southern VT mountain. We have a locker where we’ll leave skis and poles, so just need to sort out boots for our family and guests.

We’re planning to put a bench outside of the door in the common hallway for people to change into and out of their boots (a lot of other apartment owners in the building seem to do this) and I’m looking for a set up where they can leave their boots just inside the entry way to the apartment (the entry way is next to the kitchen). I’ve included a photo here to give a better idea.

You can see a tray on the right side of the photo where the current owner presumably stores boots. There’s an outlet not to far from that just out of picture.

That seems to me to be the right spot to keep boots to make sure the condo doesn’t get messed up from wet boots sitting in bedrooms etc, and it seems like there’s plenty of room there so that people won’t be impeded getting too or from the door.

I’d like whatever solution we go for to look at least a little presentable and neat, while understanding at the same time that it’s a boot drying area - I’m also mot expecting it to look like a piece of high end furniture or fine art.

 

[Quandary]

Williams boot dryers. Mine has been working great for 20 years with zero problems.

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[raytseng]

If I were in your boots, my 6 cents are:

• I think to look presentable and neat, you will need to use vertical space so you don't have sprawl. Therefore you're going to have do something with multiple tiers of boots.
• I don't think the commercial unit look good in living spaces; especially when it's not in use; you've now got a bunch of tubes just hanging around. If this were more in a garage maybe you could accept it.
• Upside down boots just don't look as "tidy" as compared to right side up boots; even if is more practical method of commercial drying.

Given these aesthetics:

I would probably start looking for a boot/shoe rack that so you can go in at least 2 tiers. There are many storage furniture options for shoe/boot racks (be careful you can adjustable or has enough height for boots in the bottom tier); if you can't find a shoe organizer that works, you can expand your search to general storage shelving. To keep the bottom tier clean from the top tier, you may want to get another tray or put down a liner.

For the actual drying, i'd probably go with the individual shoe blower/dryer units that go into the boots (as I mentioned above). You may need to tidy up your wiring setup; but that's my general idea.

Gloves/jackets/helmets and doo-dads I'd just relegate hooks above the boots and not include in the boot drying solution. You can also make this more your own with hook racks; they come with lots of options, like a shelf+hook, or cubbies. Search for entryway hooks to find lots of ideas/options out there.

 

[dbostedo]

...or cubbies...

This is what I was thinking... boot cubbies, like a bookshelf type, with either some tubes that run to each, or individual dryers in each and the plugs all running behind. If it doesn't exist, it could be made.

 

[cantunamunch]

If it doesn't exist, it could be made.

Between the several million furniture 'upcyclers' on Etsy and the several dozen million old-school TV cabinets being retired from hotel rooms (not to mention actual antique wardrobes and armoires),

you'd think at least one would have put internal shelving and a dehumidifier in the base. No ducts, no air hoses, just a sub-$200 dehumidifier, a drain hose and and a big, slow, quiet, circulation fan. The interior space is the manifold, just like a gun bluing cabinet (except a lot dryer ) .

 

[dbostedo]

Between the several million furniture 'upcyclers' on Etsy and the several dozen million old-school TV cabinets being retired from hotel rooms (not to mention actual antique wardrobes and armoires),

you'd think at least one would have put internal shelving and a dehumidifier in the base. No ducts, no air hoses, just a sub-$200 dehumidifier, a drain hose and and a big, slow, quiet, circulation fan. The interior space is the manifold, just like a gun bluing cabinet (except a lot dryer ) .

Good thought... I don't even think you need the dehumidifier if you have enough air moving, say, from the bottom up and out the top. But I do wonder about getting dry right down to the toe box... I use the kind of little fan dryers you stuff down in the boot to make sure you circulate air down to the toes. I don't know enough about the evaporation and air flow mix inside a boot to know if not having something down in the boot would be sufficient.

 

[Fuller]

This would be simple to build. There are many different squirrel cage motors out there, find one with a 110v plug end or wire it yourself. The T shape structure is a hollow plenum built out of 1/2 inch plywood. You could cut a bunch of flexible tubing to slip fit over the ports. Slip the tubing into the boot then connect to the port. The ports would need caps when not in use. Maybe size the port and tube progressively smaller toward the far ends to get a better air distribution. Paint it all with an enamel paint to match the woodwork.

Could make the whole thing shorter too.

 

[lone pine]

Drying boots can be pungent. A solution might better be found outside the living space.

 

[Wade]

Drying boots can be pungent. A solution might better be found outside the living space.

I’d love to find a solution outside the living space, but it’s a condo, and my locker doesn’t have a power source to run a dryer, so I’m unfortunately stuck with frying them inside the condo.

I must have lucked out because my family’s boots don’t smell at all. That may be because I’ve been pretty obsessive about making sure they go on a boot dryer as soon as they come off feet, so there hasn’t really been a time where they’ve sat damp somewhere and started to stink.

 

[lone pine]

I’d love to find a solution outside the living space, but it’s a condo, and my locker doesn’t have a power source to run a dryer, so I’m unfortunately stuck with frying them inside the condo.

I must have lucked out because my family’s boots don’t smell at all. That may be because I’ve been pretty obsessive about making sure they go on a boot dryer as soon as they come off feet, so there hasn’t really been a time where they’ve sat damp somewhere and started to stink.

Is there a room with your hot water tank or gas furnace that you could use ?

 

[Wilhelmson]

Classy would be radiant flooring. Built in or on a raised panel with this https://us.thermosoft.com/floor-hea...MImaSm3cO-8gIVEY3ICh2XQgaaEAQYASABEgKUJPD_BwE

I thought pvc at first but am going with a simple box fan rigged horizontally to blow down into the boots. If you want hot air put a baseboard heater 24 inches up the wall above the fan and boots.

Nice looking place.

 

[Fuller]

Williams boot dryers. Mine has been working great for 20 years with zero problems.

Ski Gear Dryers | Ski Boot & Glove Dryers | Williams Direct Dryers

At Williams Direct Dryers, we offer ski gear dryers, including ski boot & glove dryers, for homes, ski cabins, ski chalets, & more. Get a quote today!

www.directdryers.com

Those look they would do the job! All I need is a slope side ski house to put it in.

 

[Wade]

Is there a room with your hot water tank or gas furnace that you could use ?

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) not. Hot water and heating are part of the building services so there’s no utility room in the apartment.

 

[Wade]

Thanks for all the responses. Some really good ideas to consider to make this work.

 

[motogreg]

the little squirrel cage fans used for inflating greenhouses are perfect for a diy build.

 

[Carl]

I've been using this for ten+ years, made by DryGuy. No moving parts, just a simple heating element that gets warm not hot. Slip them into the boots overnight and the boots are dry in the morning. Easy to take on the road as well. Unfortunately they don't make this particular model anymore. It's been replaced by a different model and I don't know if it's as durable and long lasting.

 

[DanoT]

Just go with the expensive commercial style multi boot rack. Nickname it "Dyson" after the portable vacuum: Overpriced but worth it.

 

[dusty]

Chinook Ski Boot Dryers Drying Systems for FAST commercial and residential drying solutions.

 

[Atomicman]

I have a Chinook B400. Works great, mostly circulating air no damaging heat and quiet
8 Gloves 8 boots ( 4 pair each).Has a built-in 12 hour timer
They also make a B600 12 Boots & 12 gloves

Chinook Ski Boot Dryers Drying Systems for FAST comercial and residential drying solutions.