Dryer for Gloves and Mittens

Dry gloves with this rack and an overhead air vent. They will dry quickly and keep their shape. See my related Instructables, including a rack for drying gloves and shoes over a floor-mounted vent, click on "unclesam" just below the title above or in the INFO box to the right. On the new page that appears, repeatedly click "NEXT" to see all of them.

Galvanized wire cloth having one-quarter inch squares, to produce two pieces each having finished size 6 by 4 inches. (see steps before cutting to size)
Maleable wire, such as light coat hanger, or the wire sold at home centers for binding rebar
Wire cutters
file
long-nose pliers

Cut two pieces that will each eventually be 6 inches by 4 inches, but make the cuts down the middle of squares just outside those dimensions. This will leave wire prongs sticking out as in the photo. If the wire has a smooth factory edge, retain that edge as one of the 4-inch sides of each piece.

Bend over every protruding wire prong so that its end touches its parent wire, do not push the end through the grid. Bend all the prongs onto the same side of the piece of wire cloth. This ensures there are no sharp points that could snag a glove's insides.

Sharply bend over the two long eges of the wire cloth, with the bent-over wire ends inside the curl.

Further roll the wire edges, more gradually, into a flat C cross-section.

Form a square-ish wire hook, file the cut ends smooth. Attach the hook at the middle of the C. Leave about one and one half inches of shank beyond the end of the wire cloth.

To insert the drying rack into a glove, pinch to close the gap in the C to make it smaller.

Force the rack into the glove as far as it will go, then allow it to expand. Always pinch the rack before trying to pull it out of a glove. The rack can be reshaped by hand to fit different kinds of gloves, and it will support a heavy wet leather work glove.

Poke the hook into a vent slot, give it a turn to hook over a vane.

The wire racks keep the gloves open to allow air to blow into and through them. The garage vent pictured leaks a little air even when it is shut, and that is enough to dry a pair of soaked gloves overnight.
Unclesam