Been in this building since before the super learned my name. Every winter I drag the folding rack into the bedroom and throw a few shirts over the radiator to dry. The bedroom window's open maybe an inch, but half the time my stuff smells like a wet dog rolled on it. Is it the steam heat? The old radiator scuzz? I don't want to run a dehumidifier all day because it makes my electric bill look like a Con Ed bait-and-switch. Someone tell me there's a better setup than buying one of those $40 wooden racks that wobbles.

Wait, is this my issue too?? I just moved into a studio and tried drying a hoodie on the radiator overnight. It dried, but now it smells like old pennies mixed with wet cardboard. I used pods and the washer's fine. Do I need to rinse with vinegar or is it the radiator? I was about to blame the building's pipes. Also where do you even put a rack in a studio? Mine lives in the middle of the floor and I keep tripping over it.

Beth, don't go straight to vinegar yet. The pennies smell is probably the radiator paint/dust getting warm while your hoodie sits right on it. Steamy metal plus old paint stinks. Get one of those folding mesh racks and don't let fabric touch the radiator, even if it feels like it dries faster. I also blast a little floor fan at the rack for an hour and that kills most of the damp smell. EastHarlem_E, the wet dog thing is usually too-slow drying, not the radiator itself. Crack the window more than an inch if you can.

Good points all around. I've been air-drying in a prewar Astoria steam-heat one-bedroom for years, and there are two separate problems usually getting mixed up here.

First, direct contact with the radiator. Gowanus_G is right: the paint, dust, and sometimes old metal smell transfers to fabric when it's draped right on top. It can also leave rust marks or yellow lines on lighter stuff if the radiator has ever wept. Use a rack that sits at least 6 inches away, or a flat mesh screen on top if you have a ledge-style radiator. Don't use the cheap wooden rack directly over the radiator—wood can hold paint/dust and sometimes resins get warm.

Second, speed. EastHarlem_E's wet dog smell is almost always moisture hanging around too long before the fibers fully dry. Wool and heavy cotton blends are the worst. For those, I do a second high spin in the washer, then shake them out hard before hanging. Spread them out, don't fold them over the rungs. Point a small fan across the rack, not directly at it, and open the top and bottom windows a crack if you have a double-hung. The air needs somewhere to exit.

Beth, your old pennies smell with a hoodie might be a combo of too much detergent and direct heat. Try less detergent, a full extra rinse if possible, and don't hang the hoodie over the metal. If it already smells, a wash with a cup of vinegar in the fabric softener slot should knock it out. Keep an eye on the radiator top before heating season: wipe it down once with a damp cloth after it cools.

This setup won't make your place feel like a laundromat, but it'll keep most stuff from smelling like the building's basement. The dehumidifier is the last resort, not the first.