Really sounds horrible to me . We have hooks and no issue with towels drying in between showers or baths . Maybe wht you need is a different towel hanging stystem I sure do not think what you are planning would be seful at all since eveytime you need the tub you have to remove the lines sorry bad idea. Maybe look at towel warmers or just more towels

I agree that this would not be functional in terms of using it to dry towels as they would have to be removed every time someone wanted to shower and the line retracted.

I don't even understand how wet your towels are getting from drying your body? Under normal circumstances my towels are a bit damp and using a standard towel bar works fine. On a few occasions I have used them to mop up something and then they can be placed over the shower or taken someplace where wet stuff goes - that would depend on your home's configuration obviously but I certainly wouldn't design a bathroom around the occasional need to dry a sopping wet towel.

FWIW I had looked at these kinds of lines after I remodeled because I thought they might be functional for the occasional hand washed item to dry but I didn't think they were practical even for the limited use I had contemplated.

I would not like having to deal with a retractable line every time I wanted to shower. I would just use two suction hooks for one towel spread apart just enough so the towel isn't bunched up too much.

A retractable line over the tub can be great. Not only for towels, but also for the occasional other line dry. You don't even need to get an actual retractable if you don't want to. You can just use the hooks you have and get a waterproof line- cut and loops on each end to the length you need when in use. Or if you set up up rather high in the shower but not too high to reach, you could just leave a line up.

You could also get a towel bar and put it up where the hooks were.

The retractable lines I have seen in hotels and B&Bs would not last long supporting the weight of a bath towel. Or two. Nor does it allow for any air space between the folded layers.

@M Riz-i had the opposite thought. People actually use the same towels again? My entire life Ive only used a towel once.

I use a towel only once - or more accurately - I use the bath towel once and then use it as a floor "mat" when I take my next shower and cycle through my towels.

I have a tray of inexpensive wash cloths by the sink in the masterbath which I use once to dry my hands or face.

In the guest bath I have nice paper towels because no guest should have to dry their hands on a communal cloth guest towel although I do have one hanging in their for "decoration"

Thats a lotta laundry, your whole family uses towels once? Theoretically, youre clean after a shower, so hanging doesnt seem weird. I do white 2x a week and everything gets swapped out. Im ok w it lol

Im assuming youre showering every day + a hair towel and washcloths and face towels 4 towels a day x the average family. wow.

That's what a towel rod and hooks are for. The line will never hold the weight of more than one towel. I use the same two towels for the week and hang them to dry.

Wow I was not expecting these answers. It's not like I plan on planting 2 trees and tying up a clothesline. I was thinking a retractable wire line, like the hotel ones for a towel or 2 and maybe my handwash once in a while. They do sell the hotel style ones that look more durable. I was simply wondering if anyone had a brand or style that worked better. Thank you @BeverlyFLADeziner for pointing out what towel rods are for, like I don't know...lol! And like I said I am trying to get the hubby to use a towel more than once. I hope all you negative Nancy's have a great day :)

IF you own a dryer. You're clean when exiting the shower. The towel is still clean, but now damp. Toss the damp towel into the dryer for 10 minutes, then rehang. They are washed every week.

I've only seen/used the round ones with the line plug in the middle. The hotel style. I don't know what brand they were. But plenty good for 2-3 towels or some wet swimsuits. I'm pretty sure you won't be going over 20-30 pounds worth of weight with a couple towels. Most of the hotel ones seem to go 30 pounds and up. Some of the heavy duty ones can hold around 45-55 pounds. There's square ones as well as round ones, looks like some have a couple lines instead of one.

Doing a quick bit of checking around, looks like BESy is a fairly popular and well reviewed brand.

i'm surprised so many folks favor hooks because I feel like a bunched up towel on a hook would never dry quickly.

The retractable lines are great for swimsuits. There are several highly rated brands on amazon. You can try them for towels. Use clothespins to keep them from sliding together.

There are some climates where it's too humid for a bunched up towel on a hook to dry quickly. A $10 humidity and temperature gauge can tell you a lot about your bathroom's normal daily variations over the course of a year. Towels often dry better in a heated winter bathroom than an air-conditioned summer bathroom.

My towel just hangs on a hook ... but that hook does happen to be right over a heating vent; I try to put the damper side (usually the part that dried my hair) down.

I do, however, use my show curtain rod to hang items that didn't fit on the drying rack (too long or too many). I could see where a line could be useful if you don't have a rod. What's the configuration you're working with? Alcove? Glassed in? How big? It's hard to give specific advice without knowing what the space is.

Side thought, if your hook is bunching your towel a lot, maybe a different hook? My hooks are pretty thick and long ... so hanging doesn't require a ton of bunching, there's just a bight of towel over it, and I have bath sheets, so they have to be pretty secure to stay.

That is why I have a towel bar and sometimes DH throws his over the shower rod till dry. Works for us and no we do not throw a towel in the laundry as one use. You are clean when you dry yourself off but then again some think-eeewww that touched my butt. To each their own.

I'm the only one who uses my bathroom so the used towel goes over the towel bar to dry and gets re-used. Damp towels have to be spread out to dry in my climate. Hanging on a hook to dry is a recipe for stinky towel syndrome. Been there.

A heated towel rack is another great idea for fast drying towels.

What about doubling up the hooks with some space (5”?) between each pair…then you get more air ”circulation”

We use towel hooks, have never had a problem with drying.

I think ci_lantro might have named the difference as to why hooks work for some but not others ... climate. Florida vs Colorado vs Oregon vs New England vs Hawaii vs England would result in very different environment and drying conditions for a towel ... being inside a house only controls that, so much. Bathroom ventilation could also play a role, but that's a whole different issue. Type of heat the house has could be a factor, too ... I imagine my towel wouldn't dry nearly as quickly if it weren't right over a forced air vent ...

We put the retractable lines in our baths in a vacation home - so people would have someplace to hang their swim suits after getting out of the hot tub - they worked great! I’m not sure how well they’d have held up with towels, though.

How about a swing arm towel bar? I have seen up to 3 arms on one unit, each about 16 -20 inches long.

Dottingham 2 Swing Arm Towel Rail, Oil Rubbed Bronze · More Info

Braga Adjustable Towel Rail, Chrome · More Info

When we re-did our bathroom in the islands as a completely open wet room, I bought Kohler stainless grab bars in case someone slipped. I had them installed horizontally.

Because they are thicker than towel rods there is more air in between and towels dry better. Collected rainwater is precious, so we use towels for a week.

In our house, every bedroom has a towel bar behind the door. I highly recommend this, it works very well. Not only is it less messy in the bathroom but we can open the towel the width of the bar so it dries quickly. No smelly towels here.

Hi Jennifer-

There are retractable ceiling drying racks that are suspended from the ceiling that work via a pulley mechanism that are very easy to use and work well.

There are more models available outside the U.S. but there are still some available here.

https://pulleymaid.com/unitedstates/deluxe_clothes_airer.htm?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIheXVgNSZ9wIVGAutBh0DDgHgEAQYAiABEgI1MfD_BwE

https://www.amazon.com/Drying-Rack-Household-Clothesline-Aluminum/dp/B07TSZ9DXQ

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/laundry-rooms/21279589/pulley-style-drying-rack

https://www.wayfair.com/storage-organization/pdp/lofti-laundry-drying-rack-w001508464.html?piid=

There are also retractable drying racks that come out from the wall, too, you probably have seen those.

I use a Command hook on the outside of the shower, but towel is not dry 24 hrs later because hubby uses it to wipe down the glass! I like the retractable idea. Now I pop it in the dryer to finish drying. Use only 2 times then goes to laundry.

I don't have a dryer, but I do have a retractable line in my kitchen and hang light laundry there when the weather doesn't permit outside hanging. It will not support heavy bath towels. I have towel bars for those, or they are hung over the shower rod. I wash them when enough of them are used to make a wash load. They are white Turkish towels and to a great job of absorbing water and drying. My aunt kept a laundry basket in the bathroom and you were to drop your wet towel there, It was washed, dried and back in the bath by your next shower! I'm not that obsessive about it myself. My other aunt, in Paris, France, had a rack in her 15' high kitchen. She lowered it with a pulley, hung the laundry, and raised it back up to dry in the rising heat. Worked very well, was out of sight, and she never had to go outdoors.

I would think the line may be nuisance after a while. No harm trying, but maybe consider alternatives. Just me, but having towels always hanging across the shower would be annoying both visually and from a practical perspective.

Turkish towels become really absorbent after a few washes and more important for you, dry quickly. https://pokoloko.com/blogs/news/10-ways-turkish-towels?epik=dj0yJnU9WnpqM2Y5MllzdUJOYjFVYzZsWk9fVmstbFFGX3RpQUEmcD0wJm49YU9DeFdGWHoxLWJxdUtPbE94WHUzdyZ0PUFBQUFBR0piLTRn

Item below drys and disinfects, so less washing. Towel would be dry in no time so next person could use.

https://www.yankodesign.com/2013/04/10/no-wet-blankets-allowed/

They also sell this style which is less bulky

Multiple towel drying.

I put my towels on hooks and the dry between showers. I also have a shower curtain and use the rod to hang clothes to dry. Another advantage of the shower curtain over shower glass.