LAkeland heated drier thingy

[elvislives2012]

www.lakeland.co.uk/24909/Dry:Soon-Deluxe-3-Tier-Heated-Airer

Anyone used one of these? Are they worth it? We have an all electric house so need to watch the energy use. We have solar panels too. Are they cheaper than the tumble drier? Economical? Do they fold down to a small size?
Thanks a lot

[uggmum]

I have had one for a year. I really like it.

It works better with a sheet over the top as it makes it a bit like a drying cabinet.

They do a cover to go over it but it's expensive and a sheet works just as well.

I would recommend buying a timer plug (Amazon have them) as I was always forgetting it was on. Now I can set the time it's on.

[scoobyloobyloo]

Yeah, it's good - don't expect it to dry a whole wash load tho or really heavy stuff.

[SpeakNoWords]

We have one and it's great. Each side of each tier can fold down so you can choose how big you want it. Our electricity bills have not noticeably changed since we got it. Baby clothes dry extremely quickly on it which is handy! Lakeland quote it as costing 6p per hour to run, and I think tumble driers are typically 15p. Of course it depends how much you use each one for.

The only thing to be aware of is the potential issue of condensation in the room where you're using it.

[TipsyandT0m]

I bought one for a caravan. Used it once so far, and I was disappointed. It maybe that I had too many items on. Things took forever to dry and that was with the cover on.
I am using it now for the second time, with not so many items on. I will report back later.

[crayfish]

I have one, it's honestly one of the best things I've ever bought. It dries little things (baby clothes, pants, socks etc) really quickly and is a godsend when you can't dry outside. I'm always recommending them to people in flats!

[SpeakNoWords]

I agree you shouldn't overload it otherwise things do take a while to dry. I tend to just put baby/child clothes on and smalls, or a limited number of larger items. So it isn't as convenient as a tumble drier from that point of view.

[MyKingdomForBrie]

I have this and absolutely love it. Second the sheet over the top too, I thought it would slow drying down but definitely speeded it up.

[SouthDownsSunshine]

It's brilliant, we have one instead of a tumble dryer.

[itmustbemyage]

I have had this model for about two years, I find it really useful, as I work full-time so getting washing out to dry can be a bit of a weather lottery.
I find it economical to use at less than 6p per hour. Although I don't use my tumble drier much the airer could never replace it. A friend who doesn't have a tumble drier finds her heated airer invaluable, otherwise she dries most of her stuff outside.

I agree with Scooby it will not dry thick / heavy clothes like jeans, fleecy jumpers or similar. It's great for pants, socks, t-shirts and small kids stuff.
It is also useful as a rack for delicate tops / woollens as you can lay them out flat.
It folds completely flat but you do need to have a place where you can leave it leaning against a wall, it does take up a lot of space when fully opened (you can just open one side). I would check the dimensions to see if it would fit comfortably in your home. It is a bit "obvious", more so than my regular clothes horse.

[elvislives2012]

Thanks everyone. I'd want it instead of the drier so definitely want something that can do heavy things too. I might get the smaller one in that case and just use children's clothes on it

[crayfish]

I use mine to dry towels, jeans, thick jumpers - you name it! So I'm confused by people saying they won't dry? I've had mine for about five years though so maybe it was a different model.

I hate tumble drying, it wrecks your clothes in my experience, so I use my Lakeland thing way more than my tumble dryer.

[SpeakNoWords]

They do dry, they just take a lot longer particularly if the dryer is full of them. I guess that's what people mean?

[hooliodancer]

It's the best thing ever. As long as you cover it with a sheet it does dry jeans, jumpers etc overnight.

You lie the clothes flat on the bars, rather than hanging them on the bars. Then put a sheet over the top and the stuff dries. It's been a life changer for me.

It folds flat, so we put it behind the spare bed. I wish it fitted in a cupboard. It would if I had a big cupboard I suppose...

[crayfish]

Yes I suppose it depends how much you put on. I do my towels, three large bath towels, four hand towels and a bathmat and they dry overnight easily (one of the bath towels gets draped over the top).

[lauracobden]

I have this one and it's honestly one of the best things I've brought.

[Strawclutching]

Live mine. Also great in the winter for heating up rooms.

[Lilly948204]

I've had one for about 8 years now, still working brilliantly, cheap to run and drys washing over night. Also fits a lot on. I can fit about three loads on at once.

[Lilly948204]

Ps. I've never had a problem with heavy stuff not drying. Sometimes I'll put big things over two bars rather than one, but has always been dry within 24 hours.

[wombattoo]

I've had one for a few years. The way to load it is to lay items flat like on a shelf, and to have 2 or 3 layers. If there are not many items on it, or they are hung over the rails, the drier does not get very hot.
I use it for a full adult wash, including jeans. They dry overnight. I love mine.

[scoobyloobyloo]

I guess it would dry thicker stuff if you leave it on there and heated for 24 hrs but this stops it being economical for me.

Will try the 'stacking' technique today - looks like it's about to pour down!

[Sooverthis]

Love mine I use it for jumpers that need to be dried flat, for clothes that have been outside and I'm not sure about folded just like an airing cupboard. It's great for baby clothes and underwater and I just drape towels and sheets over it. I think the latest version comes with a cover but it airs sheets that have been in the cupboard so I wouldn't pay extra for a cover. I've never had a condensation problem but I always have doors or Windows open. I got mine on a special offer £99 but I got a case of wine from some random time company which was bloody lovely

[MetalLaLa]

I have one with the matching zipped cover and it works brilliantly. Usually we use it just for stuff we can't tumble dry or if we can't hang anything out, lives in our little laundry corner in our internal garage and it dries everything within 10-12 hours. Only bugbear is I wish the plug cable was a little bit longer.

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

I can get a load and a half on mine. It's good but I think the main thing that helps our clothes dry so quickly is the dehumidifier we have in the room - sucks the water right out of them! So I'd rather a dehumidifier + regular airer rather than heated airer + no dehumifier. If you're drying indoors anyway you should get one as otherwise you're basically chucking water at the walls.

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

(Since using dehumifier, hemp nappy inserts that previously took 48+ hours to dry on heated airer now take 12 hours :))

[acsec]

I got one for Christmas and I think it's great, especially for pants and socks. I have a load on it now, but it's not switched on, just using it as a regular drier as in no rush to get the stuff dry. When DSS starts rugby training again in September, it's fab to get his kit dry quickly as he needs it a few times a week.