What’s the Minky 12m Electric Heated Airer like to set up?
The Minky Heated Airer is simple to set up - it’s pretty much ready to go straight from the box. You plug it into the mains so there’s no charging to contend with and there are no fiddly accessories to have to assemble or store.
The unit arrives in one piece - you just need to turn it upside down and slide the legs to the end of the rails to set it up. The sliding mechanism feels quite stiff with the legs often sticking before they reach the end of the rails but it’s not a major issue.
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What’s the Minky 12m Electric Heated Airer like to use day-to-day?
This heated airer heats up very quickly with the rails radiating warmth within a matter of minutes (something we found took a lot longer when testing the Black + Decker 3-Tier Airer.
It’s relatively easy to unfold although I did find the legs a little stiff to slide out, as mentioned above. When the wings are extended there’s a sizable surface area on which to hang items or place them on top. However, you’ll need to bear in mind that it takes up a lot of space (lengthwise) and I found it tricky to place it somewhere in our house that didn’t block a route or take up a large area of a room. However it’s really lightweight so it’s easy to manoeuvre.
It definitely feels sturdier than other basic models I’ve tried but as is the case with the winged design in general, you need to be careful not to overload the outer sections, particularly with heavier items like towels and jeans - I soon learnt to be strategic about loading it up to prevent toppling.
I found the drying time varied significantly depending on how items were placed on the unit (as is the case with all heated airers). It took around 12 hours to dry a full load of washing hung over the rails like a traditional airer - often slightly longer for thicker waistbands, jeans and cuffs. But small cotton items placed directly on top of the rails dried within one to two hours. I found it particularly useful for quickly drying small items of school uniform and PE t-shirts.
The airer folds flat for easy storage and the wings fold into the main unit to reduce its size. I found it as easy to slip into a cupboard to store as my regular non-heated airer.
The instruction manual states that you shouldn’t put any delicate textiles like silk on it - I shied away from putting my footy-obsessed son’s team shirts and training tops on it too for fear of damaging prized numbers and names. These kinds of items dry in an instant anyhow.
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Does the Minky 12m Electric Heated Airer have any special features?
There are no fancy features but its simplicity is part of the appeal. It’s ready to plug in and go straight from the box and there are no complicated instructions to get to grips with.
It would be handy to have a timer feature though for peace of mind. It’s easy to forget if you’ve switched the unit off when you leave the house in the way that straighteners constantly play on the mind. It’s not recommended to leave it on unattended.
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