Do you have a heated air dryer?

[EyUpOurKid]

I have just moved. There isn't space for a dryer, so I had to get a washer-dryer combi. I HATE it. Hate it. With foot stamps and folded arms and dramatic throwing of self onto beds in a toddler/disney princess style.

I am not being dramatic but it's more complicated to programme than a space ship, and I'm quite good with technology (DH hasn't got a chance, he's only just learned to use WhatsApp and thinks online banking is witchcraft).

It doesn't dry anything properly, it had two jobs and it doesn't do one of them properly. It beeps a lot when I'm not expecting it and changes its mind mid cycle from like, 13 minutes to 33.

I'm thinking of getting a heated air dryer, probably from Lakeland. They look good and fold down flat. Do you have one and are they any good? It could be the answer to my frustrations. Help.

Don't do it!

My flatmate had one - they take up a lot of space, don't work very efficiently, and use shitloads of electricity. And even folded flat, they're still bulky.

I love my lakeland dryer!!!

Honestly if it broke tomorrow I’d be straight on line for a new one.

2p an hour. It’s a gentle heat so woollens etc are ok on it. I stick clothes on before going to bed, come down to a dry load. And a happy cat who loves it as much as I do

There is a knack to loading it but even if you over load it will just take a bit longer. Everyone I’ve recommended it to have also loved it.

And you get the amazing Lakeland customer service.

No I don’t work for the but if they want to skip me the odd £50, I wouldn’t say no.

We've got one and have had it for almost 7 years and still running absolutely fine. Never had tumble dryer to compare running cost. But we find we can lay clothes over it flat and it's definitely dry over night.

I have a Lakeland one, it's great. As previous poster says I'd buy another tomorrow if it broke. Costs 4p an hour to run. You do need the cover through to keep the heat in.

Yeah also Lakeland here! Cover it with a blanket and most clothes are dry overnight!

How long does it take to dry though, cos 4p an hour to run is only good if it dries really quickly.

My washing life:

Put load in machine and set timer. Go to bed.

Wake up and hang laundered clothes on heated drier.

Open window / set humidifier. Go to work.

Come home. Fold dry clothing. Put away / I to ironing pile.

Spend 78 pence on the drying (13 hrs at 6 pence an hour).

Kiss the dryer.

Yes they are great

Yes I have one. Also agree it's good.

But I also had a good washer dryer.

reallybad - IME it can take as long as if you just put clothes on a normal standing drier beside a radiator. If you had anything at all thick, it would be overnight from a late-night wash, or most of the day.

I feel like the dehumidifier troll on these threads but if you can run to it get a space saving airer and a dehumidifier instead. Once you’ve seen the amount of water that comes off even a very well spun load of washing, you’ll be less keen to drive it off onto your walls, which is what a heated airer is doing. You can hang loads up with no worries about ‘overloading’ or ‘laying flat’ and it will still dry. As a bonus, the air that comes out of it is slightly warm and so helps heat the room.

The Meaco DDL 8 Junior one is what I’ve got - highly recommended. It’s designed to be left running on boats and things, so. It worries about leaving it going overnight or whilst you’re out.

That should have been no worries!

I suspected it might LRD. I think I'll stick with my ceiling airer. Have you considered one of those OP?

Another Lakeland heated dryer owner here. It's bloody marvellous. Holds a load of washing and as others have said, dries stuff overnight. Folds down to less than 10cm and lives under the stairs when not in use.

I don’t use mine heated - it was rubbish. Now I use it as a normal drier but with a dehumidifier. Takes the same time.

You need to leave a window open or your clothes smell damp and musty.

I do switch it on occasionally purely to air once clothes are folded up.

But another vote for a dehumidifier.

I'm getting really puzzled with this thread.

What is the merit of a drier that dries things overnight?!

So does having no drier at all!

Surely the point of a drier is that it is quicker?

LRD.

It’s better for your clothes than being bashed about in a tumble drier.

It’s (for me, on my tariff) more economical.

I don’t have the space for a tumble drier (small kitchen / flat dweller)

It folds away to a flat surface

I can leave it on all day / night (would never do so with a TD).

I bought on after reading all the love on here but not that impressed. things dry more quickly on the radiators. Only the bit in contact with the heated bar actually dries so have to move things round a lot. it also takes up a lot of room.
Cat likes it if there are towels on it though

(Jeans, jumpers, towels etc don’t dry overnight on an unhearted in my flat. I don’t have the heating on overnight).

We've got one. It's ok but I wouldn't rush to buy another if it broke. But then I do have a tumble drier for stuff like bedding and finishing things that are just a bit damp.

We had one and it was almost completely pointless. Dry lines on the clothes but that was pretty much it.

Dehumidifier however is amazing. We got and 18l ecoair. Got it for a totally different reason but I wouldn't be without it now. Turn it on through the night and the whole clothes horse of drying is pretty much dry by morning. Doesn't use too much electric either.

single, I don't know anything about tumble driers and can understand you might not like them. But I wasn't talking about them!

If you hang up your clothes on a normal drier - one of those fold-out jobs you can buy anywhere - and set it next to a radiator on a cold night like tonight, things will dry overnight, unless they are very, very thick.

So why on earth would you pay extra for something else that does the same thing, but charges you money?

I have a JML dry buddy. You hang clothes in it on hangers, so just put them straight into the wardrobe.

It takes about 45 minutes to dry heavier clothes, but most of my stuff dries within 20 minutes. It cost around 4p an hour.

I hang towels in it on trouser hangers and my quilt etc over it, under the cover.

It clips together easily and is lightweight, so I can store it on top of a wardrobe.

LRDtheFeministDragon, I can't afford to run radiators in rooms I'm not using and my old heating costs a lot more.

It's bad for your property and breathing to dry clothes in rooms that you are in.

It's not bad for your property or breathing, no. What you must do is ventilate properly - that's crucial. It can actually be good for you to breathe moist air. Modern heating that dries the air is not great. With a house, it's not good, but you should be airing a house anyway. If you don't, you'll end up with problems whether or not you dry clothes.

I do get the issue of running a radiator in a room you're not using, and of old heating, though. For me, I just put our drier up in the bedroom, because I do want it to heat up before we go to bed, but of course we don't sit there for ages. Once the clothes have had a couple of hours head start I just put them in the spare room where the radiators aren't on. That way I can open the window a crack, and the room stays clear. The clothes dry by morning.

I suppose if you were very concerned, the best thing to do would be to put a drier in the middle of the kitchen or living room before you go to bed, and arrange the wash to finish then, so the clothes would benefit from the residual heating before the radiators went off?