Lakeland Heated Airer

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I had one delivered yesterday and I am so disappointed. It’s only drying the bit of clothing that is touching the heated rail bit. The heat isn’t spreading through the clothes. Before I spend £30 investing in one of their covers that extra will a cover help? I put a load on it last night and it’s not dry. It’s not been on all this time but a good 6-7 hours it’s been on. Hugely disappointed.

I love hours but it’s an alternative to a clothes horse not a “dryer”.
Pants, socks, tshirts, leggings all dry in about 12 hours. Good for bedding too. It’s a lot faster than an ordinary plastic or wood clothes horse.

@BackforGood

Can anyone give me an idea of how expensive they are to run ? If you are leaving it on overnight - say 8 hours or so ?

Apparently about 5 or 6 pence per hour.

Running it overnight and having some stuff still damp at the ends even with a cover/sheet over it as recommended meant I might just as well use the tumble dryer for an hour.

Thank you both.
I am thinking it might be useful for people that don't have room for a tumble dryer.

@BackforGood

Thank you both. I am thinking it might be useful for people that don't have room for a tumble dryer.

Mine is actually much bigger than my tumble dryer (which is a full sized one) when opened out. It is tall and wide with 3 tiers.

It is currently folded flat down the side of my fridge freezer. It's height stays the same though.

I quite often leave clothes to dry overnight on my normal clothes dryers then just finish them off on the heated airer - means I can put more on because the clothes are dryer. Still cuts down the time. Drying washing is the worst bit of winter - I love being able to hang stuff out. Can’t beat a good drying day!!

I bought a Dunelm one last year and really like it. It dries a load in 6-7 hours without a cover. It also has pointy up bits for drying shoes. Also good for drying face masks on. I considered the Lakeland one but the Dunelm one was cheaper. Also returns are free if you don't like it.

Thanks Topseyt - I don't mind it taking up room when it is being used, but, as you say, when it isn't, it can be folded up and put against a wall or in a passageway / garage / under the stairs / down the side of the freezer, etc.

I've had mine for a few years now and I find it good. I usually put it on in the evening and it's dry by the morning. I don't double space it either but I do agree there is a way to hang so that the heat distributes better. I find it especially good for towels and jeans. I usually put something over the top, a washed jacket, sheet, anything really so the heat doesn't escape.

I'm another person completely underwhelmed. Really annoyed I wasted £130 on the wretched thing.

It only dries things if you lie them across the bars so it takes ages to dry a full load and the cord is so short I'm limited to where I can plug it in. Plus it takes up loads of space.

I can dry a full load on my £20 clothes horse with a dehumidifier going in about 2 hours.

I'm going to give it away when I can find someone who will take it.

I love mine, I keep moving the clothes around every hour, so just pull the clothes down a bit so a wet bit touches the bar, I can get a whole load dry in 6 hours doing this, granted much easier now I wfh...

I can’t remember when they started making the cover. It does speed things up. I used it for a few years without one. I always find it dries clothes perfectly ok. I hang things over two rungs and have a system for hanging. Light tops and leggings need one bar, jeans take two to three. But mostly things we have take two.

I jiggle it around half way, but it’s not necessary. I whack the cover on and it’s dry.

I don’t put it in a cold room. I used to and I found that affected drying time, so now I put it on the landing.

Mine is an older version, I wonder if the newer models aren’t to effective. I almost burnt my chin on the bar recently when leaning in, the bars do get hot.

Saltovinegar if you are up North I will take it . Always wanted to try one!

Normal airer/clothes horse + dehumidifier far more efficient.

I dry my washing in the bathroom overnight with these, and the bathroom is nice and warm in the morning.

They are shit. So much hassle moving clothes around.

I now have a heat pump tumble dryer and literally never use the Lakeland airer.

I bought mine off the Lakeland eBay shop. Underwhelmed too! It dries stuff like sports gear well as that can’t go in the dryer. I much prefer my dryer but it’s playing up and is my third so think I have to think about another one.
It’s ok, it’s seeing me through but towels are a no go. I have found you need to use it as shelves do really only one load at a time. I do at least one wash a day and always have loads waiting.

Have seen mixed reviews about heat pump driers. That they take a long time to dry etc. I want one but worried it won’t be as good as my old vented one.

One problem with drying washing indoors, by whatever method, is the amount of water that gets into the air inside the house.
That’s why a dehumidifier is a good idea.

This is an interesting article on drying clothes in general (not just about tumble dryers)

www.explainthatstuff.com/how-clothes-tumble-dryers-work.html

One thing I forgot to mention, I find it to be a bit flimsy and wobbly and am always wary of breaking the clips that hold the shelves up. Do not forget it isn't a standard airer and lean on it by mistake. Mine wobbles a fair bit until it is carefully set up and balanced.

I actually wish I had tried a different make but bought it because people had raved about it on here.

I have since acquired a tumble dryer but only use it for things I want to be soft, everything else can be crispy and crunchy so either goes on the radiators or on the heated airer. Radiators for preference as they are on anyway.