Talk to me about heated airers.....

[hayal]

I'm considering purchasing one.

If you have one in your home, would you replace it if it broke?

Was it a waste of money or one of your best purchases?

If not, do you think owning one would be no better than a normal airer next to the radiator?

Thank you

Yes I understand evaporation, I just imagine the water to be trapped under a tent like cover.

I have a minky 60 odd quid, total waste of money!!! Only drys on the bars. I was going to chuck it but decided to kep it for new born baby bits and it didn't even dry those

I don't use a cover as I figure the water has to go somewhere.

The proper covers have a mesh panel to let the water out. If you’ve got space that you can ventilate properly then they’re great. Mine is in a utility room where i can lock the window slightly open. Will dry a full load in about 10 hours with a bit of extra unheated hanging time, whereas it takes 2 days without.

It's alright, Lakeland one. Not as good as thought would be

I lost mine in the divorce and immediately bought a new one. But we have a tumbler now so it's in the loft

If not, do you think owning one would be no better than a normal airer next to the radiator

But then you need to put the heating on when you might not actually need to.

I have a heated airer and wouldn't be without it

I have a lakeland 3 tier one it's great , i really rate them .
An added bonus is that they take the chill off the room too, we no longer use a tumble dryer.

I have one. It’s a bet meh to be honest. If I use it, I leave a window open to vent it, otherwise the room feels damp, or I have to run the dehumidifier. So I prefer just to use the airer and dehumidifier, or the tumble drier.
So no, I would not bother to replace it. I prefer the dehumidifier.

I've a Lakeland one, no cover, it's very good.

I've been thinking of getting one too as in Winter if I can get the washing out on the line, I end up hanging it on the radiators! If I don't get heat onto it I don't seem to be able to get things dry without that musty damp smell.

Is there a way to dry clothes indoors without the musty damp smell? Is this why people use heated air dryers? Could you stick in next to a couple of open windows to avoid the moisture in air issue?

I have one and to be honest, even with the cover and a throw over that, it struggles to dry a full load straight out of the washing machine.

However, in winter I put washing in the line during the day, and 'finish it off' overnight on the airer and it works really well.

I've got the Lakeland 3-tier one too. I wouldn't say it's an essential item but it's useful if that makes sense. On a day when it's raining and I can't peg out on the washing line but it's not cold enough for the central heating to be on, then I'm pleased I have it.
I think the secret is not to overload it.

We have one in a room that also has an external vent

It's much cheaper than a tumble drier , and much quicker than it just hanging round the house , and takes less room than a dehumidifier when not in use

If you want stuff dried in a couple of hours it isn't for you - we put it on for a couple of hours then leave everything overnight

I have the Lakeland one but pretty underwhelmed by it. I invested in a Meaco dehumidifier and use that alongside. Now that really gets things dry and reassuringly collects a lot of water which would otherwise be causing condensation and damp issues.

I have the Lakeland 3 tier one and the proper cover with it too.
It’s amazing.
Would 100% get the proper cover too. It helps keep the heat from dissipating to dry the clothes but has air holes to let the moisture escape so the clothes don’t just stay damp.

I used mine about 4 times and gave it away
Total waste of money

Have the Lakeland 3 tier one with proper cover and castors. Takes about 2 days for clothes to dry, but we have quite a cold house with very little heating.

If you're using it regularly, you need a dedicated space to put it as it's very large when fully open. Also feels quite flimsy - the aluminium bars would be easy to damage if it got knocked by someone walking by.

I bought mine nearly new from Gumtree. I wouldn't pay Lakeland price for it, even on offer.

we have one stuffed in a (vented) cupboard with an added dehumidifier and it copes with all our washing in winter; 3 children (2 teens) and 2 adults

I have a love/hate relationship with my Lakeland 3 tier. It’s vastly overpriced and poorly made, imo. It dries four t shirts or shirts on chunky hangers (for airflow), plus another one laid flat across the top bars in around 3-4 hours, but if you cram items in they take days to dry. The bottom tier is hopeless for anything other than very thin items laid flat. When it dies I’m replacing it with a dehumidifier.

I bought a cheap Aldi one, was really awkward as it folded out into a long shape so took up tons of space when it was up and to be honest I didn't find it did much, only things placed directly on the bars got hot so unless you were lying only a few pieces over two or three bars at a time it didn't speed up drying hugely. A sheet over the top was a tip I read on here but I didn't find it massively increased drying time.

A Meaco dehumidifier with the laundry setting on has turned out to be far more efficient and solves the damp musty smell or need to have windows open all the time. They are expensive (£250 for a good sized one) but I've found it worth the investment

Waste of money and thank you for the reminder, I need to sell it. Takes up far too much space, wobbly, flimsy, takes ages to load and unload, ages to dry even with a cover on it, tumble dryer is far better and since we got a heat pump one not much more expensive to run.