Heated clothes airers - are they worth it?

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I am so fed up with my laundry now that it's winter. It takes aaaaages to dry in my house and while waiting for free space the laundry pile just mounts up and up and I feel like I'll never get on top of it. I did have a very old mini tumble drier to use for emergencies but it's broken and I don't really have space for a new one. I'd like some sort of heated clothes airer that I can pack away in the summer months.
Are they worth it? Do they really get things dry quicker? Which ones are best?

I have the Lakeland one and it was great when in a flat with no radiators or tumbler, but I've not used it for the last decade where we have had both.

We have the Lakeland one which is great

Just get a dehumidifier. The Meaco is great, we use it every day.

What do you do? just put it next to the normal clothes arier?

I have a dehumidifier I can dry towels in one night. Just put it somewhere near the clothes surer (you shouldn’t move them).

We use ours loads. I prefer it to the tumble dryer as it is gentler on clothes. You need to put a cover on it to speed up drying though. You can buy covers for them, but a old big duvet cover does the job just as well

We have the Lakeland airer and it worked well, but one of our cats took a dislike to it and would pee up it when it was switched on, so to avoid electrocution it has been in storage for 2 years. The dryer that is, not the cat!

I hated mine and sold it - just sort of dried the parts on the bars and then everything else is damp and makes the house damp. If you have any space anywhere for a heat pump tumble dryer - that is way more effective and much less damp for your house.

I couldn’t justify the cost of the Lakeland one.
i recently got a black & decker one for about £110 from Amazon. I use a thick double duvet cover to put over it as a cover which makes loads of difference.

it does help but to get stuff dry quickly (a few hours) have to reposition it and hang things over more than one bar, so I can’t fit much.

it’s not good for large sheets or towels really.

overall it’s better than nothing but I’m a bit annoyed as have now decided to buy a tumble dryer anyway (and put in the garage) so I probably should have saved my money and put it towards the tumble dryer.

however if I couldn’t have one then I would recommend the heater airer.

We use a dehumidifier in a small room and it is great. Plus it can be used in other rooms if they start to feel a bit damp. However the new heat pump dryers are very cost effective and quicker. They do not need to be plumbed in

We don't have space for a tumble dryer so in winter use a drying pod for clothes and a heated airer with wings for towels/bedding. I also use a small dehumidifier. Couldn't live without it.

I had a JML Dri Buddy, I really loved it. I put it in my out house. Clothes go on it hung up, put the cover on and things dried within a few hours. I moved away that's the only reason I no longer have it.

We’ve given up on ours, it takes up as much space as a tumble dryer, in fact more really as you have to be able to reach round it to load it properly and although it can be folded you’ve still got to have storage space for it. We bought a heat pump tumble dryer and the cost per load is about the same but the TD is so much easier and quicker. If you really haven’t got space for a TD then yes, if you can add a dehumidifier even better but then that does push up both the initial and running costs.

Yes exactly. I do turn the clothes too if they are thick to help dry underneath. It really helps prevent excessive moisture in the air too which can cause mould and a damp smell . I can’t see how a heated aider would be better tbh.

I know people don't approve of drying washing on radiators but I have never had any issue with damp in the house from it.

£30/40 one from Aldi/Lidl here. Love it, use it multiple times a week.

definitely a dehumidifier!

stick it next to the clothes horse or in a small room with multiple clothes horses and washing is dried in a couple of hours-an afternoon depending on how much!

I wheel it into the bathroom if I have clothes on both the airers as it then only has to work in a small area so focuses on the clothes but when I only have one I just stick airer next to the dehumidifier in the hall because that’s where dehumidifier normally sits

I have done 3 loads of washing this weekend and it’s all dried. the king size bedding set with 4 pillow cases is even folded and put away.

before a dehumidifier I would take literally days to dry a bedding or towel wash!

best part is it pulls the water into the machine rather than releasing it into the house. You can then either use it to water plants or another job that doesn’t require fresh out of the tap water or chuck it down the sink.

Unfortunately I sacrificed my radiator drying space in order to have pretty radiator covers 😄
I have one tiny one in the kitchen and a larger one in the hallway. The rest are covered.

our Lakeland one is 15 years old now and I still use it a lot - for stuff that can’t go in the tumble dryer mainly. It doesn’t do miracles. You have to learn the knack of it ie lay stuff flat rather than hang over the bars & also use a cover, Keep the space ventilated etc. Stuff will still take 12+ hrs to dry (depending on what they are). But it is quicker than a normal airer and no way do I want clothes draped over all my radiators.

We have the Lakeland Deluxe one and we love it. I bought the cover for it which is quite good. You can't overfill it though, so I tend to do a 3/4 load of washing (or 1/2 a load if it's jeans) so there is space around the items. It is big though but the cover zips down and goes over it when it's fully folded up which helps with storage.

I also agree that a dehumidifier near a regular clothes airer is also good. We put our airer near our log burner and have the dehumidifier next to it and they dry in a few hours.

Absolutely worth it. I use Lakeland drysoon with cover. Makes it so much easier to keep up with laundry over Autumn / winter

I have an older version of this one, and I love it! Heated Airer Heated Airer

Dehumidifier and normal (non heated) airer(s) is definitely the way to go IMO.