Are heated airers crap or am I doing something wrong?

[Littletreefrog]

Bought a heated airer in Lidl, the type with wings. Also bought a cover for it. The only bits of the clothes that dry are the bits actually touching the bars so I can maybe dry 4 t shirts laid flat in it at a time. Hoodies and anything thick are an absolute disaster. I had high hopes, am I doing something wrong?

Ive not heard good things about them

I have a Lakeland one with cover. Unless you lay flat it doesn’t really work and takes forever so I do wonder if it really saves money. I don’t have a tumble dryer so I need it but if I could have a tumble dryer instead I would

They’re crap.

I love mine (Lakeland dry soon) but you can’t overfill it and it does take time eg overnight/next day. It’s not the same as a tumble dryer but I find they ruin my clothes so don’t really use them anyway.

I struggled to give mine away, take that how you will 😂. I think it was shit to be and I spent a lot of time angry with it.

Our Lakeland one with cover is amazing. All clothes dry within 5-6 hours unless thick eg hoods on hoodies.

Mine is like a central pole with arms so you can only hang things and works wonderfully (about four hours for a full load).

Mine works brilliantly, hang the clothes normally (not flat) dry within the same time as the tumble dryer. Mine is a Lakeland one, was about £90

They're rubbish.
You'll get posters saying they can dry a full load overnight but I've never managed it

As a pp said, crap

I wrap the clothes round a few of the bars up and under - stuff doesn't dry if you only hang it over 1 bar. You also have to move the stuff around to distribute the heat do all parts of the washing dries.

I have a Lakeland one and it dries a load in about 12 hours usually. I think they're great - obviously not as quick as a tumble drier, but I don't have space for one and I don't like them for anything except towels anyway. You do have to space things out carefully.

They're super cheap to run and ours is basically up all winter. You can put things on top too, I usually lay a couple of thinner tops over the top of the cover so the heat rises.

I use mine more than the tumble dryer. I shove a small dehumidifier under the cover and it does a load in a few hours.

Ours is great. Dries a lot quicker than a non heated airer. I hang nearly everything normally but will put hoodies etc flat. Ours is from Lakeland and doesn’t have a cover

100% agree. Biggest waste of money ever. £45 I paid for one from Aldi several years ago. I used it 4-5 times, and as you say, it just dries the bits that are touching the bars. 70% of the stuff was not drying. Far better to just drape the stuff around the radiators in the house IMO. (We have gas central heating...) We turn on the heating, and we get our washing dried, and keep warm too.

I gave the dryer to a woman in our village who has no central heating - old, tiny, 2-bed, 18th century cottage with 2 fireplaces upstairs and down, but no other heating. (And no room for a tumble dryer.) So she finds it quite handy. It's not brilliant, but it's better than nothing.

They're crap.

I love mine, I suspect user error for the naysayers

Ours is brilliant, it's a Lakeland one with a cover. A load will normally dry over night, big thick stuff flat on the bottom and then the rest hangs. We've got a peg section for all the socks. Really cheap to run as well.

My heated airer is one of my favourite ever purchases! It's a John Lewis one, without a cover. I usually do my washing at night and leave it on the airer overnight, and everything is dry by the morning (I don't know if leaving it switched on overnight is 100% safe, so I'm not saying I recommend it, but it's what I do).

If I'm using it during the day, then every so often I'll turn things over and rearrange them a bit to speed up the drying process.

If it's a space issue a table top tumble dryer could be the solution. Many of them are similar size to the old portable tvs and can be stored in cupboards.

I have the Lakeland one, and it has proved popular with the cats, that's all I'm saying.

I have a Lidl one,use it all the time instead of the tumble dryer,as long as I remember to move the clothes around regularity it works well.

I always suspect user error (overloading) when people say they’re crap.

A half to a small load can dry overnight. I use a cover and have it in a small room with a dehumidifier running. The dehumidifier does a lot of the work too so I’d say they go hand in hand.

Love mine! I’ve got the Lakeland one with the cover.
I put it on for 6-7 hours and I’d say unless it’s a thick hoody or the waistband of jeans or joggers, then everything is dry.
Can’t say I’ve noticed a massive increase in electricity costs either.

Both, probably. We have one. Cheap from Aldi or similar. You can't dry a full load on it. We have a washer drier so stuff that can be tumble dried is, and the rest can go on the airer.
You don't use it like a maiden, with items hung over each bar. You put each item over about 3 bars. Hence you can't fit much stuff on. Apparently it only costs a few pence an hour to run but it isn't quick.

The Lakeland one with a cover is amazing. I’d buy a new one tomorrow if it broke.

Dries a load of washing overnight