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?

I have a cheap one from Aldi with a cover and it's brilliant - I never bother laying things flat, and everything always dries completely with no issues. The only things that take a bit longer are thick things like hoodies/towels etc.

I think if you're wanting the speed of tumble drying then it is going to be disappointing. I love mine though but I'm in a good routine with it. If I shove a king-size sheet over it it dries a load overnight. Mine is a lakeland one.

I can't see the point of them unless you have a house that really cold. Things dry quickly on our ordinary airer. Not even jeans take longer than 24 hrs usually

I also love mine. I wouldn't try to dry really big heavy stuff on it (those go out on the line and stay out there until they dry, or hang on the dolly-maid in the middle room) but for work uniform or bedding it's brilliant. I sort of drape stuff around it and cover with a duvet cover or big towel and it dries everything in about six hours. No tumble drier here.

Crap. Get a dehumidifier

I just use a bog standard airer/clothes horse never had any issues stand it at the end of my hallway over night even without the heating on everything is dry by morning.
Never used a tumble dryer or heated rack.

We have the Lakeland one and a cover. I didn't find it great even with a dehumidifier on next to it, although that helped a bit. My word of warning would be that we developed a damp problem in the room where we had it. Very common issue now apparently with the increase in their popularity. Have gone back to a tumble dryer and tbh it's such a relief.

I don't understand people saying they're great because they dry clothes over night - I have a normal airer I put next to a radiator and the clothes on it will dry over night.

I have the Lakeland one and love it. I find it dries everything really quickly and I can fit a lot on there.

Agree that the lakeland one works well. Our house does not dry clothes well if they're not on the heated rack so it makes a huge difference. I can dry a large full load in about 10 hours but often if I'm doing a slightly smaller load and am a bit smart about how I hang things, it's quicker. Biggest issue is we forget to turn it off so I worry we don't always benefit from the cost saving! I have bought an amazon smart plug with the plan being to set it on a timer to go off at certain times - DH usually does a load of work clothes and gym kit in the evening so I could set it to turn itself off at 4am or something and his stuff would still be dry and we'd not have it on for the extra hours until I get a load on at 11 or so.

We tend not to leave the heating on overnight

And our house is a moderate temperature- 19 - so things don't dry at all quickly

Takes up similar floor space to tumble dryer and makes place look untidy. Normal unheated airer with duvet cover or sheet over over the top and over the radiator to keep heat in works just as well

But radiators aren't on overnight - at least not in our house! It would cost more to put the heating on to dry the clothes, but have the windows open because it was too hot...

How are you getting your clothes dry that quickly? Mine takes a good day or so, but it is switched off overnight. I made a cover out of an old duvet cover to go over it which really helps keep the heat in and dry things quicker, but still not that fast unless I lay one item flat per section.

we have a home assistant app which means we control it (and other appliances) via an app. So put it on on a timer. Previously I definitely forgot to switch it off!

Which is why we don't have one. We have 6 cats (long story) and there's a heated airer in costco that has 3 shelves each split in half by the middle bit.

Every time we go DP and I discuss whether the heated cat bed is sturdy enough to to take the weight of all them

I love mine! Lakeland one without a cover. Cheap to run and dries stuff overnight. Dries faster if I chuck a sheet or towel over it. One of my best buys 👍

Not sure… The airer is in quite a large room and we have the Lakeland cover. As I said, thicker waistbands / hoodies take longer but all socks / underwear / t shirts and tops etc will be dry within 6 hours. I have it on during the day and heating often on too so maybe that helps. And the house is not damp. My sister has the same airer and it takes her far longer but she’s in a damp house near the sea…

They are crap. I realised the space it took was the same if not more than a tumble dryer. Made a few changes in the kitchen to accommodate a tumble dryer and have not looked back since!

Now I want one for the cats. Will stick to dryer for clothes though.

My eldest uses one when he comes home as he doesn't want his t shirts and boxers in a tumble drier in case they shrink and they do dry OK in about 24 hours. I've never felt they were a good use of electricity for me as a single person as it costs about 50p to do a tumble drier load according to my little hub thing for the smart meter and the airer takes forever especially if I don't have the heating on much.

A dehumidifier and fan used together gets clothes dry really quickly. And has the advantage of getting the extra moisture from the clothesout of the air too, instead of it being absorbed into your walls and ceilings

I have the covered Lakeland one and my washing is dry within about 6-8 hours depending on how much is on it. Usually dry it overnight. Very useful this time of year when I can't get it on the line outside.

Probably because a lot of people don't have the radiators on overnight...

Well you'll just have to buy two of them then, won't you?😂