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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Heated drying rack. Yes or no?

71 replies

Yellownotblue · 09/08/2020 23:15

Do I need a heated drying rack?

Do you use yours, are you happy with it, any particular brand or make you recommend? Or is it a waste of money?

Family of 4.

YABU : you should get a heated drying rack
YANBU: why bother. Dry on normal rack or use dryer.

TIA

OP posts:
Redglitter · 10/08/2020 01:38

@AudacityOfHope

I bought one and returned it, thought it was shit.

It took up acres of space and I found the clothes dried where they draped over the hot rail and nowhere else.

Same here. Total waste of money - and electricity
clopper · 10/08/2020 01:52

I love my dri buddy.

Heated drying rack. Yes or no?
toothfairy73 · 10/08/2020 02:55

We have one. Love it. Use it all the time. We have limited space to dry washing and couldn't survive without one. We got ours from Lakeland 10 years ago. It was expensive but so worth it

Original poster
Yellownotblue · 10/08/2020 08:13

Thanks everyone. Seems like there is consensus! Very helpful.

OP posts:
Oysterbabe · 10/08/2020 09:00

I have one of those covered ones that blows hot air. It's pretty useful in winter. Keep your windows open.

msbevvy · 10/08/2020 09:06

I got a drysoon from Lakeland. It takes apart and will all fit into a small tote bag. I don't have room for the rack type ones.

ThatDamnScientist · 10/08/2020 09:06

I wonder about these, we have a dryer for winter but obviously not everything can go in dryer so use normal airers but stuff is hanging around for ages. Can stuff that can't go in a dryer go on a heated air?

KatherineParr4 · 10/08/2020 09:07

I bought one last year but found it useless. They create a lot of condensation but don’t dry clothes quickly. I don’t use it anymore.

ShinyMe · 10/08/2020 10:23

I have a Lakeland one which I love. They cost pennies to run, like 3p per hour or something. I dry clothes outside whenever possible, but in winter the rack is invaluable and saves draping over radiators. It has the added bonus that the cat likes to get underneath the tent effect created by the clothes and sleep on his back in the warmth.

EmbarrassingAdmissions · 10/08/2020 10:40

Another vote for Lakeland - but then I also use a dehumidifier on laundry setting and they're good (we need to wash a lot of bedding).

Michaelbaubles · 10/08/2020 10:44

I don’t rate mine at all - either they only dry where they’re touching the rail, or if you do the layering thing you just end up with lots of damp layers! Covering it makes no difference. I worked out it’s actually cheaper - as well as quicker and easier - to use the tumble drier.

neverearlythoughItry · 10/08/2020 10:44

I have the Lakeland one. Live in a small flat,no garden,no dryer. Couldn't live without it

itsmesoitis · 10/08/2020 10:51

Lakeland Dry:Soon with a cover - best investment ever - love it.

Put a spun load of washing on it the night before and it will be dry in the morning.

If you hang shirts on a hanger from the bars they take seconds to iron (...if you're DH or not need ironed at all if you're me!)

chargeorge · 10/08/2020 10:54

Yes!

AlwaysInMay · 10/08/2020 10:55

We bought the Lakeland one 8yrs again when we lived in a first floor flat with no outside space, and it was simply brilliant. It's still going strong now, whilst we do have outside space in our new home we don't have a dryer and would otherwise struggle to dry laundry in winter. We put a bedsheet over the top to act as a cover, always used in a well-ventilated room and doesn't cost much to run, especially as we have Economy-7 electricity so turn it on when we go to bed and it's dry by breakfast. Can't recommend highly enough.

cantkeepawayforever · 10/08/2020 10:56

We have a normal rack and a dehumidifier - works brilliantly.

rosiejaune · 10/08/2020 12:06

I have the largest Lakeland one, for two adults and a 9 year old. We wash a couple of loads per week, and a load fits on it, plus sometimes a few items on a wire shelf above it. I also put string with tiny pegs on around the frame, so I can attach small items there such as cloths and socks.

I am very happy with it. I bought it so I could get rid of my tumble dryer, which although very efficient as they go (not very), still uses far more energy, and is noisy, and damages the clothes more.

The photos on the website show it being used wrongly though - you don't want to drape each item over a rail. You lay them flat and can have 2-4 layers depending on the clothes. Make sure you fill up all the gaps rather than wasting the energy.

And if you have a sheet in the load you can drape it over the whole thing to keep the heat in better.

rosiejaune · 10/08/2020 12:08

@AudacityOfHope

I bought one and returned it, thought it was shit.

It took up acres of space and I found the clothes dried where they draped over the hot rail and nowhere else.

That's because you were using it wrong. Not helped by all the photos on the Lakeland website that show it being used wrongly!

The clothes need to be laid flat, not draped over the rails. I have been using one for a couple of years now, and find it very satisfactory.

KatherineParr4 · 10/08/2020 14:27

But if you drape stuff over the rails flat, surely you can get hardly any clothes on it!

KatherineParr4 · 10/08/2020 14:29

Could someone post a picture of how it should be used? If you put clothes in layers surely they all smell of damp when dry?

lilylion · 10/08/2020 16:01

I don’t dry things flat - I hang them over the rails and put the cover on top, and they dry within half a day (might be quicker but that’s when I tend to check).

Liddell · 10/08/2020 16:28

www.lakeland.co.uk/25372/Dry%3ASoon-3-Tier-Heated-Airer-and-Cover-Offer-Bundle

KatharineParr4 here is a video. My Mum had a heated airer, it was really good, I don't remember things smelling of damp.

Lucky2Be · 10/08/2020 16:29

We have one. Lakelands!

AlwaysLatte · 10/08/2020 16:33

I toyed with this for our laundry room. My husband suggested a wall mounted heater instead which is a cheap one to run, so we have saved a lot of space using that, directed at the clothes and a Sheila maid airer instead of a floor standing one.

KatherineParr4 · 10/08/2020 16:38

@Liddell

I hang things as they are in the video but don’t find the drier very effective at all. It also takes up a lot of space