Does anyone have a heated clothes airer?

[Scaredypup]

Am I stupid to spend yet more money on another gimmick in a bid so save money in the long run? In the winter I rely on the heating to dry clothes. I do a load a day and if it doesn’t dry I start running out of places to put it.
i also hate airers as they’re an eye sore but I have one in my room all year round so wouldn’t want a huge one.
Are they worth it?

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MNHQ

We have had the Lakeland three tier one for years and it’s excellent. As long as you put the heaviest things on top and the lightest things on the bottom then it all dries very efficiently. We always keep windows open a bit so no need for a dehumidifier. Clothes last a lot longer than they do when you use a tumble dryer.

And yes! The short lead is incredibly annoying.

it doesn’t work in the garage in winter - too cold - so I have mine in the utility room, however all of my plugs are at counter top level, the lead is too short for that. Husband had to extend the lead

Had a Lakeland 3 tier for about 7 years. Love it. I line dry mostly but very useful in winter or just takes the edge of any slight dampness.

mine is in a utility room and don’t actually use the cover. The whole room heats up so I can put a clothes horse in there as well and 1-2 loads done overnight.

Black and Decker version is more robust than Lakekand

Love ours. It is in garage with dehumidifier. Works much more quickly than standard airer and is good for drying handwashed jumpers quickly. Safer from fire perspective than tumble dryer.

The best thing my ex MIL ever did for me was buy us a 3 tier lake land one for Xmas when we had our first baby. I do sometimes use the dehumidifier as well because I'm worried about making the house damp but not always.

You have to lie things flat across the bars to get them dry without constantly attending to them, ie, without constantly rotating them, turning them over etc.

not in my experience. I never do that. I hang it up just like I would a normal airer or line. switching it on reduces drying time by a few hours. but unless I need items earlier or dry heavy items (like jeans)I don't switch it on.

Used to have one and got rid of it. Had to have it on all day to dry anything. Sometimes took too long and smelt damp so back in the wash they went. Also need to make sure you rotate if it’s one of the flat ones as only really dried where it touched. Was a Lakeland one we borrowed of my MIL who didn’t want it herself

I have one from John Lewis and it's great!

I've had one for years and wouldn't be without it. If it broke I would have to replace it immediately.

I don't understand this at all. I have the lakeland one and it dries everything fairly quickly and certainly dries before it has a chance to develop that damp cloths smell. It's not a miracle worker though and you will have to have it on for most of the day in cooler temperatures. Its cheap to run, so that's not really an issue.

My Lakeland dryer arrived yesterday and I'm keen to see if it works , it's a bit bigger than I thought but does fold flat for storage.

I love our Lakeland one, I think the difference is people who are expecting a tumble drier substitute will be disappointed. As someone said upthread they are an airer plus, not a drier substitute.

Our house gets cold in winter and the heated airer dries clothes and heats the wee room it's in.

@knittingaddict maybe it works fine for you but it didn’t for us, just was putting my experience out there, I personally if going with your “I don’t understand this” don’t understand how your items dried fairly quickly, for me it wasnt good. Wasn’t expecting miracles like a drier with it either, we had trouble drying in the winter and it didn’t improve the situation. I’m glad I didn’t spend money on it

The lakeland one uses 300W of electricity - i find it tends to need about 10 hours to dry a load so 3kwh.

I've never used one, but this doesn't sound like good value for a pounds worth of electricity, to me. I use an ordinary airer, and I think my clothes are generally dry within 24 hours. (I may be wrong, I do tend to leave them until I need the airer for something else, or want to tidy the room.)

My flat is warm, both bathrooms have continuously running extractor fans changing the air, and in winter I run a dehumidifier to keep humidity down, so an ordinary airer might work better for me than it does for others.

had one for about 8 years and love it.
never had any issue with damp, and am in very rainy Scotland.
am nearly 60 and have never had a tumble drier.

I had one, thought it was crap and went back to using a normal one!

The examples here of people who don't rate them - did you use a cover? That is the thing that makes the difference as it really increases the temperature surrounding the clothes. The few times I've used it without a cover I've had the same experience described downthread. We bought one with the airer or you can use a large sheet. Otherwise it does take a long time. We stick it on overnight and everything is dry in the morning!

I am the same. Have had stuff shrink in the past. Can't risk it.

I gave mine to MiL years ago as I didn't think it actually got stuff dry any quicker.

I used my heated airer for the first time today and it definitely works and warmed the room up.

Had a dry pod from Lakeland lasted a few years after doing loads of washing but the pole napped at the base so now cannot screw it in so looking for ideas