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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that heated airers are a swizz?

199 replies

Velvettoad · 04/10/2022 14:51

We've got a new heated airer and it's rubbish! What am I missing, why do people rave about them?? It's red hot to the touch but doesn't radiate any heat so the only bits that dry are the bits touching the bars.

Also, we got a cover for it but it just seems to create hot moist air underneath so it seems to take longer to dry! I've done an extra spin cycle to dry out the clothes but it doesn't seem to help. Anyone got one of these and finds it useful? What's your secret?

OP posts:
GucciBear · 04/10/2022 14:53

I would also like to know. Pleased to see the word swizz again not seen or heard for many years!

SignOnTheWindow · 04/10/2022 14:54

Same experience here, OP. Really disappointing.

Canthinkofaname79 · 04/10/2022 14:55

I lay clothes flat over mine and they dry quite quickly,maybe in about 24 hours?

CatchYouOnTheFlippetyFlop · 04/10/2022 14:56

I'm glad I've read this as there are a lot of mixed reviews.

I feel like it would just dry the bits it touches, or if you spread stuff out, you could onky get a few items on there, but then some people rave about them.

WeRateSquirrels · 04/10/2022 14:57

YANBU - dehumidifiers are much better.

cheeseandbiscuitsplease · 04/10/2022 14:58

I have a Lakeland one and at first I thought the same but now I just throw one of our throws over the top of it and it dries clothes much much quicker. Hope this helps!

Liila · 04/10/2022 14:59

I think people expect them to dry quickly like a tumble or something.

We have a heated dryer but we don't often turn it on, just leave close to a radiator in the spare room and they are dry within 24hrs, if needed quicker I switch it on but you're still looking at a good few hours to dry.

PinkHeadphones · 04/10/2022 15:00

Oh I was thinking of buying one as well so this is good to know! There's always an awkward gap for us between "drying clothes outside" weather and "turning the house heating on" weather, when the clothes on the airer take forever to dry.

Talipesmum · 04/10/2022 15:00

Can’t relate - ours is excellent. But maybe we have different expectations?

I find it dries things pretty well overnight. I put the cover over (not a special one - we use an old double duvet cover and just sling it over the top, so there are a few gaps at the bottom). It does help if the window is slightly open to let damp out though.

Clothes on a non-heated airer take twice as long to dry as those on the heated one.

When the kids were little I would make little stacks of their T-shirts etc and lie them flat across the bars, and flip the pile halfway through drying. They are massive now so everything hangs from the bars. As long as the cover is over it dries well enough.

If I need something dried a lot more quickly I lie it over the bars, with a cover, and rotate position a couple of times.

Original poster
Velvettoad · 04/10/2022 15:00

@CatchYouOnTheFlippetyFlop yes this is what I'm doing- lying things flat so I can barely dry anything! It dried the cloth nappies after about 12 hours which is pretty good I guess but I had to move them around every couple of hours so each part was touching a bar at some point. It seems useless for any other items!

@GucciBear haha, I love it too!

OP posts:
wizbit93 · 04/10/2022 15:01

I've just bought one of the tall, square ones as opposed to the ones with wings which I had before.
I quite like it but I don't know that I would buy it again- it takes up so much space! It's useful for when we don't have the heating on but when it is on then clothes dry over the rads within a day.
I hang tops on hangers though and hang it in the side of the airer, and socks go on the peg thing and I hang it on the bars. Chuck a sheet on it and it dries within 6 or 7 hours or so.

Roundaboot · 04/10/2022 15:02

To get the most out of it you need to
a) lay things flat on the bars, not draped over as with a normal airer. You can also hang things like shirts on hangers around the sides
b) cover it. I use an old double fitted sheet
c) move things around. They'll dry quicker if you flip them over once one side is dry
d) use a dehumidifier too. I have a small one plugged in next to the airer which seems to help dry everything quicker and stops the small room I use for drying getting damp

Original poster
Velvettoad · 04/10/2022 15:02

@Talipesmum ah OK, I like the idea of trying little piles of the kids stuff. (It's mainly theirs that needs drying quickly anyway).

I wonder if a sheet/duvet cover would work better than the plastic cover that came with it?

OP posts:
AriettyHomily · 04/10/2022 15:04

Mine was a huge disappointment. laying things flat on the bars - you can't fit much on! I stick the normal airer in the bath with a window open and dehumidifier on. Dry in less than 24 hours.

murasaki · 04/10/2022 15:06

Get a dri buddy, takes about 3 hours even for jeans, items hang from clothes hangers in it, you just need a window slightly open for ventilation.

MumOfNowGrownupKids · 04/10/2022 15:06

I find using a dehumidifier and fan (basic table fan) works very well. Dries a load in about 4 hours.

Original poster
Velvettoad · 04/10/2022 15:07

@murasaki is that the one that blows hot air?

OP posts:
thanksamillion · 04/10/2022 15:08

I hang things over two bars so there is more contact but also some air flow. I also cover with an old fitted sheet which I assume keeps heat in but allows moisture out. I can fit about 1.5 loads on my wing shaped one so a reasonable amount.

hulahooper2 · 04/10/2022 15:09

Love mine in winter , but you have to move the clothes about , and don’t overload it ,

OrangePomander · 04/10/2022 15:09

I had problems to start with and would have very cheerfully binned it but now I fold down the middle rack (Lakeland 3 row airer) and hang clothes from the top bars, using figure-of-eight hangers for thicker tops to open out the two sides and dry quicker.

I lay things flat on the top bars too. I put the cover on but pull apart the bit where it goes over the top handle, so you have a sort of steam vent.

For trousers I have admitted defeat and use the tall bathroom radiator!

Glwysen · 04/10/2022 15:12

Lay things like t shirts and pants flat on the bars. Layer them up - i quite often have 3 or Four t shirts on a pile.

sheets etc you can fold and then place on the bars.

shirts hang on hangers from the bars

cover it (a purpose made cover or a duvet cover)

i get a full load on mine, sometimes two. It will dry a load overnight

darisdet · 04/10/2022 15:14

Is it the Lakeland airer? I have that one in my basket still.

Worthyornot · 04/10/2022 15:14

Yanbu, I had one completely useless. And who has the time to babysit it and turn things over. I have no idea how people rave about these things.

Londono · 04/10/2022 15:15

I use mine more like an airing cupboard these days - so on the days when I've brought washing in and it is still a bit damp, I will fold it all and rotate the piles to warm it through

Talipesmum · 04/10/2022 15:15

Velvettoad · 04/10/2022 15:02

@Talipesmum ah OK, I like the idea of trying little piles of the kids stuff. (It's mainly theirs that needs drying quickly anyway).

I wonder if a sheet/duvet cover would work better than the plastic cover that came with it?

Give it a try with a large sheet - I can imagine a plasticky cover might be bad for trapping the damp - I like someone’s idea of leaving a steam vent at the top! You do need a cover of some sort though, or it does take ages.

With the little piles you do have to twitch them around and flip them a bit, but it’s quite effective once you get the hang of it. I would always try to satisfyingly align the T-shirt sleeves over a bar as they take longer etc.