To think that heated airers are a swizz?

[Velvettoad]

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?

Mine dries overnight fine. I throw a sheet over if I need it to dry quicker or if there is a lot on there.

I do place things carefully - eg I put things on alternate rows unless they’re particularly thin. Jeans get laid across the top quarter then hang down. Shirts can dry on a hanger hanging on the side. Socks can go on the top unheated bit, pants are ok even if piled up on the bottom layer. Stuff at the bottom dries much slower,

There’s clearly a knack but I don’t think about it any more, it’s like filling the dishwasher properly.

I have had a Lakeland one for years and love it. I recently bought the proper cover for it and found it took much longer to dry with that on than with the duvet cover I previously used. I think it vents too much at the top. I threw a blanket over the top and it dries a full load, hanging over the bars, overnight (stuff hanging on bottom rungs takes a bit longer because there's no heat underneath so I use that layer for laying stuff flat, or move it once the rest is dry).

For those of you using a dehumidifier, do you use a cold air fan too? Does it make any difference?

I like mine but I have wondered if it might be cheaper to use the tumble, rather then the air dryer over night. I am sure some wise MN-er can probably tell me over on the money board.

I have one and I found that it does radiate the heat through the clothes if you hang them over the rails the ends get dry eventually.

I also have the tent thing but I’m not really used to that might see if it speeds things up though.

Overall I’m really happy with it I dry things that I couldn’t put in the tumble dryer and typically I will lie them flat.

but I think in terms of things like humidity in the house I can’t really see any major difference between it and hanging things on radiators.

Yeah absolute crap

I have a cheap one from Aldi and it's very handy. The clothes are layered up flat on top, and I just flip them over after a couple of hours.
I'm working from home and it's getting colder, so I brought it downstairs this morning, and have it on, fully loaded, for the past couple of hours. It's made a big difference to the temperature in this room too.

Ours dries overnight with no issues, and I don’t cover it. But I quickly worked out that the heaviest stuff needs to go on the top, and the lightest items at the bottom. We’ve had the Lakeland one for years and haven’t needed a dehumidifier. We leave windows open a crack all year round though (whether we have the airer on or not).

If you have the dehumidifier then you don't need the heated airer and the window should be shut.

Love ours. Tumble dry until damp, then iron and finally air on heated airer. (It’s an airer, not a dryer).

It’s not as instant as a tumble dryer and you do have to move the clothes around to get them fully dry. I really like ours and clothes dry overnight no issues.

We have ours in the smallest room of the house, when it's turned on we have the door & windows shut in the room - which creates a mini oven and dries everything faster - I have it on for around 5 hours during the day then (hopefully if I remember) switch off before bed and everything's dry when I get up.

Larger items will get spread over two rungs, smaller items one.
Love it!

Disclaimer: I don't use it for duvet covers or towels, those get tumble dried

In the summer it's a luxury rather than a necessity. But in the winter, before we got one, a load of clothes could take days to dry and it was hit and miss whether they would dry quickly enough to avoid damp smells.

Ours can do a full load in about 12 hours, maybe a bit more if it's super overloaded.

Agree with others though - expectation management is key. It doesn't replace a tumble drier. And it's no better than hanging out on the line outside. Its a way to dry clothes relatively easily in damp, wet, chilly conditions.

They are shit
I got one to use instead of tumble dryer last winter and ended up spending an average of £30 more on electric because the bloody thing was on almost all the time to dry stuff until I noticed how much it was costing! Back to the tumble dryer every few days and much cheaper and better!!

I had to leave mine on for about 12 hours to get everything dry (it was fully loaded - 3 kids) which works out the same cost as running the tumble dryer!

I thought they were an absolute con but I'm with @GucciBear loving the reintroduction of swizz 😁. Dehumidifier has been far better and cheaper for us I sent mine back had the big deluxe thing with a cover - utterly useless.

I love ours tbh. It’s not a tumble dryer but it’s loads quicker than a non heated. When we lived in a small flat, we ran it with a dehumidifier which meant things dried much quicker. Now it takes longer but we still don’t need a tumble dryer.

Love mine but hang big things on the top level on two bars each. Middle section usually kids stuff or smaller things, bottom layer undies that I put flat.

Yes absolute rubbish.

I dried 1 load of clothes and a load of towels spread over 3 airers with a dehumidifier in the middle in less than 8 hours yesterday. I don’t think a heated airer doing it in 24 hours is that good, especially with all the trickery necessary to achieve it.

I spent ages debating getting one as I am desperate to avoid damp clothes taking ages to dry inside over winter. A friend suggested getting a dehumidifier instead which I am collecting later. Decided to go for this as it is smaller to store and I already have two non heated airers which are large and annoying to store. Really hoping that it does the job and speeds up the drying process as winter is no fun on days when you can't hang clothes outside! It does sound like expectation management with both the heated airers and dehumidifiers is the key though!

I have a lakeland one and use with a king sized duvet cover over it. seems to mostly dry a large load of washing overnight depending on how well I place the clothes - if I overlap or haven't pulled the hood out of a hoody properly that might stay wet. I use the bottom level to lie socks and pants flat.

I got an English electric spinner. Really takes extra water out. Barely used any electric.

I have a Dimplex tube heater (£15 from builders' merchants) that I have mounted at the base of a fitted double wardrobe. We hang /pile everything in there to dry, it acts like a large airing/drying cupboard. Highly recommend this method as you just plug it in to a normal socket (and you can even put a timer on).

You have to lay things horizontally! Pile them up, flat. It’s amazing!

Re: my post above. This easily dries duvet covers, as well as clothes, overnight.