To think heated drying racks are a rip off

[iwearmysunglassesatnight]

I was talked into buying one. Its been on for 9 hours with a fitted sheet over the top. Clothes are still only dry where they are touching the rack, so the bits that aren't touching are still very damp.

Does anyone manage to dry their clothes this way? How?

On average, a tumble dryer will cost double a heated airer or dehumidifier will cost to dry a full load. Obviously tumble dryers are quicker, but the actual cost depends very much on the amount of washing you put in, how efficient the spin cycle of the washing machine is and the type you have. One with an A* rating will be cheaper than a C rated one.

My top tips -
double spin the washing to remove more water
make sure the clothes are not scrunched up (socks are the worst!)
clean the filter after every load
dont overload the dryer

Heated airers cost about 10 pence an hour to run. If it's on for 11 hours, that will cost £1.10.

A 40 minute cycle in a tumble dryer costs around 67 pence.

Also, with the tumble dryer, the damp air is vented from the house. The damp air from the airer remains in the house, unless you can ensure adequate ventilation, reducing the temperature substantially in winter, or spend more on electricity for a dehumidifier, though this might also add speed up the drying process.

Some maths is needed, taking into account how many kilograms of washing you're drying at a time, purchase cost of any new appliances, electricity tariff. Also consideration of how you deal with the damp air from the drying process.

It feels like the worst bits of a tumble drier and airer joined forces.

It still costs to run, and while I've not sat and worked out figures, I'm not convinced having it running all day, drying one load is any better than just running a tumble.

I still have to hang stuff up, and it takes ages to dry.

Seems to hold less than the unheated airer. Can't be dealing with the washing needing a reshuffle every 2 hours. Either I want it dry in with hours so I can fold it up, or I want to ignore it till its dry. Everything seems too close together to dry properly if you just run it off (so it takes even longer than regular airer).

The stacking suggestions seem to defeat the point, as then I'm essentially drying 8 tops in 12 hours. 16 if I manage to get the stacks to balance on the wings.

It's only the two of us, the washing never seems to get done when I have no space to lay out more than 1, 1.5 loads out (I have a 9kg washer). Heaven know how I'm drying all the throws that winter accumulates.

I just sent mine back! I had the same problem - it only dried stuff that was lying flat across the bars, which meant I could only dry a few items at a time. I was using a fitted sheet as a cover, so tried buying the official cover to see if that would help, at a further cost of £44, When it arrived, it was covered in loose threads and really poorly made! So I gave up and sent the whole lot back. I have now bought a dehumidifier with a laundry setting, and it sucks up 12 litres of moisture from my utility room overnight!

On average, a tumble dryer will cost double a heated airer or dehumidifier will cost to dry a full load.

So the people that are using a heated drier AND a dehumidifier for 10 hours are spending the same as someone using a tumble dryer for a load (plus buying both items)?

I don't have a heated airer but clothes on my normal airer aren't very damp after 9 hours.

I love mine but I've never had a tumble drier so maybe I don't know what I'm missing? I just leave things overnight with the window locked open a crack. I've been reducing the time it's on and it's still all dry overnight.

I certainly don't have the brainspace to be moving things around. I just make sure heavy stuff is at the top, and spread out. Quick drying stuff on the bottom rack. Anything that would end up on a hanger gets put directly on to a hanger and put around the sides. Socks etc on a clippy thing. I usually put t shirts across 2 or more bars. Cover over the top. Jeans and towels don't go on, they go over the banisters instead but our house is quite warm so they dry quite quickly.

DH is rubbish at spreading things out properly so it's never all dry overnight. Maybe you need to experiment with your technique? They definitely have their limitations but I use mine almost every day and I couldn't be without it.

This what works for us. Bedsheets draped over the whole thing to form a cover. All dry overnight.

I've got one of the pods from Lakeland, 100% recommend. Stuff is dry within an hour or two. Plus it fits more than it states as I will put tights/underwear on the rails with the hangers and put socks in the bottom.

Also, I only use mine for things that I can’t tumble dry. We have a washer dryer (no space for separates) so it might not be as efficient as a separate tumble.

You need the proper cover for it. Wouldn’t be without mine.

#teamTumbleDry

This is why I opted for a dehumidifier with laundry setting. In 4hrs majority of stuff is dry, dont have to worry about damp and I reuse the water for indoor plants so win win.

Well that’s also true of the hype around ‘air fryers’ isn’t it? They use a quarter of the electricity of a proper oven, or thereabouts. But people are spending £2/300 pounds to achieve that, which would run an electric oven an hour a day for the best part of 2 years!

I bought a dehumidifier for my spare bedroom. We are in a Victorian property that backs on to woods and that bedroom was very damp. I'm amazed at how quickly it dries clothes (an added bonus). I never use the tumble drier now.

I never got on with mine and the recent popularity meant I sold it for pretty much what I bought it for 5 year ago.
I have a heat pump tumble drier now and it only costs 15-20p a load. Money well spent in my opinion and no damp around the house.

I also just don’t have time for all the “put clothes on, then rotate, then lay in piles etc etc” I just want it dry! Rather than moving 750 baby grows around

I think the money is much better spent on a dehumidifier. Even if you have a good heated airer the moisture is going into the air and can cause damp/mould issues.

@Rainsdropskeepfalling

If I use my tumble drier I'm always amazed by the amount of water it collects - eh what ? Where does the water gather ??

And yes, MN raves about the £250 Lakeland heated airer - it’s rubbish, even with the cover on. I spend all day moving stuff around. I just shove it outside now - it’s quicker !

If I use my tumble drier I'm always amazed by the amount of water it collects - eh what ? Where does the water gather??

condenser tumble driers have a unit where the water collects and you can empty it. Otherwise the steam comes out via a vent.

I have the same experience with a heated airer/drier from Lakeland with a cover.

I don't need to leave it on for 10 hours to dry the clothes and put a machine load on it each time. I do find clothes continue to dry for a couple of hours or more after its switched off. Can't recall the size of my machine but it takes two drier runs to dry the load.

Maybe its the cover which makes the difference or possibly some are just not very good.

I bought mine from Aldi I think for quite cheap. I lay things flat and move about. Because the drier is small but I have a large capacity machine nothing ever gets completely dry. Si a good 30 minutes gets things dru enough then I put on a hanger than let it air dry to finish off.

It's not a miracle replacement for the tumble drier but it's still pretty good

My heated dryer works out just under 9p an hour. I generally leave it on about 10 hours to be sure it’s fully dry. So 90p. Uswitch estimate that a tumble drier load costs £1.12 to dry, so I’m saving around 22p a go.

Same here - we've had our Lakeland one for years, three levels of washing, all on the bars and never spread across them... never had any trouble getting stuff dry. And ours doesn't have the cover either! I do still try and dry stuff outside when I can (yesterday was cold and breezy so the wind got everything dry in around 5 hours) but the heated airer is a godsend.

I also lay the washing flat on the rails, sometimes on top of things that I have hung, depending on the weight of the fabric. I also fluff things up so that the heat gets into them, and move them around. If you just hang it on the rails like a normal airer or like the photos in the ads, it won't dry. However, closing the bottom racks and hanging shirts etc. on hangers from the top ones does work.

I started off by draping sheets and duvet covers on top and when I realised the dryer actually coped with a lot of items I got the cover. I also drape stuff on top of the cover because they dry on that too.

I do find it is wobbly and have to treat the racks/clips with care but have had ours for several years now, and it warms the room nicely too, useful if you want to prevent your pipes freezing.