Speak to me of this 'heated airer' witchcraft!

[SirRaymondClench]

I saw something about these the other day.
The radiators in our house are beyond crap and the tumble dryer is always on. Our bills are through the roof.
Would a heated airer make a big difference? If so which one?

They are amazing! I have the Lakeland one. I have a full load of bed linen and towels just having a quick air on it right now - they've been out but feel ever so slightly damp - the house smells deliciously of fresh linen, my favourite smell.

Thanks for the reply Blue
How long do they take to dry stuff? Bedlinen and towels is a big load isn't it so I suppose that's a good test of how well HA work.
There are 5 in our household so a LOT of washing!
Did you notice a difference in your leccy bill if you had a tumble dryer before?

I love mine. It's not the lakeland one. I couldn't afford it when I first wanted one, then Aldi did a flat one on special for a 1/4 of the price and I thought it was worth it to try and have stuck with it.

It dries quickest where the clothes are touching the bars, but a quick bit or rearranging sorts that out. :) The Lakeland one is a much gentler heat so mine probably dries a bit quicker.

In the winter, I put a load on the airer at bedtime and it's dry in the morning. It works particularly well if you have something to drape over the top of the whole lot to keep the heat in.
In summer, I mainly line dry, but being in the SW we do have quite a lot of rain so it's nice to be able to dry things indoors if necessary and to give things a quick airing if they feel damp.
We didn't have a tumble dryer so I can't tell you how it compares. Lakeland say the airer costs 5p per hour (which does sound amazingly cheap) and I haven't noticed any particular increase in our electricity bills, so I think it really is pretty economical.

I was just Googling heated airers as we don't even have a tumble dryer so the Lakeland one would take about two decades to pay for itself, but I'd be tempted by a cheaper one, and... and...

look at this bargain gem

At least the P&P is free!

Fuck me rigid!!

£11k for a clothes horse?! It is portable though Thurlow

I just clicked on the '730 sold' link and it should be a far more attractive £33.99. Not that I would ever buy anything from an ebay company that could make that mistake.

Though if it is portable, you could take it into the office and do all your drying their

I think I need one of these.
I have 4 dc and when the weather is rubbish I struggle to get all the washing dry. My normal airer takes 2-3 days this time of year as the heating isn't on by which time the basket is overflowing. I need to do 2 loads a day to keep it down.
I don't have anywhere to put a tumble dryer unfortunately and I've read that the washer dryers in one aren't great.
Or I could just move to somewhere where it doesn't rain all the time!

If you hang washing on the radiators it makes the boiler work harder and the gas bill will go through the roof.

I bought an old fashioned spin dryer last autumn. It spins at 2800rpm and gets on average a pint of water out of a load of washing spun on 1200.

I can dry a load overnight on a clothes horse in an unheated room with a window on the latch.

If I line dry they dry in 45 minutes.

I don't have a tumble dryer anymore but I imagine if I tumbled a load of spun washing it wouldn't take very long.

It costs 4p an hour. It takes 20 minutes to spin a load of washing.

I have a lakeland one and you'd have to pry it out my hands
The best way I've found is when I do a load of washing, I make sure there is a big towel or duvet cover or sheet in it. Then I put the rest of the washing on the airer and drape towel/sheet over it so it dries quicker
Also you can dry things flat, or put some of the rails down to dry hanging things

I absolutely love my Lakeland heated airer, am just about to hang a load on it now as the heavens keep opening and I have bedding/towels to dry. I bought it this January and its the best money I've ever spent.

Can I ask if you have a load of washing on the heated dryer, is it only the bits of fabric next to the actual bars of the airer that dry? Do you not have to keep moving it all about IYSWIM?

I do move mine about but if you chuck a sheet over it (wet or dry) it holds the heat in and dries faster

Heated airer + dehumidifier is the ultimate combination. Also means stuff on the normal airer next to it dries quicker too because the room is warmer. The day I discovered that was a good day!

I have the Lakeland one; I either dry stuff flat if I don't have much, in which case it dries really fast, or otherwise I hang it like you would on a traditional airer. It takes longer to dry that way but it does all dry in the end (overnight, plus a bit for cuffs and hoods etc). I hang shirts off it on hangers and they dry too. I wouldn't be without it, just for the sheer practicality of getting the laundry dry quickly. We have 4 dc so lots of it in this house! Mine is about 4 years old, on almost permanently and still going strong.

I love love love mine.

It's a Lakeland one, I'm not sure if I have a dodgy one but I find if I load it fully in the evening, and switch it off when going to bed, so 3-4 hours on at approx 5p an hour, clothes are warm and dry in e am.

I do have a very strong spin on my washer too though. . .