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Original poster

Lakeland Heated Airer - worth it?

67 replies

GemmaRuby · 07/10/2021 13:27

Do you have the Lakeland Heated Airer? Is it good, so you have the “deluxe” or non-delux one, and do you use the tent thing?

This thread is quite old now so some of the suggestions may be out of date, but if you’ve landed here looking for product recommendations, we’ve recently updated our guide to the best heated airers with lots of options, as tried and tested by Mumsnet users and editors. We hope you find it useful. Flowers
MNHQ

OP posts:
Original poster
GemmaRuby · 07/10/2021 13:27

*do

OP posts:
PineappleWilson · 07/10/2021 13:29

Ours is years old, but we have the larger size, as was then. We lie a load of washing out along the slats, not hanging items over the poles, and we use a sheet / duvet cover to go over the top. It does help keep the heat in, but you don't need to pay for the tent cover.

Ours is wobbly now, and about 8 years old, but still works well and is a god send in winter.

silverlace · 07/10/2021 13:38

I have the deluxe version with a cover. As Pineapple says, it is best to lay the clothing along the bars rather than hang them over. It reduces the capacity but dries them better. Half way through I turn them over.

Being honest, it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It takes a long time to dry and if you fill it up with clothing hanging over the bars it takes even longer.

It is useful to have in winter instead of having things on radiators all over the house. It is most useful if you have put washing on the line outside and it hasn't dried properly.

It does also need to be in a warm room to get the best out of it.

ElsaandAnna · 07/10/2021 13:44

I sent mine back. Bought a dehumidifier and a traditional airier. Much better

Movinghouseatlast · 07/10/2021 13:45

God yes!

SuperDuperC · 07/10/2021 13:48

@ElsaandAnna

I sent mine back. Bought a dehumidifier and a traditional airier. Much better
Ooooh can I ask your recommendations for a good dehumidifier? Smile
QuitMoaning · 07/10/2021 13:49

I just bought the deluxe one, with cover, about a month ago. I am still to be convinced it is as good as it is meant to be.
We have a lot of washing and I am trying to reduce reliance on our tumble dryer but it takes about 6 hours to dry a full load but at 6p an hour that is 36p and our tumble dryer is meant to be 35p an hour so not sure it is cost effective.
My partner really loves it though.

idontlikealdi · 07/10/2021 13:55

Nope. Couldn't get on with it at all.

idontlikealdi · 07/10/2021 13:56

@QuitMoaning

I just bought the deluxe one, with cover, about a month ago. I am still to be convinced it is as good as it is meant to be. We have a lot of washing and I am trying to reduce reliance on our tumble dryer but it takes about 6 hours to dry a full load but at 6p an hour that is 36p and our tumble dryer is meant to be 35p an hour so not sure it is cost effective. My partner really loves it though.
How is it taking 6 hours?! We've got a small drier due to space and it can do it in an hour!
WeRateSquirrels · 07/10/2021 16:37

@ElsaandAnna

I sent mine back. Bought a dehumidifier and a traditional airier. Much better
This!
Plastictattoo · 07/10/2021 16:41

I just got one from Aldi online. Fits a full load of washing on and dries in about 3 hours. Included tent thing. Bit cheaper than the Lakeland one which I had been lusting after for a while

DowntonCrabby · 07/10/2021 16:42

I love mine, I’ve had it 9 years and have never had any issues.

lifecoachingandotherbollocks · 07/10/2021 16:44

We had one, it was very wobbly, got the john lewis version mych better… you can put a sheet over it to help drying quicker, we dont, not sure if it causes condensation if you do!

Oblomov21 · 07/10/2021 16:46

Had one for 20 years and never had a problem with it.

lazylinguist · 07/10/2021 16:47

Being honest, it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It takes a long time to dry and if you fill it up with clothing hanging over the bars it takes even longer.

^This. I hang stuff outside in summer. But for the rest of the year I end up only using the heated airer for things that can't be tumble dried. So it's not saving energy or money, as I'm using both!

Sausagedogsarethebest · 07/10/2021 16:48

I've got one and had it for a few years. It holds a lot of washing but the more you cram on it the slower it seems to dry. I'd previously only used it as a traditional dryer but recently I bought the cover and have been plugging it in to heat up the bars. The cover is vented so that it doesn't cause condensation but I'm not overly impressed with it. I get better results standing it next to a radiator overnight.

ElephantandGrasshopper · 07/10/2021 16:52

I do like mine although it seems to take all day to dry a load of clothes.

I've had it for about 8 years. We don't have a tumble dryer or any outside space so it is pretty much constantly on.

It works best if you dry clothes flat but I wouldn't be able to fit a whole load on it that way. Even with clothes laid flat I'm not sure how you could get clothes dry in an hour.

doodleygirl · 07/10/2021 16:53

No, it’s rubbish.

Franklin12 · 07/10/2021 16:55

I dont rate it at all. It does take ages to dry clothes and at 6p per hour.....

I also have the cover and dont find that particularly useful either.

As others say once you have laid clothes flat there really isnt much room and we are a four person house.

Paddingtonthebear · 07/10/2021 17:10

We’ve got the JL version, and I just chuck a bit sheet over the top. Had it about 5 years, one of the hinges is wobbly but otherwise it’s fine and does a good job and is a real godsend in the winter. Trick is to load it carefully.

JassyRadlett · 07/10/2021 17:12

Love ours. We’ve got the cover which makes it really effective. Don’t tumble dry at all.

QuitMoaning · 07/10/2021 17:12

@idontlikealdi
Because we will put a whole load on and hang over the bars rather than lie flat. We don’t have time to be swapping it all over every hour to get a full load down with laying them flat.
Otherwise might as well just put them in the dryer.
(And we have a heat pump dryer which is meant to be the most energy efficient)

ThursdayLastWeek · 07/10/2021 17:14

Agree with a lot of comments here.

A friend of mine uses hers like a clothes horse and claims it’s the best thing. I tried that but only the fabric actually in contact with the bars ever got dry.

I even emailed them to check if it was faulty but I decided it wasnt!

So now I use it, with items laid flat, for stuff that can’t go in the tumble dryer.

I suppose it saves me having jeans drying on the heaters.

Talipesmum · 07/10/2021 17:16

If I need to dry something really quickly I lie it flat on the bars (guarantee school uniform dry or emergency sports kit issue).
But usually I hang things over each bar, and cover the whole thing completely with a double duvet cover or sheet. It’s definitely slower than eg a tumble dryer, but definitely faster than a normal full airer. Stuff that would take 24-48 hours to dry on a normal airer indoors takes 12 ish hours on the heated airer.
I used to lie clothes flat on there when kids were little and their clothes were small, but now it all takes up too much room if I do it that way.

We have a combo of tumble dryer (washer dryer) for blasting sheets and towels and undies dry, heated airer to get through as much of the rest as possible, and occasional normal airer if things will dry v quickly anyway (fleece pjs / football kit). And I don’t trust some of my socks on heated dryers or tumble dryers as I have massive feet and if any of them shrink even a tiny bit, I have to bin them.

Comedycook · 07/10/2021 17:17

I have one...I love it. Don't know if it's the deluxe or not...I've had it ages. I don't have the tent...I want it though. I usually throw a big duvet cover over it which speeds it up.