Gransnet forums

House and home

Heated Clothes Airer

(26 Posts)
squaredog Mon 14-Oct-13 17:27:23

I've never been so modern as to have a tumble dryer, but was wondering whether anyone had found a Heated Clothes Airer to be of value........

Thank you ladies.

ninathenana Mon 14-Oct-13 17:32:59

Heck, I'd be lost without my tumble dryer

glammanana Mon 14-Oct-13 17:35:57

I've never had one to be honest but I should imagine they would be as expensive to run as a tumble dryer ? the only time I use my tumbler is to dry off clothes ie.denim's towels and undies during the winter.

Ana Mon 14-Oct-13 17:37:24

Me too, got my first one when DD was a baby....30-odd years ago, so they can't be that modern! grin

Ariadne Mon 14-Oct-13 17:38:23

I now have a washer drier, and am on to my third one! The drier doesn't take a big load, but does all the small stuff quite fast. I tend to let towels etc. dry for a while and the tumble them. I think it is perfect for two people, and helps out when the hordes descend too!

A "Hangaway" from L******d is my other favourite resource for shirts.

kittylester Mon 14-Oct-13 17:48:24

I had a heated clothes airer but it got on my nerves. It took up a lot of room and wasn't that fast. I gave it to DD3 when she had her first baby and she gave ti to her MiL and bought a tumble drier. I use a ceiling airer in the utility room and supplement it with the the tumble drier when needed. Sorry not to be more positive. On the plus side they are much much cheaper to run than a tumble drier.

j08 Mon 14-Oct-13 18:30:01

We have had a thread on this before. The consensus of opinion was, "useless".

j08 Mon 14-Oct-13 18:30:45

Don't those ceiling arises pick up cooking smells?

j08 Mon 14-Oct-13 18:31:07

airers

Lona Mon 14-Oct-13 19:25:19

My dil has a heated airer which she used a lot last winter.
She has loads of washing with two children and it dries while she is at work. It doesn't crease the clothes as much as a tumble dryer in my opinion.

kittylester Mon 14-Oct-13 19:35:12

My airer is in the utility room jingle so no. If I put it in the airer in the morning it will be dry by the next morning.

annodomini Mon 14-Oct-13 20:02:10

Lona, is that the kind of heated airer I've seen here in the Lakeland catalogue?

wombat22 Mon 14-Oct-13 20:52:26

I bought a heated airer from Lakeland about 2 years ago. It's a bit of a faff to load but is brilliant. It is better to put a few layers on each shelf as it gets hotter the more on it. I leave it overnight and the wash is dry in the morning. It costs approx 4 pence an hour to run. Couldn't be without it now in winter.smile

wombat22 Mon 14-Oct-13 20:55:01

My airer is the one in the main picture with 3 shelves. I may even have had it for 3 years

seasider Mon 14-Oct-13 23:15:24

lots of positive comments on Mumsnet about the Lakeland heated airer so I guess it must be good! Not cheap though so look out for the 10% off offers

LizG Mon 14-Oct-13 23:53:19

I did the same as you Kittylester and gave mine to DD3 when her son was born. She swears by it but I didn't like it at all and thought Lakeland missold it by suggesting it was a drier when it clearly wasn't.

squaredog Tue 15-Oct-13 09:04:43

Ah.....so not a dryer......good point.

Don't have an airing cupboard either, and can't STAND clothes draped on radiators.

Umm....

Ariadne Tue 15-Oct-13 09:10:28

Neither can I, squaredog! Though there is one radiator, in front of a big table, which I occasionally use when it's really, really raining, as it can down here. And the Hangaway sits in a spare bedroom, where I can't see it and can forget about it!

Lona Tue 15-Oct-13 10:02:40

annosorry for delay, I've no PC at the moment. Yes, it is a Lakeland airer/dryer and the clothes go on it straight from the washer.

Anne58 Tue 15-Oct-13 10:30:42

You can get little racks that you put on the radiators, they are quite good for drying small items like socks and pants.

wombat22 Tue 15-Oct-13 19:49:10

It is a drier. If you only put one layer of clothes on each shelf, it doesn't get very hot. I put about 3 layers on each shelf and it gets hotter. I spent ages reading reviews trying to decide whether to buy or not and I've never regretted it. Lakeland do a no quibble money back guarantee if you dont like it. (I don't work for or get any commission from Lakeland!!) grin

Tegan Tue 15-Oct-13 19:56:21

Does it get very hot; I mean, if my grandson touched it when it was turned on would he burn himself [I tend to dry my washing in the hall, you see].

wombat22 Tue 15-Oct-13 20:07:21

the rails are covered by the clothes as I lay them flat on the shelf. It can get hot enough to make a child jump but the rails are like a light aluminium so I don't think they would leave a mark on your grandson. If there is only one layer of clothes per shelf, it only gets slightly warm. In the hall, it provides a little warmth overnight and fills the house with the smell of fresh laundry.

Backagain Tue 15-Oct-13 22:12:34

I bought one for DD2 about four years ago when she got married - the tall one, just the same as now sold by Lakeland but then sold by Coopers for about £60. She got such good use from it that I bought another a year later for DD1 when she bought her first flat. When DD2 emigrated last year she passed it on to her SIL. They really have been life-savers for all three girls, none of whom have room for tumblers, and have coped well with the washing for all the babies. I bought myself one of the small ones, which is a sort of table-shaped - a rack of half a dozen horizontal heat bars with collapsible legs. It is complete rubbish. Barely gets warm and takes forever to dry anything. But now I see that maybe I've been using it wrongly, just draping a single layer over each bar like a washing line. I will try piling layers of stuff on it flat and see if it does a better job.
Legend had it that a small one like mine used the same electricity as a light bulb, and a tall one four light bulbs.

wombat22 Wed 16-Oct-13 19:31:33

I hope the layering works for you Backagain . I'm going to stop raving about it now. I really don't have any vested interest!