6 best heated clothes airers - tested for quick, efficient laundry days

The best heated clothes airers come in all shapes and sizes. There are 3-tier family-sized models from Dry:Soon as well as compact hangers that can dry a pair of shoes. There's one for every home and laundry load, but you only need to look at six.

When it starts getting cold and damp outside, you'll be on the hunt for ways to dry your clothes indoors. And heated clothes airers are by far the best and cheapest way to get your laundry cupboard-ready. These cost pennies to run, they're more gentle than a tumble dryer, and they leave your clothes smelling fresh and feeling crisp.

I've been using models from big-name brands, such as John Lewis, Beldray, Dry:Soon, and Minky as well as more innovative models from Aerative and Joseph Joseph. My favourite one has been the Dry:Soon 3-Tier Heated Airer for its versatility, speed, and storage convenience. However, there are plenty more models to look at. I've got all the notes on dry speed, storage, and the costs of running a heated clothes airer too. Here's everything you need to know.

The quick list: my top six

If you want the headlines on the six best heated clothes airers on the market, look no further. I've condensed all my weeks of testing into a quick summary for you. Then, if there's one that piques your interest, you can read more details further down the article.

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The best heated clothes airers: tried and tested

You've had a little introduction into my favourite heated clothes airers, but let's get into the details of what these were like to use for me over the last couple of months. I've got a whole page that dives deep into the testing process that each heated clothes airer was put through if you want to find out more. Essentially, I've been loading these with a range of fabrics and weights. I've layered them with bedding, jeans, and heavy knits, as well as cottons, sportswear, and lighter tasks. 

Best heated clothes airer overall

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If you've already started your research into the best heated clothes airers on the market, you'll have come across the Dry:Soon 3-Tier model again, and again, and again. It's famously good. Even though it's one of the most expensive models on the market, it's worth the investment. I should know, I ended up buying one after the tests.

The Dry:Soon can hold up to 15kgs of laundry, but you wouldn't know it from how much floor space that this takes up. The space that it needs is more vertical than horizontal and, even then, it didn't feel obtrusive in my urban flat. When you choose to flatten it, this is only 8cm deep and can slot inside a cupboard or at the back of a wardrobe. It's actually very subtle.

Over the months that I was using this, I found a few useful tricks that you can employ if you choose one of these. If you have a smaller load of clothing, set up the top shelf and use it to hang your shirts and dresses down. They'll dry quickly and crease-free. I also noticed that the quickest way to get your clothes cupboard dry is by lying them flat in the middle of the model, but it's still effective, at the edges.

Don't worry of yours will always be packed full. I put the cover on and could have a whole 10kg load of laundry dry in three to five hours, depending on whether I washed jeans and towels with my clothes and sheets. Without a heated airer, those loads of laundry would take 36 hours to dry, at least. It's incredibly quick. 

The downside of this is that it's also the most expensive heated clothes airer on the market. You can opt for the regular version, but you'll only save about £50 and the Deluxe has a lot more to offer. It's quicker, sturdier, and has some neat features integrated. You can store your plug in a special clip, the control panel lets you set an auto-switch-off. In short, it's worth the splurge.

You can find out more in my full Dry:Soon 3-Tier Heated Airer review.

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Best budget heated clothes airer

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Winged airers are really useful for smaller homes. They flat-pack like ironing boards and then, when called upon, they'll open out, offering plenty of space for drying sheets and clothes. Often, these are some of the cheapest models on the market and Dunelm's Heated Airer with Wings is the cheapest of them all.

Without a discount, the Dunelm will cost you £40. Even though you'll need to shell out for a £16 cover if you want to speed up the dry time, it's still a killer deal. In spite of the fact that it's budget, the Dunelm is stable, even when loaded with a full 10kgs of washing. The rails felt warm within five minutes, which is the same speed as the Dry:Soon 3-Tier Airer (which costs three times the price).

I put jeans, towels, and heavy jumpers on the Dunelm and they were dry and ready to go in the cupboard in three hours. If you have a family of three or four, this has plenty to offer. You just need to make sure that you hang clothes from the inside out, otherwise, it can topple. 

Unsurprisingly, this budget option does come up a little basic in places. There are no auto-shut-off settings, so you can only turn the airer on and off. The 1.85m cable length also comes up a little short if you've not got lots of plugs around the house.

You can find out more in my full Dunelm Heated Airer with Wings review.

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Best heated clothes airer for small spaces

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Dunelm's Winged Airer (the model above) is cheap, but if you want a few extra features to make life easier, Beldray is the one to go with. The whole airer folds away much smoother and easier than the Dunelm, although both are easy. It's smaller and slimmer when you need to store it away, which is why it's the one that I always recommend to people who live in small spaces. Even though it's compact, the Beldray folds out to offer 15 kgs of space for drying, which is the most that I've seen any heated airer offer, even tower models.

The rubber feet help to keep this stable on the floor, though you'll need to load it from the inside out. I found it easy to hang my clothes off and, even with my boisterous dog bumping up against it, this stayed flat on the floor. 

With a full load, this took six hours to get all of my clothes cupboard dry. It's faster than air drying and costs 1p per hour to run, but compared to the other models on this list, Beldray takes a low and slow approach. I'd expect an even heavier load to take one hour less on the Dry:Soon, for example.

You can find out more in my full Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer review.

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Best portable heated clothes airer

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When I first saw heated clothes airer hangers coming to the market, I'll admit that I was sceptical. They look like gimmicks, but I've actually ended up using this to support my Dry:Soon Heated Airer every week and it's saved me from some serious squeezes. I dried my soaking wet trainers in just over an hour; took a lot of dampness out of a hand-washed wool jumper (so it didn't smell stale); and emergency-dried a shirt in 40 minutes. 

The Aerative works a lot like the pod airer. You set it running and it blows hot air through whatever you choose to hang off the two hooks. These can be positioned like a normal clothes hanger, or to sit in shoes, so you have to dry clothes item by item, but that's why it's great for travelling or emergencies.

Everything from the packaging to the storage bag for the Aerative feels premium. It comes with pegs for drying delicates and a velvet storage bag. This isn't the cheapest way to dry clothes when you consider that it works one item at a time, but the sheer speed and size of it make up for any inconveniences. I can't recommend it enough.

You can read more in my full Aerative Heated Clothes Airer Hanger review.

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Best heated clothes airer pod

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Pod heated airers might look a little strange, but they're really useful for very specific needs. Rather than using heated rails, this has arms which are designed to hold hangers with damp clothes on them. It was easy enough to put together, but it does come almost completely disassembled, which means it might not be the right option for those who want something that’s ready to use straight out of the box.

The cover of this airer (which must be used) looks a bit intimidating but is actually very simple to fold around your hanging items. After this, the machine is switched on and the fan heater comes on, circulating hot air around your encased laundry. Because of this, this airer emits a hairdryer-like sound, which is something the majority of heated airers with hot rails don’t. It also means that this costs 30p, rather than 1-7p to run.

There are six settings on the machine that allow you to customise your drying time, which I found very useful to guarantee it doesn't stay running if I get distracted with other jobs. I got some heavy jumpers and jeans dry in three hours, so you don't need to run it for long, which is great news, because the noise isn't ideal. Putting it up is fiddly, but once it's working, this is a great option for small spaces.

You can find out more in my full Dry:Soon Drying Pod Heated Airer review.

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Best ladder heated clothes airer

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I'll be upfront here, the Dry:Soon Heated Ladder Airer isn't going to replace your tumble dryer or a big tower heated airer, but it willbe a useful addition to any bathroom or overloaded laundry room. The low, slim design is perfect for taking the dampness out of your towels without you needing to turn the central heating on. It costs pennies to run and I got all my damp towels (after a shower or bath) toasty and warm on the six 50°C bars.

Six bars sounds like a lot, but you'll need to leave space if you want your clothes to dry quickly. The control panel let me set a 2 and 4 hour timer, but I found that if I filled all the bars, the clothes or towels needed five hours, which meant that I had to remember to come back to the heated airer to turn it on.

So, as a small supplement for compact spaces, the slim heated ladder is a brilliant investment, just know that you'll probably need a bigger, main source for drying too.

You can read more in my full Dry:Soon Heated Ladder Airer review

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How we test heated clothes airers

I've been leading our tests of the best heated clothes airers over at woman&home and, let me tell you, it's serious business. Before I even start thinking about putting a laundry load in, I do my research. I keep on top of the latest releases on the market, whilst also keeping an eye on the old-but-gold models that everyone talks about. 

I make sure any model I see all the models that would suit your home. Then, I test them. To get a formal review, I use a heated airer for months, because this is the best way to find any teething issues and day-to-day gripes with the airer. I make notes on everything from unboxing and setting up right through to storage and how much it costs to run, so that you know exactly what you're signing up for.

Most importantly, I have three tests that each heated airer has to pass. I do a light load (3-5kgs), medium load (6-10kgs) and a heavy load (10-15kgs) of washing. This will cover a range of fabrics, from denim to cotton and then I'll time how long it takes to dry the clothes. I'll use each airer with and without a cover, looking for ways to save money and speed up drying times, because nobody wants to leave one of these on display in their home.

After that, I measure how big the heated clothes airer is, how deep it is, and how you can store it. Most of the time that this is in your home, it'll be in storage, so it needs to be neat and compact, to keep your home clutter free. 

Whilst I'm using the airer, I'm making comparisons in my head between the different models. In our reviews, I take the opportunity to get this down in writing. I like to pick a couple of models that are either a little more expensive or a little cheaper. That way, I can place the heated airer in the market for you and you'll be able to tell whether you're getting good value for money, as well as whether you'd like to upgrade.

After all that, I'll come to my conclusion and answer 'should you buy it?' Not every heated airer suits every home, so I give guidance as to who the heated airer suits as well as where you could go if you wanted something else.

If you want to find out more, you can read all about how we test heated clothes airers over here.

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FAQs

Are heated airers worth the money?

There's no escaping the fact that heated airers cost more than their non-heated counterparts. That's why it's sensible to consider whether stumping up the money for the more expensive option is worth it.

As someone who has recently been converted over to the heated airer club, I have to say that I think they're worth the money. I've run the maths on how much heated airers cost to run (pennies), what they're like to store (no tricker than a non-heated model), and the effect that they have on my clothes (they're more gentle than tumble dryers). The fact that some of the best heated clothes airers cost only £40 means that you don't even have to splurge too much to get the benefits of these handy home accessories. It's a no-brainer.

Do heated clothes airers use a lot of electricity?

Heated clothes airers inevitably use some electricity – however, it's probably not as much as you think, as heating expert Peter Clayton from Trade Plumbing explains.

"On average, a heated clothes airer runs at 300 watts, which is 0.3 kW per hour when based on the 27p/kWh energy price cap that's a cost of £0.08 per hour. Drying clothes using a heated airer can take roughly 4-8 hours per 10kg load, thus consuming anything from £0.32 to £0.64," he says.

To put this into context with your other household appliances, running your washing machine once will generally cost you around 26p while running a dishwasher cycle will likely set you back between 51p-£1. So in comparison, a heated clothes airer uses a fairly minimal amount of electricity – and considering the benefits it’ll provide, it tends to be well worth the extra electricity usage for many households. 

Should I use a heated clothes airer or a dehumidifier to dry my clothes indoors?

Dehumidifiers are bigger, bulkier, and louder than most heated airers and their main job isn't drying laundry. For that reason, as long as you don't have damp issues, I would always opt for a heated clothes airer instead of a dehumidifier. However, that doesn't mean that you can't use dehumidifiers to dry laundry, especially over the winter.

The best dehumidifiers work well in rooms where the air is already damp. Even though they're generally slower than heated airers, they will be more effective in damp laundry rooms than a heated airer and they'll ensure that the air doesn't get too oppressive. Before you switch your airer for a dehumidifier, you might want to take a look at how much it costs to run a dehumidifier. They're not generally expensive, but it will depend on your model.

Is it cheaper to run a tumble dryer or heated airer?

Tumble dryers are undoubtedly a very speedy and effective way of drying  laundry, and are often even quicker than using a heated airer. However, when it comes to the expense of using both appliances, there’s a clear winner, both in terms of the initial purchase cost, and the running costs. Heated airers will cost between 7-10p per hour to run, whereas tumble dryers will need 1.8 kW to 5 kW meaning there is a potential for tumble dryers to cost £1.35 per 1 hour load of laundry.

If you're going away on holiday, using your tumble dryer may be worth the extra expense. But overall, heated airers will cost you far less to run, even if they do take that little bit longer to dry your laundry.

Can I leave a heated airer on overnight?

If you ask the experts, they'll generally recommend that you don't leave a heated airer on overnight. It's always better to err on the side of caution. However, there are some models that are set with overnight functions and automatic shut-offs that make these safe to leave running in the background.

Do I need a cover for my heated clothes airer?

Some heated airers come with covers, others don't. Whilst these can be useful for speeding up the drying time of your clothes, you might be weighing up whether you want to splash another £20 on a piece of fabric that might only shave a few minutes off your clothes drying. I don't use my cover every time that I dry clothes. It can take thirty minutes off drying a load of washing, but that's the most that you'll save.

Do heated clothes airers cause condensation?

Washing your clothes will add a lot of moisture into the air in your home environment, so it's likely that your heated airer will speed up the rate at which you see condensation on your windows. This isn't any worse than if you were using a normal clothes airer, so don't worry.

Final thoughts

Heated clothes airers bring plenty of benefits to your home, especially around the winter. Your clothes won't sit damp and stale for days, instead, they'll be as crisp and cupboard-dry as they were when you could hang them on the line. You don't need to put them through the aggressive (and expensive) tumble dryer. And your heated airer works using your vertical space, which would otherwise be empty. We're not even at my favourite part yet. The best heated airers don't even cost a lot of money to run. I calculated that some could dry your clothes for 7p. That's money well spent. 

The one thing to note is that drying wet clothes inside can create some extra moisture, so you'l want to think about expert-approved methods of reducing humidity levels in your home or even the best plants to help with condensation.