Best heated clothes airers to save money 2023 UK – expert tested

<h2 class=”body-h2″>How do heated clothes airers work? </h2><p>Closely resembling traditional clothes horses, heated clothes airers have heating elements within their rails to warm your washing and speed up the drying process. </p><p>As with all clothes airers, their size and configuration can vary, but most are simple to set up. The main difference with a heated airer is that you need to plug it in, so it’s worth checking there’s an accessible socket near to where you’ll position yours when in use. </p><p>Heat-up times are also worth considering as they can extend the drying time if they take a while to get to temperature. We’ve listed how long each took on test below. </p><h2 class=”body-h2″>Is it safe to leave a heated airer on? </h2><p>It’s best not to leave heated airers unattended, and you should always check the manufacturer instructions to ensure you’re using your heated airer safely. </p><p>That said, many heated clothes airers have safety mechanisms built in, operating on timers with auto switch-off features. We’ve highlighted these in the key specifications below. </p><h2 class=”body-h2″>How long do clothes take to dry on a heated clothes airer? </h2><p>Unsurprisingly, drying times varied from airer to airer. Bedsheets dried more quickly, while drying times for clothes ranged from one and a half hours to four hours one minute. But this is still notably quicker than a traditional airer – for reference, our experts tested these dryers in summer and found a well-spun load of clothes on an unheated clothes airer took six and a half hours to dry. </p><p>Note that it’s important not to over-dry your laundry either as this can leave fabrics feeling crispy – especially with items such as towels. This is another reason why timers can come in handy. </p><h2 class=”body-h2″>How much do heated clothes airers cost to run? </h2><p>We found that there wasn’t a lot of difference between the heated airers when it came to their energy consumption, with the models we tested using between 0.09 kilowatt hours (kWh) and 0.91 kWh – that’s between three and 27 pence of electricity an hour. </p><p>The longer they take to dry items, the more they’ll ultimately end up costing, but even if you use them to start the drying process, they should make a noticeable difference to your laundry pile. </p><p>We’ve listed the cost (based on the £0.30/kWh energy price cap) for each below. </p><h2 class=”body-h2″>How we test heated clothes airers </h2><p>To find the very best heated clothes airers for your home, our experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute start by timing how long each dryer takes to preheat. They then wash and dry various loads of laundry, including clothes and bedsheets, and time how long it takes until each load has finished drying. </p><p>Throughout use, they monitor how well the airer distributes heat across its rungs and whether the temperature fluctuates. They also measure how much electricity is used, calculating the energy consumption for an hour’s drying. </p><p>Finally, each is also scored according to its design, ease of use and instructions. </p><p>These are the clothes airers that will make that laundry to-do list easier. </p>” />