Tumble drier vs heated airer

Scrimps

You wouldn't get the shrinking risk with the airer. I've shrunk most of my husband's t-shirts.
Someone mentioned a dehumidifier, I'd recommend this. We live in quite a damp house (Cornwall) even though windows are opened daily, leaving clothes to dry indoors is just not feasble. Before we got a tumble drier (2 kids arrived) when it was just the two of us, id stick a dehumidifier on a load of washing and it dried it well.

We have an ebac and an ecoair, I'd go with the ecoair

madlyn

I too have looked into a heated airer. Just 2 of us in the house and at the moment I use a standard airer in the spare room with a window open about an inch and to be totally dry takes 2/3 days.
I have looked at the Lakeland airers and yes they are more expensive I do believe you get what you pay for.

couriervanman

If you have spare room get a dehumidifier instead,dries the clothes and keeps house moisture free

Poppy1984

Thanks for all the suggestions, I ordered a tumble drier in the sales in the end.

Bearothebear

I use a dehumidifier to dry clothes indoors.it works well, even without using the clothes drying option. But I’m not sure how much it’s costing me to run it. I don’t mean it’s expensive...I mean I have no idea if it’s cheap or costly.....but my house is already a bit damp and the dehumidifier sucks up the damp air and blasts out dry, slightly warmer air.

Ken68

Yes another supporter here for dehumidifiers, on offer now at Lidl £119.
Same price as a few years ago.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

We use an airer, unheated, in our utility room where our boiler is. never had a problem in the last few years.

Tinks74

We've had one of the Lakeland ones for a year now.
Just pulled it out of summer hibernation last Saturday, we find it works great and it does heat the room, there was a noticeable temperature difference between the rest of the house and the room with the airer.
The big tip we received was to use the cover, it keeps the hot air contained and helps dry the fabrics faster.
We haven't had any issues with condensation at all, but it always something to bear in mind.

muddlemand

Those of you who use a duvet cover instead of the one sold to go with a dryer, how do you prop it up? Tent poles?! I don't suppose you can lay it touching the clothes...? I've never yet needed an electric one or a tumble dryer, but expect to when I move house.

So far I've only ever used a basic dryer to hang laundry on when the weather isn't good enough, then into the airing cupboard. By the window that gets the best of the sunshine things dry nice and fast, and I open the window if there's a breeze but don't bother otherwise.

Tips: things dry faster at the top, so put things lower down if you won't need them as soon. Unfold so fabric isn't touching fabric as far as possible. Note which fabrics dry faster and they can go lower down: fleece for example takes no time at all.

When something's needed urgently, I have a ProBreeze radiator which heats a room very fast (about five minutes from really cold to comfortingly warm) and stand that near the clothes on the airer. In a pinch, I'll lay a shirt actually on the radiator, careful not to cover the vents of course. One of the best buys I've ever made; fan heaters and the kind with glowing bars aren't a tenth as effective. This one has a 24-hour timer too, so I my bedroom's cosy for bedtime without turning the house's heating up and I wake up warm too. I love my ProBreeze!
https://probreeze.com/products/heaters/2500w-oil-filled-radiator/
(Looks like it's on offer at the moment.)

walkers60

One of my best purchases, years ago, was a Lakeland Heated Airer. For me it has been brilliant. I use two cotton bed sheets to cover it to keep the heat in. The bottom rack I use as an airing cupboard and keep sheets and towels on that almost all the time. I put shirts on hangers and hang them from the side rails under the sheet and use the main rails for several layers of other smaller items. They dry very quickly and the airer also warms the landing. The sheets don't touch the clothes as on my version the top 'rungs' are shaped like triangles so they are kept clear of the clothes.

I don't use my tumble dryer much at all these days.