Clothes airers for drying your washing have come a long way since the ways of the collapsible almost-sure-to-end-up-on-the-floor-at-some-stage models.
You no longer need a degree in engineering to negotiate their complex erection – these days, you can expect them to snap into place out of the box and have lots of little extras like hooks to hold hangers and extendable frames. Some you can plug in for speedier drying, some can be left permanently outdoors, and some come in pod form, where clothes hung on hangers dry in an enclosed heated space. With the help of handy dehumidifiers in the winter, even the most bog-standard airers are capable of drying quickly.
Are heated airers worth it?
While electric airers and pods also come with a heating charge, the cost is considerably less than running a tumble dryer. We’ve detailed hourly running costs, where possible, for all the electrical products we tested to make comparisons easy.
The tumble dryer is becoming a less attractive choice due to rising electricity costs, its unfavourable effects on the planet and you have to find space for it in your home to start with. An average tumble dry cycle produces just under 2kg of CO2 each time – add up your yearly drying load and that’s quite a lot of carbon released into the atmosphere. Not to mention the increased cost of your electricity bill and potential damage to your clothes, which also has implications for your green credentials as you’ll have to replace them more often.
And, of course, once you’ve made the initial outlay, traditional clothes airers dry clothes for free every time. While nothing beats the fresh-air smell of clothes dried on a washing line outdoors, the vagaries of the weather mean this isn’t a year-round option – most of us have an indoor airer tucked away somewhere for inevitable wet days.
There are several different designs on the market, so it pays to do your research and find the best option to suit your needs and your available space. Whether you have a large family or it’s just you in a studio, we’ve found something to suit.
Best clothes airers at a glance
Browse the options in traditional, electrical and pod product categories.
Traditional airers
Minky Ergo Supreme 3 tier airer
Best for: simple, practical and value-for-money laundry drying
I have a real fondness for this one. It’s a great all-rounder and suitable for outdoor use, with its rust-resistant properties and ‘Sure Grip’ technology providing all-weather protection. That Sure Grip technology – basically a textured surface on each rail – also holds everything firmly in place and prevents your clean clothing from landing on the ground if an unexpected gust occurs.
Right, I thought, I’ll give that a go, putting my clothes out on one of the windiest days of the year, selecting small, light items for the ultimate test – not a single thing moved.
It snaps smoothly into place, with hinges to hold it firm and releases easily to fold neatly for storage. It also benefits from slide-out corners with 16 hanger spaces and 2 holders for socks and smalls.
The dark shading also looks quite attractive and stands out amid the eternal whites and pale greys.
Buy now £35.00, Argos
Dunelm deluxe 3-tier airer
Best for: non-scratch feet and easy storage
This model opens out easily with side brackets that lock into place to hold the frame firmly and release smoothly to collapse. It looks attractive with its three tiers of white railings and non-scratch feet, folds flat for storage and is a good price for budgets. I can’t find any fault with it. An all-round good buy.
Buy now £14.00, Dunelm
Kleeneze extendable 3-tier clothes airer
Best for: nifty drying and an aesthetically pleasing design
A great option for small spaces and attractive with its pink and white colouring. You might think the price seems high at first glance but it does have a nifty extending option – the rails slide out smoothly to expand the drying space - and once you’re done, it folds very compactly for storage.
The top flap sits flat over the rails underneath and locks into place with side hinges to hold everything secure. The width when extended is pretty much the same as the other traditional airers but the height is a little bit shorter. This makes it best suited for a single household or as a second dryer for smaller washes.
Because it’s quite neat and compact, it’s not ideal for drying bigger items like bath towels or bedding – it’s sturdy enough to hold them but bigger items will just drape over everything else on the lower rails.
Buy now £22.99, Amazon
Addis extendable 3 tier airer
Best for: a slightly wider and more robust model
There’s very little difference between the two extendable dryers on the list, apart from the price – this one is £5 more expensive, but it is slightly wider than the Kleeneze model and is marginally more robust. Everything else is the same; easy to extend by pulling out the sides and folds very compactly for storage.
Buy now £19.99, Asda
Beldray 150 copper 3-tier clothes airer
Best for: a tried and tested copper wonder
Beldray is touting this as its 150 years copper edition airer (the company being 150 years in business this year, the colour being copper). While this does make Beldray one of the oldest houseware brands in the UK, what you’ll really want to know is that the airer clicks open and shut like a dream, is nice and lightweight for manoeuvring but very solid when opened out.
It has foldaway hooks for hangers, which flip out easily to accommodate 28 extra items of clothing and are a great way to dry delicate items that may crease more easily. It folds flat for space-saving storage and its attractive copper/gold colouring sets it apart from the standard airers in the market – it not only does a good job but looks good too.
Buy now £19.99, Amazon
Addis deluxe Superdry airer
Best for: the whole family
Perfect for a big household wash as the very useful top section expands outwards so you have extra space to stretch out large items like sheets, duvet covers and towels, while the normal washing can go on the rails underneath.
The flexible design can also be folded in and locked in place with a secure clip for smaller loads, which takes up less space. The wide shape design also means that the top clothes aren’t hung directly over the bottom row but have their own space to dry.
It’s lightweight and easy to move with detachable castors, has two handy holders for drying slippers or trainers and a detachable bottom section for laying socks, delicates or other small items out flat. This useful netting, attached with poppers, also doubles as a wash bag for delicates, which is a nice touch. It folds neatly away for storage, secured with the clip.
The manufacturers claim it dries clothes up to 50 per cent faster than conventional airers – while I didn’t notice that it did, it’s certainly good for mixed washes of differently sized items.
Buy now £34.99, Amazon
Minky 40m Tower Airer
Best for: an enormous, adaptable flatpack-build
I have to confess, my heart sank slightly when I took this out of the box, it was a bit like unwrapping a Meccano set. Unlike all the other traditional airers which spring into action with just one touch, the 22 (yes, 22) separate pieces of the Minky Tower have to be assembled.
By the time I’d slotted eight two-and-a-half foot poles together, added eight flat wire panels and struggled to fasten wheels and corner attachments, I was too beaten down to put on a wash, I just wanted a rest.
On the plus side, it’s enormous, so great if you’re doing big family washes. I can hold three wash loads say the manufacturers, with the corner attachments holding up to 10 hangers. You can alter the shelving structure depending on how many items you have, which also makes it good for drying long items such as sheets and towels, and it’s been designed to fit into a standard shower unit – because it will take up a lot of space if freestanding in your kitchen. It folds flat to store but at a height of 172cm, you’ll need a tall storage space for it.
Putting this together while bits of it invariably came off (no doubt my fault, not Minky’s) reminded me of all those collapsing dryers I’d struggled with through the decades. If you’re the type of person who thinks Saturday morning DIY activities are manna from heaven, this is for you. If you’d rather gouge your own eyes out than let a flatpack pass your doorway, buy something else.
Buy now £35.00, Argos
Heated Clothes Airers
John Lewis 3-tier heated indoor clothes airer
Best for: an extra-tall, heated rail which is perfect for bedding
This is a hefty beast to get out of the box as it arrives pre-assembled, which has its benefits - nothing to put together (shakes tiny fist at Minky tower). But because it’s quite bulky, it looks a bit old-fashioned.
That of course has its benefits – it’s tall, which means plenty of drying space, and the rail sections fold horizontally or vertically so you can hang clothes on individual rails or spread out to dry flat. You can also hang long items – sheets, towels and the like – from the top tier without them touching the floor. Handy hooks at the bottom are perfect for slippers and socks.
It does take up more space than the non-electricals – even the biggest ones – but for smaller loads of washing you can fold back some of the rails so the design is more streamlined.
The controls are easy to manage, and the on/off button has a cover so it won’t get accidentally switched on or off. It heats to 300W with a surface temperature of up to 50°C, so it will certainly dry clothes a lot faster than a traditional airer, but still takes around four or five hours in total. However, a good tip, picked up online, suggests that if you drape a large bed sheet over the frame after hanging up your clothes, it will trap the heat to dry clothes faster.
It folds flat for storage, though it remains at full height so you’ll need a reasonably high space to store.
Buy now £100.00, John Lewis
Lakeland Dry:Soon deluxe 3-tier heated airer
Best for: a streamlined, extra-large heated rail
By the time I’d moved on to the second heated airer, I’d really warmed up to the concept, no pun intended. The Lakeland model has all of the benefits of its John Lewis counterpart but its attractive streamlined design makes it more flexible – it has pull-out extending sides to support the frame and you can pull out both sides for extra drying space, or just one for a smaller load, with the airer sitting flush against the wall.
Like the John Lewis model, the on/off switch has a protective cover and there’s also a timer so you don’t need to worry about forgetting to switch it off. Only the inner rails heat up so you can move it around easily by holding the outside rails, it’s also very lightweight for moving, even when clothes are on it – casters are also available to make this even easier.
Nifty details include a control panel at eye level, a plug holder at the top to stop the wire tangling when not in use and clips to hold it neatly together when storing. There’s a cover available to buy separately to speed up the drying process – or you could just use our sheet idea!
It costs 8p an hour to run – so won’t be a huge extra burden on your electricity bill. On the downside, it is quite a bit more expensive than the John Lewis model – but has the extras to justify the extra spend. You will need a decent-sized storage space for it, however, as it remains full height even when folded.
Was: £249.99
Buy now £179.99, Lakeland
Black and Decker 3-tier heated airer
Best for: a heated airer for a small space
Black & Decker's three-tier heated rail is ideal for those with limited space. Not only does it boast an impressive 15kg capacity, but it also folds completely flat so it's easy to stow away - and it only weighs 5.5kg thanks to its lightweight aluminium construction so lugging it about is a breeze.
The only downside? There's no cover, meaning the drying process is not quite as efficient as those you can zip up.
Buy now £109.99, Robert Dyas
Pod dryers
Lakeland Dry:Soon drying pod
Best for: luxurious drying for your best garments
I was a bit surprised that this drying pod was delivered in a neatly sized box – surely this wasn’t the 146cm high design I’d been promised? It was.
Everything is packed compactly into the box and far from it being another Minky ‘Meccano’ experience, all of the pieces slotted together quickly and easily. The frame is quite slimline with space for 12 hangers – of course, the cover adds some bulk when fixed over the frame, but it pretty much has the same footprint as a traditional stand-up clothes airer.
The concept is simple – just put your washing on hangers and hang on the railings, zip up the cover and switch it on. The motor circulates hot air around the pod and – fringe benefit - also heats the surrounding area through small holes in the top of the cover. There’s a timer which you can set for up to three hours, plenty of time to get everything dry.
It costs 28p an hour to run and dries quickly and efficiently – light clothes dried in half an hour, shirts in an hour and heavier jumpers in an hour and a half. And, because everything is dried on hangers, it’s all crease-free at the end and can go straight into the wardrobe.
This big advantage is also its disadvantage – because everything is hung on hangers, the pod is not so suitable for drying socks or underwear. You can, of course, and I did heap some on hangers to try it out – it works but it’s not ideal. It’s also not ideal for drying bedding and towels, so the pod is very much an add-on accessory for wash day. Having said that, it’s definitely a bit of a treat to use, with everything coming out soft, warm, dry and smelling so fresh.
Buy now £84.98, Lakeland
JML DriBUDDI indoor electric clothes dryer
Best for: a slightly bigger drying pod experience
There’s not a huge difference between the two pods I tested – and having fallen in love with the whole pod concept, I liked the DriBUDDI just as well as the Lakeland model.
The DriBUDDI is a little bigger and slightly bulkier but on the plus side, it holds 18 hangers rather than 12 so would be ideal for bigger families. Its more powerful motor is slightly noisier, but not unduly so and you get the additional size and power benefits for the same price as the Lakeland model, so it’s great value for money.
It’s just as easy to put together, dries quickly, comes with a timer and costs only 20p an hour to run. Love it!
Buy now £79.00, Argos
DMD Hang-N-Dry Electric Clothes Dryer
Best for: drying your entire wardrobe crease-free
The biggest pod we're yet to try, DMD's Hang-N-Dry airer holds up to 15kg of washing across two tiers of rails. There's enough space to hang a full load of washing - meaning all of your clothes will be crease-free every time. It's collapsible and portable and has a handy timer that can be set up to 180 minutes - which we found was just enough time to dry everything at maximum capacity.
Buy now £64.99, Robert Dyas
Verdict
It’s unfair not to compare like with like so I’ve chosen winners in all three categories.
In the traditional airers section, the Minky Ergo Supreme 3 Tier Airer came out on top as it has all of the extras, such as extendable hooks for hangers and the Sure Grip technology to hold clothes firm, with the additional benefit that it can be left outdoors due to its rust resistant properties.
The Lakeland Dry:Soon deluxe 3-tier heated airer is the winner in electrical dryers due to its streamlined design and ease of movement, though it is a little pricey.
There’s very little to choose between the drying pods but the JML DriBUDDI portable indoor electric clothes dryer just edges it, as you get slightly more for your money.
