14 best heated clothes airers to save energy and money

Score: 91/100

For a more traditional design, our best heated clothes horse is Lakeland’s spacious Dry:Soon model. The design is highly versatile, with three drying configurations to suit different spaces: a slim, flat set-up, a box shape, and a rectangular one, all of which our experts found easy to assemble. It holds up to 30kg, too, so we had no problems piling on big loads of washing.

Our bedding took less than three hours to dry, which is much quicker than normal air drying; however, when it came to clothes, there were still some small damp patches after four hours. There weren’t any crease lines, though, so you won’t need to dig out the iron after every wash.

While there’s no denying it’s pricey, it’s a worthwhile investment for busy homes. You’ll also receive two laundry baskets and a neat, grey cover with your purchase, so you don’t have to worry about disassembling every time a guest pops round.

Score: 88/100

This clever drying solution from Minky was the first of its kind to appear on the market so we couldn’t wait to get it into the lab to test. The heat pod is designed to attach to any three-tier airer and uses a motor to fill the cover with warm air, instantly transforming it from a regular clothes airer into a heated dryer – genius. It took just five minutes to heat up the inside of the pod, and there are three speeds settings available, so it quickly got to work. In fact, our clothes dried in a speedy one hour and 40 minutes and bedding took just two and a half hours.

You do need to disassemble the cover frame each time (although this takes just five minutes) and, for the price point, we’d like an actual airer to be included too, but we still rate this smart design for its smart, space-saving appeal.

Please note, this only includes the cover and heat pod, not an airer. It’s compatible with all three-tiered airers, but if you don’t already own one, opt for our top-rated drying rack from the brand – the Minky 3 Tier Plus Indoor Airer.

Score: 87/100

It may be an extra-large model, but this Minky airer is lightweight, making it easy and convenient to move around your home. Plus, when you don’t need it, the handy concertina-style, folding design ensures easy, fuss-free storage.

It performed well in our tests, with a consistent, even temperature, and proved particularly effective when it came to bedsheets, cutting drying time down to just two hours and four minutes (air drying traditionally takes around four hours and 30 minutes).

It took 12 minutes to pre-heat, which is slightly longer than average, but that’s a minor niggle for an otherwise versatile and consistent performer.

Score: 86/100

Another Minky model, and when it came to drying bedsheets, this winged airer scored full marks on test, taking just one hour 22 minutes. Clothes took over two and a half hours to dry, and testers found the airer's temperature was consistent throughout use.

It folds away neatly for easy storage, while its flat design offers versatility and can hold ample washing. At £60, it’s a more affordable model than many we tested, and our experts found it relatively good value in use too, calculating its electricity usage at about seven pence an hour.

Score: 86/100

A great value design resembling a more traditional airer, this dried our clothes within two and a half hours and our bedsheets in one hour forty. Testers liked the fact you can lie clothes flat in the middle and found it easy to fit a load of washing on.

It takes up a lot of space when its wings are out and its temperature fluctuated a little, but this didn’t impact its performance or its energy consumption, using an impressively low seven pence an hour on test.

Score: 84/100

Testers found this the easiest airer to use, thanks to its simple set up and wheels, which make moving it around the home effortless. You have to wait 16 minutes for it to heat up, but once at temperature, it dried all our laundry evenly, impressing on the bedding test with its one hour 25-minute drying time.

It took close to four hours to dry a full load of clothes, but again that’s still notably quicker than air drying, especially in winter. It also maintained a stable temperature throughout use.

Score: 84/100

Thanks to its tall frame, this is suited to drying sheets and longer garments such as trousers and dresses. Testers found set-up straightforward and it’s lightweight if you’re moving it from a cupboard to your drying area.

Clothes were dry (and handily crease-free) within four hours, while bedding took one and a half hours. The instructions are clear and feature detailed troubleshooting and safety advice.

Score: 83/100

If it’s an iron or clothes steamer-free life you’re after, then this airer may appeal, as our washing dried evenly with minimal creasing. Testers liked the overall design, finding it straightforward to set up and use thanks to its three good-sized tiers. Its wheels also deserve an honourable mention for making it easy to move it around.

Our probes detected some fluctuation in temperature, but it dried bedding in two and a half hours and clothes in three hours 13 minutes. Its safety information is clear, too.

Score: 82/100

For just under £100, this is a great value, large heated airer from Dunelm. Testers found it well-made and sturdy, commenting on how easy it was to use. In fact, it scored full marks for this on test, thanks to how simple it is to put up and down and move around the home.

When it came to drying our laundry, it dealt with bedding in under two hours, but unfortunately, it didn’t eliminate creases entirely. Our clothes took four hours to dry with the odd cold patch remaining on some items – but overall, it was effective and will undoubtedly transform your laundry drying on rainy days.

Score: 80/100

Testers found this a stable and effective way to dry clothes. Its controls were straightforward, and the three tiers provide ample space to dry a full load of laundry. It was also up and running in a quick ten minutes, but our clothes took four hours to dry.

Bedsheets dried more quickly, but a few damp patches meant we had to wait two hours and 10 minutes before we could put them away. However, there is a cover available to buy separately, which should lock in more heat and aid drying times further. It’s a good buy if you want something sizeable and sturdy.

Score 77/100

This compact ladder design is ideal if you have a small space. It can’t house a full load of washing, but is handy is you have several garments or items you want to dry quickly. It fared better with bedding (dry in two hours twenty minutes) than with clothes, which took four hours exactly.

It didn’t distribute heat as evenly as some other models, and it struggled with heavier garments, but it’s inexpensive and has the lowest running cost of all at two pence an hour. One for drying in tight spaces.

Score: 70/100

This is the most cost-effective heated airer we’ve tried with a traditional winged design, using around five pence of electricity every hour we had it on in the lab.

It’s slow to preheat (taking almost 15 minutes) but once warm, it distributes heat fairly evenly across the rungs, helping our laundry dry at a similar rate no matter where it was placed. The drying performance was mixed though. A full load of clothes took nearly six hours, which is only slightly quicker than normal air drying.

However, thinner bedding could be dried in just over two hours if we regularly rotated the sheets, so stick to lighter garments rather than bulky jumpers when you’re in a rush, and slow drying shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

It’s also a good option for those tight on space. The wings fold away neatly when they’re not in use, and the lightweight 2.8kg build makes it easy to move from room to room.