Best heated clothes airers

If you don't have a tumble dryer, or have one but are wondering if there's a cheaper way to get clothes dry when it's raining, you may have considered a heated clothes airer or drying pod. 

We tested popular electric clothes airers from the Lakeland Dry Soon range, John Lewis, Dunelm, Argos and more to find the best heated airers for balancing cost and speed while helping you clear that backlog of sodden washing. 

As part of our testing, we wanted to find out if heated airers are worth it, whether they're expensive to run, and whether electric airers better than a tumble dryer. So as well as drying speed and ease of use, we calculated running costs.

We discovered that a heated airer could be more cost-effective for some people but can also end up costing more than using a tumble dryer, depending on the type of airer/dryer and the load size you're drying. 

We also found that the quickest heated clothes airers cost more to run. 

However, we discovered two heated airers impressive enough to be Best Buys. Read our full reviews below to find out if they could save you money. 

The best heated clothes airers

Only logged-in Which? members can view the heated clothes airers and drying pod test results below.

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

We're doing our best to stay on top of the stockist details below but, due to demand, these products are currently coming in and then rapidly going out of stock.

The heated clothes airers we tested

All the heated clothes airers we tested are listed alphabetically below. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best heated clothes airers and drying pods from our tests. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Dunelm Two Tier Heated Airer

Typical price: £75

Where to buy:

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Date tested: September 2022

Running cost per hour: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Dimensions HxWxD (folded): 99 x 72 x 78cm (11.5cm) 

Need to know: weight 3.7kg, 13-metre drying space (20 medium T-shirts)

Dry Soon: Drying Pod

Typical price: £99.99

Where to buy:

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Date tested: September 2022

Running cost per hour: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Dimensions HxWxD: 146 x 62 x 62cm

Need to know: weight 3.1kg, hanging space for 12 T-shirts/other garments

Dry Soon: Mini Three Tier Heated Airer

Typical price: £129.99

Where to buy:

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Date tested: September 2022

Running cost per hour: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Dimensions HxWxD (folded): 114 x 60 x 63cm (8cm)

Need to know: weight 3.9kg, 13-metre drying space (24 medium t-shirts), also available to buy with a cover (£39.99 available at Lakeland )

JML DRIBUDDI Indoor Airer

Typical price: £75

Where to buy:

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Date tested: September 2022

Running cost per hour: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Dimensions HxWxD: 160 x 70 x 70cm 

Need to know: weight 3kg, hanging space for 18 T-shirts/other garments

John Lewis Three Tier Heated Clothes Airer

Typical price: £100

Where to buy:

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Date tested: October 2022

Running cost per hour: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Dimensions HxWxD (folded): 135 x 66 x 73cm (7cm)

Need to know: weight 5.5kg, 15-metre drying space (30 medium T-shirts)

Minky 12m Heated Clothes Airer With Cover

Typical price: £55

Where to buy:

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Date tested: September 2022

Running cost per hour: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Dimensions HxWxD (folded): 114 x 55 x 94cm (6cm)

Need to know: weight 3.4kg, 12-metre drying space (18 medium T-shirts)

Oypla Electrical Extendable Heated Airer

Typical price: £44.99

Where to buy:

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Date tested: September 2022

Running cost per hour: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal

Dimensions HxWxD (folded): 94 x 50 x 74cm (4.5cm)

Need to know: weight 3.6kg, 12-metre drying space (18 medium T-shirts)

Inspiring tips for improving the place you live in: Get our Home newsletter – it's free monthly

How we tested heated clothes airers

We bought the most popular heated clothes airers and drying pods available from key retailers, including Amazon, Argos, Dunelm and Lakeland. 

We buy all the products we test. These products are coming in and out of stock, due to demand, but we are getting in line to test more as they become available again.

Drying speed

• We dried a small cotton load (2.15kg) on each airer. This size is equivalent to the average tumble dryer from our tumble dryer reviews being a quarter full.
• We weighed the wet clothes beforehand to make sure all loads were equally wet.
• We reweighed and rotated the clothes every 30 mins to determine when they were dry. We did this every 10 minutes once the clothes were close to being dry.
• We took each airer's capacity into account to calculate the drying time for a large cotton load (5.7kg). This size is equivalent to the average load size used to calculate tumble dryer annual running costs for our tumble dryer reviews. 

Energy use

• We used a thermal imaging camera to check the bars and pods heated evenly. None of the tested heated clothes airers showed signs of significantly uneven heating.
• We measured the kilowatt hours of energy used to dry a small cotton load.
• We used this to calculate the running cost per hour and cost to dry a small cotton load under the current energy price cap.
• We took each airer's capacity into account to also calculate the cost to dry a large cotton load.
• Energy use made up significant proportion of our final ratings because running cost is a key factor when it comes to considering buying a heated airer.
• We used the RS PRO energy meter, £28, from RS Components. If you're interested in measuring your heated clothes airer or other appliances around your home, you can buy similar meters starting from around £18 from popular retailers such as Amazon and Screwfix.

Stability

• We used a force gauge to determine how much force is needed to topple over each heated airer.
• We found all the airers didn't tip over easily, but some felt sturdier when assembled than others.

Ease of use

• We scored each heated airer on how easy to is to carry, assemble and dismantle.
• We also rated each one on how easy it was to fit different sizes of clothing items on it, including T-shirts, jeans and maxi dresses.

17 ways to save money on your household bills and living costs in 2022

Types of heated clothes airers

There are two main types of heated clothes airer: heated bar clothes airers and drying pods. Both work very differently.

Heated bar clothes airers use (as the name suggests) heated bars to dry clothes. They resemble your typical clothes horse, but each bar acts like a mini radiator to dry clothing faster. 

Drying pods are essentially big hair dryers for clothes, using a fan and heating element to blow hot air through hanging clothes inside a pod. They dry clothes faster than a heated bar clothes airer. 

• Both release moisture into the air, so you'll either need to crack a window open or use a dehumidifier to control condensation in the home. You can buy covers for heated bar clothes airers, which minimise the moisture released – but our testing found that they didn't result in faster drying times.
• There is a noticeable difference in how easy it is to fit clothes. You would struggle to fit jeans, dresses and even some larger T-shirts on some of the more compact heated clothes airers. Drying pods, however, can fit larger items, such as jeans and towels, but you'd still struggle to fit maxi dresses or bed sheets.
• There's little difference in how easy each type is to set up, but drying pods need taking apart, rather than folding down like heated bar clothes airers. This may make them a little trickier to store when not in use.

Best dehumidifiers: Which? Best Buys and expert buying advice

Are heated airers worth it?

Both heated clothes airers and drying pods will dry your clothes faster than air drying indoors:

• Heated clothes airers we tested took between four and five hours to dry a 2.15kg cotton load.
• Drying pods we tested took on average 2 hours 20 minutes to dry a 2.15kg cotton load.

Heated airers use significantly less energy to dry clothes compared with drying pods:

• 39p on average for heated airers vs 85p on average for drying pods (2.15kg cotton load).
• £1.00 on average for heated airers vs £2.95 on average for drying pods (5.7kg load).

But both types of heated clothes airer will cost you more to run annually than a tumble dryer if you're drying big loads regularly.

Live more sustainably – get our free Sustainability newsletter to make changes for you and the planet.

Is an electric airer better than a tumble dryer?

It depends on the amount of clothes you want to dry and what type of tumble dryer you have. 

Tumble dryers have larger capacities so you can dry bigger loads in one go, such as the 5.7kg average load size used to calculate the tumble dryer running costs for our tumble dryer reviews. It would take multiple uses to dry this amount of clothes with a heated airer or drying pod.

But if you have small amounts of washing (such as the 2.15kg cotton load we used for our test) that can fit on a heated airer in one go, there are possible savings to be made compared with some types of tumble dryer.

Heated airers are cheaper to run than condenser tumble dryers. We calculate the annual savings are significant if you dry smaller loads. For example, drying three 2.15kg cotton loads a week will cost about £50 less a year on average with a heated clothes airer we've tested than the average condenser tumble dryer, but the savings reduce dramatically for a larger 5.7kg load.

If you have a heat pump tumble dryer, stick with it instead. They are as efficient and cost effective as heated airers for small loads. The average running cost of a heat pump tumble dryer is £69 a year for three 5.7kg loads a week, which is much less than the £156 for the average heated airer we've tested.

Larger household with lots of washing? A tumble dryer remains the cheaper (bar air drying your clothes) and quicker way to dry your clothes. The annual running cost is £69 for a heat pump tumble dryer and £166 for a condenser tumble dryer (based on drying three cotton loads a week). According to our calculations it would cost around £156 on average to dry the equivalent amount on a heated airer we've tested.

Smaller household with small amounts of washing? A heated airer could save you money, especially if you own a condenser or vented tumble dryer. However, your loads will take longer to dry and you'll need to rotate them regularly to ensure even, and the fastest possible, drying. 

Drying pods cost a lot more to run than heated airers. You won't make any savings, and could pay significantly more over the lifetime of the product than a tumble dryer if you used a drying pod as the main method to dry your clothes. But if you want something that will dry in a time closer to that of a tumble dryer, and you don't own one or can't have one installed, a drying pod may be an option.

Cut your laundry costs by up to £162 this year with our money-saving advice.