WHILE the cold weather continues, it's hard to dry washing properly indoors without using every radiator in sight.
Heated electric clothes airers are a nifty solution, which can be set up in any room to dry batches of clothes quickly and easily.
During the cooler, wetter months when you can't hang washing out on a line in the sunshine, drying clothes indoors can be a real challenge.
Even if you have a tumble dryer, many items of clothing can't be tumble-dried without damaging or shrinking the material, so you often end up using radiators or a washing airer instead.
An electric clothes drying rack gives you the benefits of both as you plug it in and it gently heats up to dry clothes in just a few hours or less (depending on the material).
It's more energy efficient and cheaper than using the tumble dryer and kinder to the clothes, too - plus, an electric airer can be set up in any room (such as a bedroom) out of your way and folded and stored away when not in use.
If this sounds like something you need for your home, read on as we've rounded up some of the best electric clothes airers available to buy now.
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All 20 bars of this electric clothes airer heat up for a quick, gentle way to dry your clothes.
It also comes with a fabric cover that can speed up the drying time.
Plus, it's lightweight and foldable so can be easily stored between uses to save space.
This ALDI electric airer is available at a great price and also comes with a 3-year warranty making it a popular product that is often out of stock, so grab one while you can.
For families with larger loads of washing, the Lakeland Dry: Soon Deluxe has three tiers of hanging space that can be extended out to dry multiple garments or folded to make space for longer garments such as dresses or jeans.
It can hold up to 15kg of washing on 21m of drying space — however, our washing machine can only hold 8kg and we struggled for space, so we'd say this would be for smaller pieces of clothing such as socks and underwear.
The airer costs less than 6p an hour to run. When we tested it, we had a full stack of clothes drying with the electricity on for half a day, which would have cost 36p.
This bundle includes the airer itself and a cover, which helps to dry clothes more quickly but still with mesh panels to allow air flow to stop the airer getting too hot.
Plus, you can use the cover as a storage bag for the airer when you're not using it.
The Tower T25001 has two foldable wings for those days you have an extra bit of washing, meaning that it's a great option for households with heaps of washing one week and not-so-much the next.
While not the best heated airer for larger families due to its size, it is great for those who have small children.
It heats up to a maximum temperature of 55°C, meaning clothes dry quickly - and the heating source operates using a low energy cost for efficiency, meaning no big energy bills.
You can also fold this away so it doesn't up much room when not in use.
This heated airer is great if you're short on space as it comes in two bits, which are easy enough to put together and then take back apart when you need to fold it away.
It is super economical, costing the same as a 120W light bulb to run - and the size helps keep the costs of running it down.
It's ideal for drying jumpers, hanging laundry or even warming up towels - but is more suited to smaller households due to its size.
The JML Dri Buddi keeps your clothes dry and crisp, and uses 25% less energy thanks to its 1200W motor unit.
It holds up to 10kg of damp clothing at a time and doesn't damage fabric. The warm air motor helps creases drop out, making it feel like clothes have been dried on an outdoor washing line.
And as a bonus, it's easy to put together; we had it up and running in less than five minutes.
Measuring 135cm high and 73cm wide, this heated airer is three-tiered which makes it good for larger families or those who have a lot of washing.
It costs less than 4p an hour to run, which compares well against the other heaters we tried.
Even though it's larger, it can be easier folded away to fit behind doors or under beds. It also comes with a safety-covered, illuminated on and off switch.
There is a shoe storage rack on the airer too, in case you ever need to heat them up or dry them after being outdoors in the wet weather.
Similar to the Tower electric drying rack but coming in cheaper at £40, the Dunelm airer is great value.
Designed with fold out wings for extra drying space, this electric airer allows you to dry your clothes quickly but the wings fold neatly down for easy storage.
It also has a low energy consumption and costs just 3.5p/hour to run.
One reviewer wrote: "really pleased with the dryer. holds a good amount of items and certainly speeds up drying time."
This heated airer should use 'less than 4p per hour' to run making it a great energy saving alternative to tumble dryers and also kinder to clothes than tumble dryers.
It features 18 bars so it should give you enough space to hang your clothes and it's also compact enough when it's time to store it.
One happy customer wrote: "Must have, especially during the winter period! A* product if treated properly."
Homefront Electric Heated Clothes Airer Dryer Rack, £49.95 at Amazon, buy here
This clothes dryer rack evenly dries up to two metres of washing: perfect for drying t-shirts, socks, underwear and more.
Thanks to its sleek design, this rack could easily be left out even when it's not in use, perhaps in the bathroom as a stylish extra towel rack!
It is also made of Aluminium, meaning you won't need pegs to keep your clothes in place. Functional and stylish!
Heated clothes airers use electricity to heat up clothes and are made from metal.
Each heated airer has its own way of getting clothes dry in terms of air flow or airer covers.
Some heated airers have timers to make them safer.
Each heated clothes airer has individual instructions, although they are generally similar to operate — you hang your clothes on the airer (the amount of washing you can fit will obviously depend on how big your airer is), then plug it into the socket and switch it on.
If used responsibly, heated clothes airers are perfectly safe to use, although they shouldn't be left on overnight or unattended.
For any electrical appliance, always read the instructions and safety advice before using it.
The airers we tested definitely got the job done. However, it is more to do with energy efficiency and the cost of using them that separates the best ones from the mid-tier models.
We also love heated airers that can be folded and stored easily. This means that people in smaller households can put them away when they're not using them.
The majority of heated clothes airers are not expensive, with some being as little 3p an hour to run.
However, it's best to check with your energy provider how much it could cost to run certain wattages.
Heated clothes airers can be bought at homeware stores such as Lakeland and Dunelm.
Some airers can also be found on Amazon and at stores such as Wilkos.
A heated clothes airer can be priced at as little as £29.99 or less, depending on the style or where it is from.
On the higher end of the scale, three-tier heated clothes airers can go for nearly £200.
Waist Not Just Chill TOTAL BLINDERS Freak in the sheetsIf you liked our selection of the best heated airers, check out our roundup of the best laundry baskets.
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