With unpredictable UK weather and rising energy costs, heated clothes airers have become essential for efficiently drying laundry. These clever devices offer a cost-effective and energy-efficient alternative to tumble dryers, gently drying your clothes without the risk of shrinkage or creases.
Heated clothes airers are perfect for busy families, students in compact flats, or anyone looking to save on their energy bills. However, with so many models on the market, it can be tricky to know which ones are hot property and which ones deserve the cold shoulder.
When choosing a heated clothes airer, it’s a good idea to consider the space you have available. Tiered heated clothes airers tend to be large units even when folded, so you need to work out if the convenience of drying lots of clothes at once is worth the inconvenience of having to prop up a heavy-duty heated clothes airer in the corner when it’s not in use. If not, some airers consist of a bottom heater with collapsible poles that can be erected as needed and stored in a cupboard the rest of the time.
With all this in mind, I’ve been busy testing a range of models to help you find the perfect balance between price, performance and features. Beldray and Dry:Soon, dominate the market, but they aren’t the only options. While my favourite is the Dry:Soon mini three-tier heated clothes airer, which packs plenty of drying space into a compact area, there are a few other good picks. Keep scrolling to find out which is the best heated clothes airer for you.
How I tested
Over the course of two weeks, I tested each heated clothes airer in a real household setting while considering the following criteria:
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Zoe Griffin has been testing products for IndyBest since 2021, and has reviewed countless heated clothes airers, like the Easylife XL, featured below, as well as other laundry products like fabric conditioners and stain removers.
For every guide she’s written, Zoe has a thorough approach to testing and considers options for every budget. She’s been testing and updating IndyBest’s guide to the best heated clothes airers since 2022. Her reviews are honest and realistic, to help you make the best purchase for your home.
The wider IndyBest team also offers insights on other laundry-room essentials, such as laundry baskets, washer-dryers and even steam irons. The team strives to offer all kinds of recommendations for making your home more efficient and cosy, with reviews of products like electric heaters and smart thermostats.
Best heated clothes airers for 2025:
Dry:Soon mini three-tier heated airer
Best: Heated clothes airer overall
Dimensions: D 60cm x W 63cm x H 113.5cm
Capacity: 15kg
Timer: No
Running cost: 5p/hour
Power: 198W
Why we love it
- Lightweight
- Foldable
- Low running cost
Take note
- Cover not included
- No timer
Lakeland was one of the first companies to manufacture heated clothes airers, and it now offers a variety of models within its Dry:Soon own-brand range. This mini three-tier heated clothes airer is one of the most reasonably priced options, but it will handle anything you throw at it.
It can hold up to 15kg of washing, and while this is not as much as some of the larger airers tested, my washing machine only has a capacity of 8kg, so this heated clothes airer can still hold almost two full loads.
Because it’s smaller, it has a tiny running cost of 6p per hour, making it one of the cheapest to run among the models tested. I also like the fact that it comes in one piece, so you can use it straight out of the box.
The rails heat up in a couple of seconds, and T-shirts, shirts and sports kits dry in three to four hours. If you want to speed this up, you could buy a Lakeland heated airer cover (£44.99, Lakeland.co.uk) or opt for a heated airer and accessories bundle (£169.98, Lakeland.co.uk)
Weighing 4.3kg, it’s relatively light and easy to move around the house, if you have guests coming over and want to move your smalls out of sight. The airer also folds up neatly to just 8cm deep, so it fits under a bed or neatly behind a wardrobe when not in use.
Buy now £129.99, Lakeland.co.uk
Beldray heated drying pod system
Best: Budget heated clothes airer
Dimensions: D 6.5cm x W 19.3cm x H 23cm
Capacity: 10kg-15kg, depending on your airer
Timer: Yes
Running cost: 26p/hour
Power: 1,000W
Why we love it
- Easy to store
- Great price
- Built-in timer
- Decent drying time
Take note
- Higher running costs
- Not compatible with winged airers
This heater and cover set transforms a regular clothes horse into a heated clothes airer. Suitable for most three-tiered airers measuring 65cm x 55cm x 145cm, simply hang up your laundry and place the heater underneath, which will blow warm air up towards your garments, while adding the cover will stop the heat from escaping.
For less than £40, this drying pod system is extraordinarily good value for money if you already have a compatible airer.
Beldray claims this system offers “fast and even drying”. On test, I found shirts dried in a couple of hours, which is twice as long as it took with Dry:Soon’s heated cabinet (also included in this roundup), but Beldray’s system is half the price. Jeans were ready in less than four hours, with no damp patches.
A built-in timer helps save electricity and adds convenience, so you never need to remember to switch it off, either. The drawback is obvious - you need a tiered airer already, or this won’t work. If you already have one, it will be hard to find anything that works as well for this price.
Buy now £37.99, Beldray.com
Easylife XL three-tier heated airer with timer
Best: Heated clothes airer with timer
Dimensions: D 67cm x H 147cm x W 72cm
Capacity: 15kg
Timer: Yes
Running cost: 8p/hour
Power: 300W
Why we love it
- Built-in timer
- Wheels make it easy to move around
- Folds flat
- Delivered assembled
- Cheap to run
Take note
- No cover
- Slower drying times, compared with some other models
Built for anyone who needs generous drying capacity, this airer features 30 heated rails and a 15kg load limit, allowing it to comfortably handle two washing machine loads simultaneously. Easylife claims the airer “takes up no more space than an armchair,” and I’d say that’s a fair description.
When the laundry’s done, this airer folds completely flat for storage. The wheeled base means it is super easy to manoeuvre, too, even when fully loaded.
The standout feature is its built-in timer, offering two- and four-hour settings that automatically switch off the unit. This has several advantages. It’s a great safety feature for peace of mind. It helps avoid wasted electricity and makes it easy to plan around off-peak tariffs.
Drying is slower (about six hours) than on covered models, but loosely draping a sheet over the top can speed things up.
Just be sure to leave ventilation gaps, so moisture can escape – a sealed cover will trap condensation, slow down the drying process, and you may end up with that dreaded musty smell.
Read my full review of the Easylife airer
Buy now £149.99, Easylife.co.uk
Dry:Soon drying pod
Best: Heated clothes airer for quick drying
Dimensions: D 62cm x W 62cm x H 146cm
Capacity: Holds up to 12 items on hangers
Timer: Yes
Running cost: 26p/hour
Power: 1,000W
Why we love it
- Speedy drying time
- Built-in timer
- Price includes cover
- Easy to assemble and disassemble
Take note
- Small capacity
- Not suitable for bedding
This pod-style dryer features a base pole on a tripod and six rails that can hold two items each. It couldn’t be simpler to set up, which is great news if you’re lacking in the DIY skills department. Simply attach the two parts of the base pole together, put the bottom end into the base, add three legs, plug in and power on.
It truly is compact, taking up less space than a coat rack, and it’s powerful. With the cover on, the unit heats up to 70C, which means warm air is constantly circulating around your clothes to dry them fast. T-shirts and shirts can dry in just 60 minutes, while thicker fabrics, such as denim jeans, were mostly dry after two hours during testing. There’s a timer that will automatically shut off power at intervals of 30 minutes up to three hours.
With space for 12 items on hangers, you can dry a mix of items, including smalls, as you can buy sock hangers or underwear hangers to use in one of the 12 slots. The cover gives your garments some privacy as well as speeding up drying times. However, the trade-off for its efficiency is capacity, so it’s not the best choice for bigger households, and there’s no way it can be used for bedding.
Read my full review of the Dry:Soon drying pod
Buy now £64.99, Lakeland.co.uk
Beldray three-tier heated clothes airer
Best: Large heated clothes airer
Dimensions: D 70cm x W 73cm x H 147cm
Capacity: 30kg
Timer: No
Running cost: 8p/hour
Power: 300W
Why we love it
- Low operating cost
- Lots of drying space
- Heats up fast
- Even drying
Take note
- No cover
- Slow drying
- Bulky
This massive airer excels at drying bulkier household textiles. With a huge 30kg capacity spread across 36 wide aluminium rails, you can drape towels and bedding without them bunching, cutting down drying times and reducing creases.
The rails warmed up within two minutes, and large items dried evenly, without any cold spots. However, smaller garments still took longer to dry compared with using covered heated clothes airers such as the Beldray and Dry:Soon pod airers.
The running cost is impressively low (8p per hour) for such a huge airer, so long drying sessions won’t dent your bank balance too much. If you get through a lot of laundry in a week, this airer could save you a fortune compared to running a tumble dryer.
Buy now £109.99, Amazon.co.uk
Dry:Soon heated cabinet
Best: Heated clothes airer for easy storage
Dimensions: D 35cm x W 62cm x H 160cm
Capacity: 10kg
Timer: Yes
Running cost: 31p/hour
Power: 1,200W
Why we love it
- Six hour auto shut-off
- Includes cover
- Slimline
Take note
- Higher running costs compared with some other models
- Small 10kg capacity
Shaped like a slim wardrobe, this drying pod hides laundry behind a zipped cover, so you can dry clothes in a hallway or living space without looking at damp socks.
The enclosed heating system dries a 10kg load in three to four hours, which is quicker than uncovered racks such as the Easylife XL, though its higher running cost (31p/hour) is worth noting.
The six-hour auto shut-off is a great safety feature, and the pod’s slim profile makes it one of the easiest to store. However, its smaller capacity means it’s best for couples – large families might find that it doesn’t provide enough space.
Buy now £89.99, Lakeland.co.uk
Beldray round heated airer
Best: Heated clothes airer with cover
Dimensions: D 60cm x W 60cm x H 146.5cm
Capacity: 12 items on hangers
Timer: Yes
Running cost: 26p/hour
Power: 1,000W
Why we love it
- Easy to assemble and disassemble
- Fast drying times
- Price includes cover
- Cover doubles up as storage bag
Take note
- Small capacity
- Noisy
For the price, this airer is surprisingly effective. It’s essentially a small heated base with a tall support pole, covered by a zip-up fabric dome. Beldray promises fast and even drying, and, while it doesn’t quite match the speed of the Dry:Soon pod above, it dried shirts in just over two hours and jeans in less than four hours during testing, which is respectable for the cost.
When not in use, the poles and base can be zipped inside the cover and stored neatly in a cupboard. The big advantage with this model is that it’s one of the cheapest airers with a cover (a game-changer for fast drying).
It also has a built-in timer, so you can avoid wasting electricity. I just wish it could fit more items, as I found it only held 10-12 hanging garments, making it best for smaller loads or emergency drying. It was also surprisingly noisy, making the same amount of white noise as an electric fan on a high setting.
Buy now £54.99, Amazon.co.uk
Beldray heated airer with wings
Best: Winged heated clothes airer
Dimensions: H 72cm x W 54cm x D 148cm
Capacity: 15kg
Timer: No
Running cost: 6p/hour
Power: 230W
Why we love it
- Can be used with the wings extended or collapsed
This affordable option from Beldray is capable of holding up to 15kg of washing across 18 heated bars. We liked that it could be used with the wings extended or collapsed, so we could shorten the length if we only had a small load of washing to dry.
Although it’s longer horizontally than the tiered airers we tested, there’s something quite refreshing about its diminutive height. At 72cm, it’s never in your eyeline, so you aren’t constantly reminded of your laundry chores.
The 230W heating filament meant satisfactory drying times, but this heated clothes airer wasn’t as fast as models with covers.
Buy now £54.99, Amazon.co.uk
Minky wing 12m heated airer with cover
Best: Winged heated clothes airer with cover
Dimensions: H 94cm x W 148 cm x D 54cm
Capacity: 16kg
Timer: None, you have to manually turn it on and off
Running cost: 6p/hour
Power: 230W
Why we love it
- Comes with a cover
- Can spread delicate items over the larger section to dry
- Folds up completely flat
A cover massively speeds up drying times and is normally an added extra, so I was pleasantly surprised that this £60 Minky heated clothes airer had one included in the box.
I could easily fit a whole load of washing on the rails, spreading out socks and underwear on the wings and using the main rack for larger items such as towels and dresses. It was also brilliant for drying delicate items such as woollen jumpers, which we spread flat over the larger section, to avoid rail marks denting the material.
A real advantage of this winged airer is that it folds completely flat, making it a dream to store when not in use. At almost 1.5m in length with both wings extended, however, it occupies a lot of space.
Buy now £59.99, Amazon.co.uk
Black+Decker three-tier heated airer
Best: Heated clothes airer for families
Dimensions: D 68cm x W 73cm x H 140cm
Capacity: 15kg
Timer: No
Running cost: 8p/hour
Power: 300W
Why we love it
- Large airer
- Rails are generously spaced
- Can reach full power in less than a minute
Another larger airer, this can handle a full washing machine load of clothes and more. I found that the rails are spaced out more than on other rail-based airer models, and this tiny change makes a huge difference.
The bigger gaps make arranging clothes fast and simple. There’s none of that tedious faff to squeeze a pair of jeans into the middle rail, for example – you can simply throw the clothes over it as fast as you can and get on with something else. It makes a huge difference when juggling lots of tasks for a busy family.
At 300W, drying times are respectable. You don’t have to wait for it to heat up, as this airer can reach full power in less than a minute. Should you need to move it, the lightweight aluminium frame weighs just 4.5kg, making it impressively portable, given its size.
Buy now £109.99, Amazon.co.uk
Your questions on heated clothes airers answered
What is the best heated clothes airer?
For all-round performance, the Lakeland Dry:Soon mini three-tier heated clothes airer takes the crown, as it’s fast, efficient, and folds up small. If you’re watching the pennies, the Beldray heated drying pod system proves you don’t need to spend big for solid results, with a powerful, fast performance at a low cost. For maximum capacity, the Beldray 3-tier heated clothes airer is unmatched, accommodating up to 30kg in one go, which is perfect for large families or heavy laundry days.
Can you leave a heated clothes airer on overnight?
While the temperature of the rails themselves won’t be hot enough to cause concern if a heater is left on overnight, typically, it’s not recommended to leave appliances plugged in, running and unattended for long periods of time. That being said, some heated clothes airers come with timers (for up to 12 hours) and auto-shut-off functions.
Are heated clothes airers expensive to run?
Heated clothes airers are cost-effective home appliances that not only speed up the drying time of your clothes but are also more affordable to run than a tumble dryer. It depends on the model, your tariff, and usage, but it’s very rare for a heated clothes airer to cost more than around 26p per hour. At most, they should cost around 40p.
That’s a huge saving compared to a tumble dryer. Depending on the model, operating a tumble dryer can cost from 56p to £1.55 an hour.
Heated clothes airers are cheaper to invest in, too, with many designs available for less than £100, while tumble dryers are much bigger machines that can cost hundreds of pounds.
Do heated clothes airers cause damp?
Heated airers dry your clothes by evaporating the water left over from a washing cycle. However, all that water has to go somewhere. If your home is prone to humidity, heated airers can contribute to moist air and ultimately, damp. However, you can reduce this risk by using a dehumidifier.
Martin Lewis recommends using a dehumidifier to dry clothes – these are the models we’d invest in
