Wash, dry, pack it away – the constant, never-ending cycle of any family home. As our family expanded, so did our laundry pile and with it that cycle became more of a battle; or rather the drying bit did. Sure it was fine in the summer when the weather was good enough to hang it out, but piles of wet clothes draped over radiators was starting to drive me insane the rest of the time. And God help us in those months where it was too warm for the heating to be on, but too cold for the clothes to dry any sense outside! Which is why we took the plunge and invested in a Dry:Soon 3 Tier Tower Heated Airer – an indoor clothes drier. It took me a lot of review reading to make the investment so, for all those out there with the same daily washing battle, here’s how we’ve got on.
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Review: Dry:Soon 3 Tier Tower Heated Airer
Dry:Soon is a Lakeland stocked range that provide a number of different heated airers depending on your drying needs and your space requirements. The Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer is one of their family sized clothes airers and will comfortably hold a full load of washing from a standard sized washing machine – as we’ve tested! This standard indoor heated airer is available from Amazon or from Lakeland and retails for around £150 for the basic airer without cover or accessories.
I had high expectations of the Dry:Soon range having read a number of glowing reviews so I was a little disappointed when I first used it and found that my clothes took forever to dry. I’d have damp clothes at the bottom or semi-dry clothes in there, hours after loading it. I quickly found that with a few easy changes, drying became far more efficient and I fell in love with our indoor heated airer. We purchased a cover, took to loading it more efficiently with heavier clothes at the top, and found a routine of loading it at night meant that the entire load was dry by the next morning.
Whilst I found the practice of having to load it up more time consuming than just draping clothes over the tables, chairs and radiators, now that we’re used to it, it’s a far quicker process and I’m far happier about having those clothes drying whilst people are in and out of the house. No more draped underwear in the hallway! For a family of four with two small children, washing is a fairly constant process in our house but I’m now able to dry clothes overnight and pack the airer away in between, meaning that we can stay on top of the laundry pile with relative ease. As an added bonus, the kids aren’t able to pull the washing off (I used to find piles of wet clothes that they’d ‘helped’ remove from radiators!) as well. All in all, we would certainly recommend although you will need somewhere to store it – an airing cupboard, under the stairs or under a bed would all work well!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Should I Get A Heated Airer?
Not only does it look nicer than having your clothes draped over radiators, it’s kinder to them than tumble driers meaning your favourite outfits should last longer. A heated airer when used properly is more cost efficient than using your heating to dry clothes and will allow you to dry things even in the warmer months.
Is It Easy To Set Up?
The Dry:Soon Heated Airers are incredibly easy to set up. They arrive in a full colour large box, simply unbox them and fold out the two side arms to give you a cross shaped frame. The heating bars them lift up from their lay flat position and clip into place. Plug it in and you’re ready to go! To put it down simply unplug, lift the heating bar panels up to release the clip and allow them to go back down to flat. Fold in the side arms and pack away!
What Size Is The Dry:Soon 3 Tier Standard Heated Airer?
When opened it’s 137cm tall by 75cm wide and 75cm deep. When folded down it goes to an impressive 137cm x 75cm x 8cm meaning it can easily be stored tucked into an airing cupboard or pushed under a bed.
How Much Washing Can You Fit On It?
Officially it will hold 15kg of washing and gives you around 21m worth of drying space. We fit a standard family wash for a family of four on it comfortably but it does depend what you’re washing – if it’s large items such as bedding or towels, you will fit far less on.
How Much Does The Dry:Soon 3 Tier Standard Heated Airer Cost To Run?
It costs less than 6p per hour so to dry a full load of laundry will cost you around 50p.
What Accessories Are Available From Dry:Soon?
Available accessories include a fitted cover, a slip on peg hanger for underwear and mesh shelves. We own the fitted cover but I’m very tempted to invest in some mesh shelves to use on the bottom layer for underwear draping as socks can slip off onto the floor.
Do I Need To Buy A Cover For my Dry:Soon Heated Airer?
You don’t need to buy a cover, but you will find it dramatically speeds up your drying time. We quickly invested in one and found that not only did it trap in the heat, turning the whole thing into a mini airing cupboard, it also looked a lot tidier – which is important if you tend to use it in a place that’s more public, like your kitchen! The Dry:Soon 3 Tier Standard Cover retails for just under £40 and is easy to take on and off. It will also zip down to make a storage bag for the drier but I find this more hassle than it’s worth!
How Long Do Clothes Take To Dry On A Dry:Soon Heated Airer?
If I load the heated airer up with wet (spun!) washing around 10pm at night, it is always dry by 7am the next morning. If I load it during the day, I tend to leave it on for longer just to ensure that it’s done.
Is It Heavy To Move Around?
No, the 3 Tier Standard Airer is light enough to easily move around the house but it is bulky in size so can be difficult to take up and down stairs. We tend to load ours and then push it into the corner more (on wooden floors) and it’s very easy to do this.
Is There A Knack To Loading My Heated Airer To Get The Best From It?
Yes, there absolutely is! In my experience, I use the bottom level for draping underwear, socks or sometimes laying a dry flat item on. The second layer I use for smaller items of clothing; children’s clothes or our tops and then the top layer for the items that need the most help drying, whether that’s a jumper or jeans. If I have something that I want to guarantee will dry, I’ll then drape this over the top of everything before putting the cover. My logic is that the heat rises so the warmest part of the heated airer is near the top, whilst the bottom level is fairly bad at drying hung clothes!
Any Other Heated Airer Tips?
Yes! Always load from the bottom up. Take your wet washing pile and split it into three smaller piles as per above and then load from the bottom up – it saves you having to root around under clothes to find the bars and knocking everything off.
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