The best heated clothes airers, compared

£70 at Argos in black. The silver version is £105 for the same spec. It draws 300W, so 7.8p an hour at today’s price cap. It wins because Argos publishes what the others leave out: a 60°C maximum bar temperature, a one minute warm-up and an average of 7 hours to dry a full load, which is about 55p. The frame is 90 per cent aluminium.

The catch is the heat. 60°C is the hottest here and above the 51°C at which bare metal can burn skin in a minute, so keep small hands and pets off it. There is no timer, though some owners say the description suggested one, the cable is 1.3m and the cover is £40 extra. Owners also report the top tier hinge breaking.

£140 at Argos with the cover in the box, or £159.99 direct from Minky. It draws 300W, so 7.8p an hour, across 23m of rail on angled arms that hold clothes apart. Its bars top out at 42°C, under the 43°C that bare metal can touch skin for eight hours without burning. Argos lists 43 per cent aluminium, 40 per cent ABS and a 100 per cent polyester cover.

Low heat is also the weakness. It takes 30 minutes to warm up, and 1 and 2 star reviewers call it tepid, with one reporting nearly two days to dry a load. Minky says it can be programmed for up to 9 hours, but the Argos listing does not mention a timer and some owners say theirs has none, so check the box. The guarantee is one year.

£169.99, or £214.98 with the £44.99 cover Lakeland recommends. It has the clearest timer here, 1 to 12 hours and then it switches itself off, and the only three year guarantee. Lakeland does not print the wattage. Mumsnet and Ideal Home give 300W, which fits Lakeland’s own 8p an hour, and Mumsnet’s reviewer dried an 8kg load in 3 to 4 hours.

The “two wash loads” claim is where it comes unstuck. Of 536 reviews on Lakeland’s own site, 90 are 1 or 2 stars, and the complaints repeat: clothes only dry where they touch a bar, loads take 12 hours or more, and some come off smelling musty. Several owners report it beeping continuously and refusing to heat after a few years.

£134.99 at Robert Dyas with a zip-up cover, peg hangers and castor wheels, or £99.99 for the airer alone. It draws 300W, so 7.8p an hour, over 21m of rail with a 15kg limit. The wheels matter more than they sound: a loaded 3 tier airer is heavy and awkward to shift, and Lakeland charges extra for castors. Robert Dyas shows 4.5 stars from 466 reviews.

The evidence is thin. There is no bar temperature, no drying time and no timer on the listing, and the materials are given only as “aluminium, plastic, and fabric”. Every review we could reach was 5 stars, so we could not read what unhappy owners say. The “save £85” is measured against a £219.99 was price. The guarantee is one year.

£95, plus £16 for the cover. Dunelm lists it at 330W, the most here, which at its own 26p a unit is 8.6p an hour. The listing says “approx. 4p per hour” using that same 26p, which is under half the true figure. In 2024 National Energy Action found Dunelm advertising 10p an hour for its 330W 3 tier, so the number moves but never matches the maths.

It has 20m of rail, no timer and folds to 10.5cm. Most of its 1,157 reviews are happy, but 94 are 1 or 2 stars: loads still wet after 8 hours, a smell of burning plastic, and one owner whose partner burned his hand on it after 6 hours. Dunelm publishes no bar temperature, and sells the cover as “fire-resistant” without saying what makes it so.

£60 at Argos with a cover. At 230W it is the cheapest to run, 6p an hour, but the hours are the problem. The bars reach only 42°C after 30 minutes, and Mumsnet’s reviewer found a full load hung over the rails took around 12 hours, about 72p. That is dearer than a heat pump tumble dryer, and Minky puts a 16kg claim on 12m of rail.

Of 1,749 Argos reviews, 405 are 1 or 2 stars, 23 per cent and the worst record here. The theme is consistent: only the fabric touching a bar dries, so long items take days. It is 148cm long when open, has no timer and owners warn it tips if loaded unevenly. Minky’s own site still sells it as room for a whole family’s laundry.