But do heated airers use a lot of electricity? Our tests found they use significantly less of it to dry clothes when compared with drying pods. Finding the best heated clothes airer may not sound like the most exciting of pursuits. But as a means of drying your clothes in winter, these gadgets are hard to beat. Not only is a heated airer far kinder to your treasured garments than tumble drying (it adds years to the lifespan of your clothes), it’s also better for the environment. It eliminates that damp washing smell and is a good way of minimising crinkles, so you might not need to invest in an iron or a steamer. Most heated airers also fold up compactly for storage. Our Dry:Soon heated clothes airers cost just pennies to run*. They're much kinder to clothes than tumble drying and they're neater and more efficient than laying laundry over your radiators, especially in those warm but rainy months. Versatile

Like most things in life, it depends. In this case: on the amount of clothes you need to dry and how fast you want them to dry. Heated airers speed up the drying process and provide a gentler method for drying delicates. Instead of wrapping delicates in towels and balancing them precariously on the bathroom radiator, or hanging dresses up in the shower to drip-dry, an electric airer means you can just wring them out gently and lay them flat to dry. How hot do heated clothes dryers get?

Versatile

We dried a small cotton load on each airer, representing a week's worth of washing for a single person.

We also measured the total drying space and volume of the airer, so we can let you know which ones give you the most drying space without taking over an entire room in your home. Compare that to a tumble dryer - typically upwards of 35p an hour to run - and a heated clothes airer can be an effective, space- and money-saving solution for the home. Where's the best place to buy a clothes airer?You might also be interested in our radiator airers. They hook over the top of the radiator and protrude outwards with a number of rails on them, so you can hang things in the direct heat of the radiator while still allowing air to pass through them. Hanging clothes and towels directly on the radiator doesn’t give you that air flow, so these hangers are a great idea. Can heated clothes airers save you money? Our testing found heated clothes airers will cost about half as much money to run as a drying pod.

Heated airers can look pretty same-y but this John Lewis option stands out from the crowd thanks to one small thing: shoe dryers. If you’ve been caught out in a storm and had to stuff your shoes full of old newspapers of kitchen towels to dry them, only to find them still slightly soggy the next day, this is for you. Rotary airer. You can commonly see this type in homes with small gardens where longer kinds are not possible to use. Rotary airer clothes dryer usually comes with a singles post or shaft with around 4 or more arms stretch out at its top part. You can use it outside and you only need to stand in one place when getting your clothes since it rotates. Finally, tower airers have a combination of vertical and horizontal bars on which to hang clothes, and often an area to hook on clothes hangers - a great addition if you wash a lot of shirts. If you get fed up with the sight of smalls draped over your radiators, or having your living space taken over by conventional airers for days at a time, a Dry:Soon 3-Tier Heated Airer is the answer. The best heated airers cost as little as 6p per hour to run, while the most costly came in at around 32p an hour. StabilityIt’s effectively a fan on detachable tripod feet with a pole, at the top of which there are six spokes designed to hold up to 12 hangers of spin-dried or well-wrung damp clothing (up to 10kg). It’s particularly useful for shirts and blouses, since being able to hang T-shirts in this way means they dry straight with minimal creases, meaning less ironing. But it’s less useful for drying, say, towels.

Durability. Any appliance that will be exposed under the sun needs to be durable. This goes the same with clothes dryers. The type of material will also determine its durability. Metal types are the most durable in this case, plastic being next.Usually suitable for standing in the bathtub or on a balcony, they have two large fold-out wings that are perfect for hanging longer items such as towels, trousers and maxi dresses. Most winged models also have flat sections — either between the wings or between the leg rungs — that are great for drying delicates and smaller items. Due to their large wings, they tend to be quite tall even when folded down. Bathtub