Laundry can be a hassle to do in winter, especially when having to dry clothes. While many use their tumble dryer or central heating, I wanted to see I cheaper alternatives were worth it.
Having already tested out their effective dehumidifier, I decided to see if Swan’s three-tier heated clothes airer was just as good if not a better option.
A heated clothes airer looks like a regular airer, except the rails heat up when you plug the unit into a power socket.
It’s estimated these devices cost between 10p to 20p an hour to run, making them cheaper to use than a tumble dryer or your central heating.
Swan’s three-tier heated clothes airer costs 10p an hour to use and it can hold an impressive 30kg.
The heated airer is currently on sale for £79.99 down from £129.99. Although this seems quite pricey, reviews on their website regarded the appliance as “brilliant”, with many claiming that it “dries clothes so much faster and doesn’t cost a lot on the electric bill”.
Setting up the Swan heated airer was a fairly simple process. After removing it from the box, I had to use the screws provided to attach the two plastic feet to the airer.
Once the plastic feet are on the airer, they can fold up, which makes it easier to store the airer when not in use. After the feet were installed, I removed each shelf from its fixed plastic clip, being careful not to force it.
Once the shelves were flat, the airer was plugged in, and switched on, and it took just over five minutes for the airer to heat up to its maximum temperature of 55°C.
Noticing that the airer was relatively large, I decided to put on two loads of laundry and made sure to put them on an extra spin cycle, as I do every time.
Once the clothes were out of the washer, it was time to load them on the airer, making sure to put the larger clothing items at the top and the smaller ones at the bottom.
After, it was time to switch on the airer. The appliance has a simple on and off switch that is located at the bottom of the airer. When it is on, the switch lights up.
This is a sturdy airer that coped well with every type of garment that was thrown at it – towels, jumpers, trousers and t-shirts.
It did take a little while to warm up, however, I’m not sure how long heated airers typically take to warm up with this one being the first heated airer I’ve used.
I placed the airer in the spare bedroom and made sure to leave two of the windows open slightly to avoid condensation buildup and, potentially, mould.
I would say that everything hanging on the heated bars was dry fully within seven hours, although this included a bit of rotation to ensure thicker parts of clothing could dry properly.
Once the airier had done its good work and cooled down, it was easy to fold the whole thing flat for convenient storage.
It’s incredibly easy to collapse and reassemble when needed, which is a real plus if you don’t have the living space to be taken up by a heated airer every house of the day over the winter.
While the Swan three-tier heated clothes airer does not have a timer function, variable heat settings or a cover, what you do get for your money is a well-functioning airer that heats up to a decent temperature and dries clothes quickly and efficiently.
I would say for those looking for a speedy drying solution and who aren’t in the market for lots of fancy extras, then this Swan option is a great choice.
