Minky Tower Indoor Airer with 40 m Drying Space, Metal, Silver and Black

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Folding styles – usually with three or four sections – are often the cheapest and the easiest to store when not in use as they’re less bulky. Heated bar clothes airers use (as the name suggests) heated bars to dry clothes, with each one acting like a mini radiator.

Have a window open. Perhaps obvious, but it's also free, which the other methods aren't. It clears the 'wet' air out and let fresh air in. OK to do on milder days, but I know most of us don't want the windows flung open on the cold winter months, so instead you could... per hour for 200W dryers and 9p per hour for 300W dryers, approximately. This is based on the energy price cap of 30p per kW/h since July 1 2023, although prices will vary according to your tariff. 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.

I don't own a tumble dryer and, honestly, I'm still not sure I'd get one. I have a traditional clothes horse, leave the clothes to dry overnight, and use my trusty window vac to deal with any condensation. Keeping this in mind, a tumble dryer would most likely dry a regular washing load much faster for the same electricity cost or probably even less. However, if you have an older model, running it would cost more and investing on a more energy-efficient heated clothes airer will cut your electric bills. Others resemble your typical clothes horse, often with foldable wings for extra drying space. They have a larger middle section, which is good for bigger items such as jeans and bedding, but overall have less drying space than tower models. We used a force gauge to determine how much force is needed to topple over each heated airer, as well as the flexibility of each airer's bars. Gated: Aptly named, these airers resemble fences and fold out to stand in a concertina. These are normally the cheapest clothes airers and are popular with students because they’re functional and don’t take up much space in storage. However, this design hasn’t made it into our best buy roundup because they tend to be flimsy and unstable.

My top piece of advice for getting the most value out of your heated airer is to make sure you fill the clothes airer each time you use it. Obviously, the more bars on an airer, the more clothes you can hang up, but be careful not to overload them with heavy items, such as jeans and bulky jumpers, as they can collapse under the weight.

Fed up of using expensive tumble dryers that shrink your clothes? Our guide will help you find the best clothes airer to dry your washing

We selected the heated airers and drying pods from the most searched-for brands and popular UK retailers. Poor analogies aside, I've found my three best ways to deal with condensation while tested heated airers are: 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?

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. You can also try homewares stores like John Lewis and Lakeland for clothes airers in a range of different styles. 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. Collapsible size: Let’s face it, clothes airers aren’t good looking. Most people want a clothes airer they can stash away in storage when they’re not in use. Pay attention to the collapsible size of the clothes airer you’re considering so that you know you can fit it inside a cupboard or under a bed.This airer has a generous 13.5m of drying space, which is more than enough space for a family load. It’s winged, so it has adjustable arms that can lift to accommodate longer items or fold down to save space. It also comes with handy corner hangers that can be used to hold a delicates dryer, or even to dry shirts using clothes hangers. The only sacrifice you’ll need to make is that it’s not as sturdy as more expensive clothes airers on the roundup, which means you’ll need to be careful not to snap the thinner bars with really heavy items such as dripping wet beach towels – items such as these would be best draped over multiple bars. At a fraction of the price of the other airers, though, this one’s a no-brainer.