Clothes Airers / Horses

Clothes Airers

For most of the Irish year, washing dries indoors, and the choice is between an ordinary airer and a heated one. An ordinary winged or concertina clothes horse costs nothing to run and takes a full load, and the limit is how long the room takes to give the moisture back up, which is why an airer on its own in a closed room often leaves clothes damp and the windows streaming. A heated airer solves that: low-wattage bars warm the clothes directly, and with a fitted cover over the frame the whole thing becomes a drying tent that will clear a full load overnight. Running cost is a few cent an hour against a euro or more for a tumble dryer cycle, which is why heated airers sell out every autumn. Pairing one with a dehumidifier in the same closed room is faster again and stops the moisture settling on the walls. Size and shape decide the rest. Winged airers fold out side panels for long items and give the most metres of drying line for the floor space. Tower and three tier models go upward instead of outward, which suits a narrow hall or a small utility. Concertina airers collapse flat to nothing for storage. Over-bath frames use space that is otherwise dead and keep drips in the bath. Drying length is quoted in metres of line, so 15 to 20 metres handles a typical load and 30 metres covers a family wash. Look for a cover if you are buying heated, since it roughly halves the drying time, and check the airer folds down to a size that will actually fit where you plan to keep it.

Brabantia covers the HangOn winged airers at 15 and 20 metres in black and white, the HangOn drying rack at 18 metres and the Hang On Tower at 23 and 30 metres. Black & Decker supplies the heated range, including a three tier heated airer with wheels and cover, a heated winged airer and an over-bath extendable frame. JML makes the DriBUDDi Compact heated airer, Joseph Joseph the AirFrame folding airer with long garment rails, and De Vielle the premium concertina clothes horse. To speed drying in the same room, see dehumidifiers; for lines, pegs and laundry accessories see clothes lines and laundry.

Heated airers are the seasonal item of this category and they sell out every autumn once the weather turns, so a reduced price and available stock only overlap early. Black Friday and Cyber Monday fall after the first rush, which is why buying in September or October usually beats waiting for November here. Prices are live all year, so see what is reduced now on tumble dryers on sale.