Forget Aldi's heated airer, this is the £33 quick-clothes drying system that will speed up laundry day in winter

One of Aldi's most popular specialbuys, the heated winged airer, is returning to store next week (19th November) for a bargain price of £29.99. However, I've recently come across the Beldray Quick Dry Heat Unit and 3 Tier Cover, which might beat Aldi to the punch as the best budget-friendly way to dry your clothes indoors this winter.

I've been the proud owner of one of the best heated clothes airers (Lakeland's Dry: Soon 3 tier heated airer) for almost 10 years now; in that time, I've become very attuned to their pros and cons. Yes, they do speed up drying times on clothes, but with some of the cheaper models you have to regularly move your clothes around the bars to achieve the desired result.

While many of the Ideal Home team own and love the Aldi heated airer, they note that this is a big con with the Aldi version. You have to either lay your clothes flat across the bars or be constantly rearranging them to get those quick-drying results. Then there is the other issue: what do you do with the dryer in summer when you don't need the heating element?

Aldi, Winged Heated Clothes Airer

Aldi's heated airer is a classic specialbuy that many on the Ideal Home team have picked up over the years. It has a good heat output, but you need to move clothes around for them to dry evenly.

Beldray Quick Dry Heat Unit and 3 Tier Cover

These clever heating system doesn't included a clothes airer; it's designed to be used with your existing one. It has rave reviews on Argos with claims it dries clothes in 3 hours.

Over the last two years, a new type of heated clothes airer has broken through to fix both of these issues. They use a fabric cover and a 'heat pod' to turn an ordinary airer into a quick-drying system during winter, which can be easily packed away during summer when it's not needed. Right now, Beldrays ' version has been reduced from £50 to £33 in the Argos Black Friday sale, and is one of the cheapest you can buy right now.

I've yet to test the Beldray heated airer system, but I have used a similar product from Minky when the technology first launched and was impressed by how effective it was. You pop the ventilated cover over your usual tiered clothes airer and then pop the 'heated pod', the part that's like a hair dryer, on the floor underneath the airer. The heated pod pumps out hot air to dry your clothes quickly and evenly, as the heat rises and spreads out under the cover.

Heated airer heat pod

I found that this type of system can dry clothes in 2-3 hours, which is reflected in the Beldray Quick Dry Heat Unit reviews: 'Clothes dry within 2-3 hours depending on thickness and amount on the airer. Great buy!' wrote one reviewer. 'I’m so happy with this; great if you don’t have the central heating on. It dried a full airer in 2 hours and warmed the room up, great value for money,' wrote another.

It isn't without its downsides; like the Aldi heated airer, the heated pod is noisier, and you have to check it will fit over your existing clothes airer, as one isn't included with the system. But unlike the Aldi one, you can also order it online right now.

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There is a place in the home for both of these types of affordable airers. If you are short on space and looking to speed up drying times as much as possible, I'd give the Beldray system a try. But if you'll be bothered by the noise, are on a tight budget and don't have an existing clothes airer, I'd wait for the Aldi one.

Right now is the perfect time to invest in a heated airer with the Black Friday sales kicking off. Here are a couple others I've spotted on offer that we've tested and loved.

Dry:soon Deluxe 3-Tier Heated Clothes Airer

I have had the smaller version of this heated airer for 10 years now, and it still works brilliantly. If you're drying clothes for a large family, this is the perfect investment while it's on offer for Black Friday.

JML DriBUDDI Heated Indoor Airer

This is one of the fasted drying systems we've tested at Ideal Home. It is one of the original fan powered heated systems that will dry up to 18 items in 2 to 3 hours.

Minky Sure Dri 23m 4 Tier Heated Clothes Airer With Cover

This four-tier heated air has one of the largest capacities we've tested. It comes with the cover unlike other airers and has a timer you can set to automatically turn it off.

Original source Forget Aldi's heated airer, this is the £33 quick-clothes drying system that will speed up laundry day in winter

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