I hadn't realised how much of my adult life laundry would occupy. If I'm not folding or sorting clean washing, I'm finding it dirty in my kids' bedrooms, washing it or - and this is the main issue as autumn arrives - working out how to dry it. Washing steals hours every week.
Summer is a breeze because I can stick it all on the washing line, but as autumn brings its damp days, I've finding by the end of the day it's still as wet as when I hung it out, so I decided it was time for a new heated airer.
I've tried others, but most struggled with a full load from my huge 10kg-capacity washing machine. Then I tried the Lakeland heated tower airer - part of the bestselling Drysoon range - a number of which are currently discounted up to £30 in the sale.
Having tried it out, I'm never giving it back.
It dries a full load in few hours for pennies - I worked it out at 300w it's about 7.5p an hour, so less than 50p to dry the lot. I put it on before work and by the time I finished for the day it was all dry and toasty warm.
I got the Lakeland Dry:Soon 3-Tier Heated Tower Airer one with the cover, which speeds up drying, and I already had the Dry:Soon 30-Peg Mesh Shelf with Hanger - a handy ‘sock hanger' with 30 pegs and a flat drying surface, which is brilliant for socks, pants and kids' clothes. I got mine for under a tenner, and one of the best things I've bought in ages.
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What is different about the Dry:Soon Heated Airer?
I've had a few over the years, and this is by far my favourite. It feels sturdy yet, yet folds up when it's not being used and is lightweight and easy to shift around to where it’s needed.
It holds up to 15kg of wet washing on 21m of drying space and folds down small for easy storage. When the clothes are dry, the zip turns the cover into a practical storage bag for your folded airer.
Fully open, it’s easy to lay delicate items flat or dry smalls and socks – or just open the top shelves to take care of longer items like towels or trousers. You can also save space by only opening the shelves on one side if you don’t have much to dry.
There's also a good range of accessories - as I say, I love the Dry:Soon Mesh Shelves and the peg hangers, which I use all year round, on the washing line when it's sunny and indoors when it's wet.
Compared to a tumble drier the heated airer costs me less than a fifth of the energy (so less than 50p rather than about £2.50) and that's before you factor in the cost of the tumble drier itself, and the space it would take up. As cost per use goes, it's a complete game changer and something I'd definitely not be willing to part with.
Much as I love my washing line, on the days where the weather can't make up its mind, I'll save a lot of time dashing in and out by putting it straight on the airer, so it'll save time as well as money.
It might even give me a few hours back in the week. Well, I can dream.
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