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Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer review: tested by YourHomeStyle

The Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer is one of the top-selling heated airers on the market - but how does it perform? I put the it to the test...

Our rating

4.5

Katie Dutton

Published: December 2, 2022 at 3:17 pm
Our review
It may be expensive from the outset, but this heated airer is an efficient alternative to cranking up the central heating

Pros:

Easy to assemble and compact when folded down Fits a large laundry load Cheaper than a tumble dry and/or turning on radiators Excellent guarantee period

Cons:

No timer function Expensive

  • Price £159.99
  • Dimensions ‎137 x 73 x 75cm (H x W x D)
  • Capacity 15kg
  • Warranty 3 years

Buy Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer from Amazon, (£179.99) or Lakeland (£159.99)

The Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer is currently sold out but is being restocked. In a hurry? Check out these similar designs: 3 Tier Heated Airer from Argos Home (£105) or Glamhaus 3 Tier Indoor Foldable Heated Airer from Robert Dyas (£149.99)

Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer energy efficiency

The Dry:Soon Heated Airer operates via a 300W motor. If run for 4 hours, as we did, this equates to a running cost of £1.19 (roughly 30p per hour), using current energy cap rates. To get a more precise estimate for your tariff, you can use SUST-IT’s energy cost calculator.

So how does the Dry:Soon Heated Airer compare to central heating and a tumble dryer?

Checkatrade.com states: 'if you have a 24 kW boiler, you can expect to pay around £2.76 per hour to run it on mains gas.' Meanwhile, using a very rough average of a tumble dryer using 4.5kW with a 90-minute cycle time, the cost would be £2.29 per cycle.

So compared to an hour of gas heating and a 90-minute tumble dry cycle, the Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer works out cheaper.

Testing the Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer

I tested the Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer by using laundry items with a range of thicknesses and materials, such as a bath towel, a knitted jumper, a pair of jeans, T-shirts and underwear. I awarded up to 20 points broken down into the following criteria:

  • Ease of use (6 points)
  • Performance (5 points)
  • Specs (5 points)
  • Value for money (4 points)

Short on time? The Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer in 30 seconds

It may seem like a lot of money up-front, but this airer is a genius alternative to whacking on the heating or using a tumble dryer; both of which cost more to run (and buy in the latter case).

The Dry:Soon 3 Tier is sleek and compact, folding up flat, making it easy to use and store in smaller households like flats and house shares.

In terms of timings, light items like T-shirts should be dry within 4 hours, and heavier items like jeans should be dry within 12.

How to use the Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer

Setting up the Dry:Soon 3 Tier is nice and easy, with all the parts fixed on and ready to go and a simple instruction booklet provides extra guidance. You just need to unfold the main frame (which folds up flat), then pull up each individual drying shelf into the respective hook. If you've got a small load, you can fold out just one half of the frame to save space too which is handy.

In terms of functions, there are six identical drying shelves. I found the highest shelves are best for hanging trousers, towels and hoodies, the middle best for T-shirts and the bottom best for smaller items. The Dry:Soon 3 Tier doesn't come with a cover (it's sold separately) but draping a towel or sheet over the top works effectively to shorten the drying time for the rest of the load.

Looking at the packaging’s sustainability, the cardboard outer box is recyclable, but individual elements are wrapped in plastic which will need to be disposed of in your waste bin.

There is no timer function which is a shame considering the cost of the product. It's not the end of the world if you accidentally leave it on all day as ultimately this will only cost you a few quid (using our energy plug monitor we worked out it costs £3.57 to run for 12 hours) but it all adds up. As an alternative, you could buy a smart plug with a timer.

With one point available for each of the bolded elements above, I score the Dry:Soon 3 Tier 3/5 for ease of use.

Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer performance

The Dry:Soon 3 Tier can accommodate 15kg of washing across 21m of drying space. This accommodated a full load of laundry for two people and included a bath towel, a knitted jumper, a pair of jeans, T-shirts and underwear.

When it comes to drying times on the Dry:Soon, it depends entirely on the thickness of your item, and how many heated bars the items are draped over. After the four-hour testing period, the t-shirts and underwear were nearly dry. I think had they been covering more bars they would have been completely dry. The knitted jumper and jeans were still damp after 4 hours so I left them on to air dry without heat overnight. By morning the jumper was good to go but the jeans needed a bit longer so I let them air dry for the rest of the day.

Recommended heated drying times on the Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer:

  • T-shirt – 4 hours (£1.19)
  • Jumper – 7 hours (£2.08)
  • Jeans – 12 hours (£3.57)

This may seem like a long time but I find it normally takes 2 full days for jeans and heavier jumpers to dry, so the Dry:Soon cut off an entire 24 hours, and had I used the heat function for a full 12 hours I think this would have shaven off even more drying time. As would having a cover over the rack. Next time I will try draping a sheet over it.

Admittedly, the drying time would have been shorter had I used a tumble dryer or draped my jeans and jumper over a heated radiator, but then again, this would be more costly. So, when it comes to drying performance, I score the Dry:Soon 3 Tier 4/5.

Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer specs

Turning to the product specs, at 137 x 73 x 75 cm, the Dry:Soon's dimensions are compact, and even more so when folded down for storing, with a depth of just 8cm when flat. This makes it a great choice for smaller households such as flats, house shares and even uni dorm rooms.

For such a compact size, the capacity of the Dry:Soon is impressive, holding up to 15kg of washing and providing enough space for a full load of laundry.

There is only one temperature range, and as mentioned before, unfortunately, no timer function.

On specs, I score the Dry:Soon 3 Tier 3/4.

Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer value for money

Style might not be a huge consideration when picking out a clothes airer, but the Dry:Soon does have a sleek, minimal appearance, that has the added advantage of folding up nice and flat so you can easily tuck it out of the way. I can imagine it's a bit of an eye-sore with the additional cover on, but if it means your clothes dry quicker then we can't really complain.

Although the efficiency of the model works out cheaper than putting on the central heating or using a tumble dryer, it is on the expensive side up-front. However, in the long term I believe it's a worthy investment, as, one, it's cheaper than a tumble dryer (and more eco-friendly), and two, it will come in handy throughout all the year as well as winter (think of all the rainy days we have).

It is a shame there is no timer function or cover included. It does have an excellent guarantee period though through Lakeland; 3 years.

Overall, on value for money, I score the Dry:Soon 3.5/4

Final score

Taking into account all of the criteria described above, I give the Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer 14.5/18

Buy Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer from Amazon, (£179.99) or Lakeland (£159.99)

The Dry:Soon 3 Tier Heated Airer is currently sold out but is being restocked. In a hurry? Check out these similar designs: 3 Tier Heated Airer from Argos Home (£105) or Glamhaus 3 Tier Indoor Foldable Heated Airer from Robert Dyas (£149.99)

We also tested the JML DriBUDDI

This self-assembly heated airer comes with a blue or white cover, which is unusual as in the main, covers are sold seperately to the unit. This is good news, not only as it preserves your dignity by hiding underwear from view when visitors call, but more importantly, a cover speeds up the dry time. Other features include a motor unit with a timer, a support pole and the hanging unit as well as a zip-up cover and protective disc for the motor unit and there's relatively little in the way of assembly, although fitting the three legs was a little fiddly.

Dry time was 4 hours to iron damp, 4.5 hours to bone dry – we think this seems like a reasonable dry time, but it’s worth noting JML suggests that an average wash load should take "between 1 and 3 hours" so you will need to factor in more time.

Specs: 160 x 70 x 70 cm and it holds up to 10kg/18 items

Read our full, in-depth JML DriBUDDI heated airer review.

And if you're looking for a smaller design...

Highlands Electric Heated Clothes Dryer

A simple design featuring 18 bars - 8 longer ones and 10 shorter ones on the wings - for flexible hanging space for a maximum load of 15kg. It folds flat for easy storage, which is a useful feature, and though made from lightweight, non-corroding aluminium, it's sturdy.

To see what else is on the market, check out our round-up of the best heated clothes airers.

Katie Dutton

Staff Writer

Katie is a Staff Writer for HomeStyle magazine and YourHomeStyle.uk. She previously worked on Gardens Illustrated magazine and has written for various other lifestyle magazines and brands. She particularly enjoys writing about indie and eco homeware brands, interior styles through the ages, urban gardening, and decor hacks for small spaces. She is also responsible for HomeStyle's buyer's guides, so you'll often find her testing out the latest homeware gadgets and kitchen appliances.
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