Airers & Clothes Horses

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Dry Your Clothes Cheaply With a Clothes Horse Airer

A clothes airer, also known as a clothes horse, is an inexpensive and convenient method of drying the contents of your washing machine. Hang your clothes and walk away, letting air circulation do the work and, if you hang the clothes evenly, you may not even have to iron them. They're great for reducing the workload of washing and you'll find plenty of cheap clothes airers on eBay.

How quickly can airers dry your clothes?

Clothes horses work best when the air is dry and free to circulate. Position them away from sources of moisture and leave a gap between the clothes to allow air to reach them. A rule of thumb is to buy an airer with more capacity than you need so you can separate washing. Check out the maximum capacity of your washing machine and compare it with the clothes horse's maximum capacity, but don't forget to consider its footprint too because it will need to fit the area where you plan to use it.

Choice availability and practicality of a clothes horse

Clothes airers come in lots of shapes and sizes to suit every customer in every home. The typical airer can be moved around any room while others can be hung from ceilings or screwed to walls. There are even clothes horses that can be positioned over an Aga to dry small fabrics.

  • Concertina: The most common clothes horse. It expands into a standing position and comes in various sizes, sometimes measured in tiers. The more tiers, the more capacity.
  • Heated: The best alternative to tumble dryers, they're cheap to run and dry clothes quicker than traditional airers. Some have their own covers to trap heat inside and make drying even faster.
  • Pulley: Like the ones your great-grandparents used. Wooden rails threaded through steel or iron ends and hung from the ceiling.
  • Retractable: This handy clothes airer can be screwed on to a spare bit of wall - in the kitchen, utility room, or even a bathroom. When it's not drying clothes, it retracts neatly into itself.
  • Radiator: These hang from the radiator and can be used for drying smaller fabrics, such as socks or underwear.
Are clothes airers stable?

Yes. Simply follow the manufacturer's guidelines and don't overload it, and your airer can give you years of good service. If you buy a wall or ceiling-mounted clothes horse, make sure they are strong enough to hold the combined weight of both the dry and wet clothes.

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