This heated airer is an inexpensive upgrade from Aldi's internet sensation - and I love it

Remember the Aldi heated clothes airer that everyone was obsessed with? Well, the Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer can hang the Aldi model out to dry (with your clothes on it too).

I've looking for the best heated clothes airers for years. Normally, I'm a dedicated fan of the ladder set-up, but the winged airers offer better credentials for smaller spaces. The Beldray packs away into almost nothing and yet it can dry the same weight of clothes as the Dry:Soon 3-Tier Heated Airer.

It sounds impressive, so I wanted to check that the Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer could meet its impressive credentials. I've tested it on small, medium, and large loads, checking that it's a good way to save money on clothes drying (this claims to cost just 8p per hour), as well as a practical solution for any home. Here's what I found.

Specifications

Unboxing

The Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer comes in a box that is as close to its own dimensions as it can possibly be. The whole box is made from cardboard, then inside, there is some soft plastic and carboard too. It's mostly recyclable, but the soft plastics will need a journey to the recycling centre for them to be sustainably disposed of.

The box has some instructions for getting the Beldray set up on the other side, so make sure that you hang onto it. It look me a little while to figure out which bars clicked into place, but I'll go into the details of that further down.

Who would it suit?

The Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer, with its foldable, compact design, and 15 kg of drying space can easily cover a 2-4 person household. There are bigger, more expensive airers on the market, but if you're short on space and shopping on a budget, this is a great option.

Having an open, winged structure means that you can use the Beldray, even without heat. In the summer, I've sat this in the room, or outside, and it spreads out my clothes nicely, getting a speedy dry across them all. Then, if it's hot, this is quick to heat up, but it doesn't get too hot either. I could still hold my hand around a bar, so its okay to have around children.

If you're often drying lots of heavy clothes, I'd recommend a slightly different structure, since this isn't quite as stable as some alternatives. However, these are likely to be more bulky.

How easy is it to use?

If you've never used a winged heated airer before, there's a knack to setting them up. You need to click the longer leg into the far clips and then the shorter leg on the other clips. My picture above will show it and the instructions do too, but they don't always feel like they should fit. The Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer was particularly stubborn. I had to put a considerable amount of force to get them clicked into place and I think of myself as quite strong. 

What is useful about the Beldray is that they fit rubber feet onto the bottom pieces which will sit on the carpet. Not only do these protect your floors, they'll also give you a good indication of which bars go in which places.

Once they're clicked in, the rest falls into place. You turn the Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer over, holding the legs securely, and then create a stable base once it's upright. It stands at 72cm, which is lower than most of the other heated airers on the list, but it does expand horizontally much further. You'll want to open out the wings too, but you can also leave them collapsed too, which isn't a feature that every heated airer boasts. As you unfold each part, you'll be impressed at the sheer capacity boasted by the Beldray. I ran it through tests on a 4kg, 8kg, and 15kg load to see how quickly it could get everything dry. Here are the headlines, I'll get deeper into the details further down:

• Small load (4kg): 2-3 hours
• Medium load (8kg): 4-6 hours
• Large load (15kg: 6+ hours

As far as heated airers go, this isn't the quickest I've tested. The rungs warmed fully up at around eight and a half minutes after turning on (the average is five). Without a cover, it's about as fast as your bathroom's heated drying rail, with a cover, it could be a lot quicker. 

I washed towels, cottons, jeans, and sportswear in each load to get a good idea of how well this would dry different materials. Of course, towels took longer to dry but hanging them on the wings gave them enough contact with air (and a breeze, where possible) had them dry much quicker than if this didn't have any heat.

Over all of the tests, I worked out that there was a knack. Beldray recommends putting clothes onto the airer from the middle, moving outwards. I would add to that by suggesting that you put faster-drying clothes in the middle and heavier pieces on the outside. That way, you'll get all of your clothes dry at the same time. If you're hot on your drying and you can remember to check and remove dry clothes, you could put lighter pieces in the outside and then remove them and reshuffle the pieces that are left behind so that there's more space between everything.

Whilst the base isn't large or wide, it is pretty stable for a winged airer. I was happy hanging towels and jeans on it without worrying that it was going to topple to break. I even found myself setting this up outside, confident that it could withstand a breeze. Obviously, I didn't plug it in outside, but, if it's warm enough, this makes an equally good clothes airer (without the heat).

The one thing that it's worth noting is that there are no timer settings. You have to turn this on and off manually. There's a neat switch, so this isn't too tricky to do, but some more premium models will have auto-shut-offs so that you can save a little money.

What is it like to store?

Whilst the Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer isn't an eyesore when it's out in the lounge, I'm in no hurry to make it a permanent fixture, You can fold and unclip all the parts, so this is almost flat. It's like an ironing board. 

The only part that I struggled with was unclipping the legs. I mentioned that they were hard to push in and they were even harder to click out. I think it'll get easier over time as the Beldray wears more, but it's not ideal, especially if you're not feeling strong.

What accessories can you buy and are they worth it?

There aren't any official accessories for the Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer, but you can buy covers that would sit over it. I've found this polyester one for less than £10 at Amazon - it's really all you need. If you want to improve the drying times of your clothes, it's worth investing in one of these. It speeds up my drying time by at least 25%.

How does it compare?

I tested the Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer right next to Aldi's Ambiano Heated Aierer, which is no longer available. The Ambiano took the internet by a storm, with home influencers offering it as their 'hack' for drying clothes quickly and cheaply.

The Beldray is only another £20 more than the Ambiano and, whilst it doesn't come with a cover, it feels a lot more stable and premium. All of the rungs have a more robust feel and when it's assembled, the Beldray just feels like it can handle more weight. 

The Aldi Ambiano has another two bars, but that's not because it's bigger. It's actually because the Beldray's bars are slightly thicker and wider, which I prefer. The one advantage that the Aldi Ambiano inexplicably has is the cover that can go over it. This is included in the price, whereas, the Beldray's needs to be bought separately.

Aside from durability and hardiness, there's not much between the two. Their dimensions are similar, they warm up quickly, and they both cost the same amount to run (they're both 230 w). Even if the Ambiano was available, I'd be tempted to do a mini upgrade. The Beldray is a bargain anyway.

I'm also currently testing Dunelm's Heated Winged Airer, which is almost identical. It's actually a little cheaper than the Beldray, it's lightweight, easy to set up, and dries quicker than the Beldray (so far). 

It's a great alternative, but the Dunelm has 5kg less space for drying. I'll keep you updated with a more formal comparison as soon as the tests are over. However, if you want a slim, smaller, cheaper alternative, the Dunelm is as good as it gets.

Should you buy it?

If you want an airer that packs away into nothing, but opens out into a wide, winged model, the Beldray Winged Heated Electric Clothes Airer is a brilliant buy. Sure, it's basic, but I think it's an absolute steal. You get the competitive price of Aldi's ever-popular model, but with the features and performance of more premium options that are out there. 

How we test

At woman&home, we like to give a fair and rigorous test to every product that we talk about, I like to have personal experience with all the heated airers that I recommend to you because reality vs real life discrepancies can be huge.

When I'm testing heated airers, the first thing that I take note of is the packaging, what it's like to unbox, and whether it's easy to set up. You'll only have to do all of these things once, but they are the first impression that makes all the difference.

Once it's up and running, I test the airer on a small load, medium load, and large load. I use a range of fabrics, spanning from jeans and towels to lighter cottons and sportswear to get a good idea of how fast the airer can dry clothes. I'll do these tests on repeat until I have a solid idea of how well the airer works. Over this time, I get a good idea of what day-to-day life is like with the airer in your home. If it gets in the way, topples over, or is fiddly to pack up, I'll know about it.

The review that I end up writing will cover all these experiences as well as offering a comparison to similar models on the market. I've tested all of the best heated airers on the market myself, so I can give you a good representation of what each one is like to use and an objective comparison.

I'll also let you know whether I think it's good value for money, who it would suit, and whether you should buy it. In essence, I aim to leave no stone unturned. You should know exactly what you're signing up for when you buy one of these - without any nasty surprises around the corner.