Joseph Joseph's clothes airer has everything you need - it's chic, discreet, and petite

If you haven’t already heard, Joseph Joseph now make a clothes airer. True to form, it’s gorgeous. Every last detail is well -onsidered and stylish, making this a petite, practical dream for any homeowner. 

We’re coming to that time of year when you start to look for solutions to dry clothes indoors. The best way to speed up drying and make the most of your space is by using a clothes airer. Whilst my go-to is normally one of the best heated clothes airers, there's no denying that the unheated Joseph Joseph Eclipse clothes airer is one of the most stylish models out there, especially for small homes.

I’ve tested it with big loads of washing, timed it, and used it in lots of different rooms around my house. Here’s everything you need to know, if you’re thinking of buying the Joseph Joseph Eclipse Clothes Airer.

Specifications

Unboxing

I’ve been trying a lot of heated airers over the last few months, so I’ve got a good gauge of what things should weigh and how they should be packaged. The Joseph Joseph Eclipse Clothes Airer is surprisingly one of the heaviest heated airers out there. The good news is that, once it’s out of the box, the Joseph Joseph Airer is fitted with castor wheels that let it glide across the floor. 

The packaging itself is a mix of carboard and soft plastic. The carboard is easy to recycle, but the soft plastic will take a little more effort. You can still dispose of it at bigger supermarkets, but it’s more of a faff. 

The airer comes in a few parts, you’ll need to slot the top into place and attach the material linen-style screens. These don’t take long to put in place, but I’d recommend calling another pair of hands in to help, because it’s a lot easier to fit the top pieces on if you can do them at the same time. The linen is quite a tight fit, but that means that it all looks taut and smart when it's in place.

Who would it suit?

Joseph Joseph make no secret of the fact that the Eclipse is designed for small spaces. It folds away into a slim screen and you can wheel it to store behind almost anywhere in your home. Whilst that does mean that it’s a very convenient option for flats and the like, it does also mean that the capacity is limited. I could hang one full load of washing on the Joseph Joseph, but it doesn’t have enough capacity for a full family, for example. 

There are also lots of other nice touches. The linen-style cover means that you can conceal washing from any house guests without having an ugly eyesore in the middle of your living space. The tines can also be adjusted, so you don’t need to have the middle layer if you want to dry shirts and dresses, for example. It does prettiness and practicality perfectly.

How easy is it to use?

I normally run all of our heated airers through a series of tests: small loads, medium loads, and large loads, but the Joseph Joseph Eclipse Clothes Airer hits maximum capacity at 14m of drying space, which is a respectable quantity. However, it meant that my large, 10kg load of washing couldn't fit onto the dryer without cramming washing in. That’s not a problem for smaller homes and if you do your washing in batches, this is perfect, but it means that this part of my review doesn't have any data for a large load.

In total, the maximum wash that I could fit on the airer was 8kg. In real life, this looks like: four pillow cases, two hand towels, three jumpers, one hoodie, four pairs of shorts, fourteen pairs of socks, three gym kits and four t-shirts. You can see that I packed a great amount of washing onto the Joseph Joseph Eclipse Clothes Airer, but that meant that this was at full capacity. It took a whole day to dry those clothes.

Alternatively, if I halved the wash and left spaces between each row of clothes, I also reduced the drying time by a few hours. I also discovered another one of the wonderful features of the Joseph Joseph Eclipse Clothes Airer around this time. It’s versatility.  If I took out the middle row of tines, I could hang dresses and shirts from the top without them sitting on the level below. Now, there are other tiered airers that do the same, but lots of these are heated. This is one of the best ambient ones that I’ve tested to have that quality. 

What is it like to store?

One of the best features of the Joseph Joseph Eclipse Clothes Airer is its subtlety and how small and easy it is to store. The two sides fold in, so you're left with a linen-style screen that can be wheeled behind doors, in cupboards, and any spaces in your home. It's the easiest clothes airer to store out of everything that's on the market, especially thanks to the stylish screen.

How does it compare?

We normally put all of your energy into testing heated clothes airers, because they're an efficient option, both for time and money. There isn't anything quite like the Joseph Joseph Eclipse Clothes Airer. It's easily the most stylish, compact, and easy-to-use airer on the market. 

If you want more capacity and a slim design, but with a model that can run some heat through it, the Dunelm Heated Clothes Airer with Wings is less beautiful, but much quicker for drying clothes. You'll get 12m of drying space, rather than 14, but it only costs £40 and you can half how long you need to have it out on display for. It's one of my favourite small heated airers. 

Should you buy it?

If you want a stylish, simple clothes airer, you won't find a model that's more chic than the Joseph Joseph Eclipse Clothes Airer. It's easy to move around, offers modest screening for drying your clothes, and has some impressive capacity, especially considering its size. It's not heated like some other clothes airers. However, if you put a dehumidifier near it, your clothes will dry quicker.

How we test

I'm responsible for how we test heated clothes airers at woman&home, which means that I know all the details of the process. It starts well before a load of laundry, that's for sure.

I spend my days researching the latest releases on the heated clothes airer market. You'd be surprised at just how much innovation there is in this space. From ultra-compact designs to the way that they transfer heat and the different settings too, it's a surprisingly rich space.

If I see a new release that I think you'll like, I call it in to test. Once it's in my home, I make notes on the packaging, how it looks, what it's like to test, and then I get to bring out the big guns. I throw all my laundry at these: bed sheets, jeans, heavy jumpers, hand washed clothes, cotton, wool. You name it, I wash and dry it. If an airer can take it, I try to do a light load (4kg), a medium load, (6-10kg), and a large load (more than 10kg) to see how it can handle not only different fabrics, but also different quantities of clothing. I make notes on the time, how nice it is to hand clothes, how spacious, and how stable it is. Some clothes airers can make noise too, so I'll record that and let you know how it scores.

Finally, I'll pack it down and test out the storage options, because you're unlikely to want to leave it on display. I'll let you know how easy it is to pack down as well as how heavy it is to manoeuvre too. 

Whilst I'm doing all this, I'll be comparing the heated airer to all the other models that I've put through exactly the same tests. It's a great time for me to tell you about the value of the product and to place it on the market. I like to choose comparisons that offer either a little more or a little less, for similar prices. That way, you can see what your money is getting you.

I'll come to a conclusion on whether you should buy it and who I think it would suit. Some heated airers are great, but if they don't suit your washing needs, it won't be money well spent.