It claims to cost less than 7p an hour to run and has been one of the 'must have' products of recent months. So why, as the heated airer returns to Aldi stores across the country, have shoppers turned their backs on the item?
As the cost of living crisis focused consumers' minds on which household products were most cost-effective and how they could save their hard-earned cash, items such as heated blankets, air fryers and heated airers became coveted items. Budget store Aldi rolled out its Specialbuy heated clothes airer and it is currently back in stock priced at £39.99.
Labelled at costing less than 7p an hour to run, based on current energy prices of 34p per kwh (applicable during the price cap period from October 1, 2022), the retailer says drying your clothes with its Easy Winged Home Heated Airer (which uses 1.84kWh per 8 hours) costs less than 51p for 8 hours or less than 7p per hour. It adds that the average tumble drier costs £154 per cycle.
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So, all this should make it a winner with savvy shoppers. However, the reaction of purchasers of the gadget after the store announced it was back in stock was not what many would have expected.
Posting on its Instagram page, the retailer wrote: "We’re all for this nifty contraption! Heat your home and dry your clothes for less throughout the winter months. Get yours in store Sunday for just £39.99. #LoveAldi #AisleofAldi."
Shoppers, however, responded with some surprise reactions. One customer wrote: "I have one... takes days to dry anything as only dries in 2cm strips... they don't get anywhere near as hot as a radiator so can't imagine it warms your house unless you keep it in a cupboard".
Another said: "Rubbish don't bother." And a third added: "If only it worked." Someone else joined in: "We bought two of these, but they didn't come with a cover? I'm guessing that they work better with a cover on, as they don't work well at all without one.
"It takes a full day to dry clothes . It's more cost effective to use the dryer. I now use it as a standard clothes dryer, unplugged next to the radiator!" Another added: "I’ve got this. Honest opinion, it’s not too bad but you need to use the cover and can take a while to dry clothes as they just dry in one spot so you have to rotate them to dry evenly."
However, not everyone was disappointed with the product. Despite having a rating of 3.9 stars out of a possible five, customer reviews on the Aldi website tell a difference story. One shopper wrote: "I brought this online for a Christmas present for my daughter and her partner, they are over the moon with it, plenty of room on there and she is very happy with it."
Another said: "Great product at a very reasonable price. Comes with three year guarantee - excellent." Someone else reviewed the item saying: "Great value, excellent price. Glad I bought this. I did read lots of reviews and knew that it would not dry a big load of washing quickly but if you lie items flat it works well. A sheet can be draped over the whole area and the cover put on. It has also been useful in warming the conservatory a little in the cold weather and ' toasts' washing partly dried outside."
Another shopper added: "It works. It’s very slow. You have to move the clothes every hour or so to get them dry all over. It’s large so make sure you have enough room. However, for clothes I can’t tumble dry, it’s great"
Also among the reviews was a shopper who offered advice to purchasers. They said: "There are negative reviews about clothes taking a long time to dry and responses about using a couple of bars per item. If I want the clothes dried quicker, I make sure as much of them are in contact with the bars as possible. So comparatively cheap to run at 230v and helps warm the room up. The wings need tightening every now and then, and can feel fragile, that is why I haven't given five stars. I bought it two years ago and I am delighted I did, especially with bills being so much more expensive now."
Aldi reponded to one person giving a one star review saying: "We’re very sorry to learn that you aren’t satisfied with your purchase. This is never how we want our customers to feel. We are always looking for ways to improve our products and your comments have been fed back to the relevant department for internal review. Please ensure that the cover is completely over the airer covering all the clothes for maximum efficiency. Should this still not resolve the problem please call our customer services team on 0800 042 0800 and a member of the team will be able to assist. We hope this helps."
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