R ising energy bills and perma-drizzle are conspiring to keep the nation’s laundry damp, not least by making it such a turn-off to turn on the heating. No wonder heated clothes airers are having a moment. These modish appliances sell out within hours of reaching shops and inspire evangelistic fervour among owners, who call them “life-savers” and “gamechangers”.

Can a hot clothes horse really change your life, let alone dry your soggy washing as fast as a tumble dryer for a fraction of the cost and, in most cases, with none of the noise? After testing 19 bestsellers over the past two years – during which time I took my tumble dryer to the dump and slashed my dependency on radiators – I can confidently say yes.

Not every airer I tested made the final cut.…