Action clothes airer: the under-£10 laundry rack that saves floor space

In many homes, there is one thing missing: a clothes airer that does not take over half the room and still holds plenty of laundry.

Anyone without a garden or balcony will know the problem. Shirts, socks and bedding end up hanging everywhere, the airer sits in the middle of the room, and the flat starts to feel damp and overcrowded. Now the discount retailer Action is putting a laundry rack on its shelves for under ten euros that tackles exactly this issue - by making clever use of height.

Why the classic clothes airer is so irritating

The standard folding airer has barely changed for decades: unfold it, place it across the room, and hope you do not keep bumping into it. In smaller flats, student accommodation or studio apartments, it often gets in the way of:

• access to the window,
• the route to the sofa or bed,
• space for the dining table,
• and, on top of that, it makes the air feel stuffy and humid.

If you then try to speed up drying with the windows wide open, you can quickly end up freezing - and you bring dust and pollen into the flat. A tumble dryer is not always the answer either, because of electricity costs, the amount of room it needs, or delicate fabrics that should not go in one.

This is exactly where Action’s new model comes in: it quite literally puts the washing upright, saving valuable floor space.

The Action clothes airer at a glance

The Action laundry rack costs about €8.95 and uses a slim, multi-level design. Rather than spreading out broad wings, the frame grows upwards. At roughly 1.64 metres tall, it uses the room above instead of the floor below, while still staying surprisingly compact.

The design feels like a mixture of a coat stand and a vertical drying tower: a central base with several levels for hanging items. It is built to take up as little floor area as possible, allow air to circulate well, and stop you constantly knocking into it.

Action clothes airer: how much laundry it really holds

The model is split up in a surprisingly practical way:

• Top tier: 24 small clips, ideal for socks, underwear, cropped tops or children’s clothes.
• Below that: 4 arms, each with 9 openings for hangers - giving space for up to 36 hangers at once.

These hangers work well for drying shirts, blouses, T-shirts, light jumpers or trousers. Another advantage is that garments hang straight on the hanger, so once they are dry they can go directly into the wardrobe without being moved again.

If your washing load comes to around 40 to 60 items, a single rack can handle almost everything without turning the whole room into a drying zone.

Design: not something to hide away, but something you can leave out

Many people tuck their clothes airer into the furthest corner because it simply does not look attractive. The Action model takes a different approach. It looks more modern, slimmer and comes in understated colours, including a pale icy blue and white. It is not a design piece for social media, but it is a long way from the bulky wire frames people are used to.

The base takes up very little room, similar to the foot of a narrow floor lamp. That means the rack can fit, for example:

• in a corner next to the sofa,
• between a wardrobe and the wall,
• or directly in front of an open window without blocking the entire room.

Where the rack shines - and where it does not

The Action model is clearly designed for everyday laundry, meaning lots of smaller items in each wash. T-shirts, underwear, sports kit, jeans and shirts - this is where the vertical layout really pays off.

There are limits when it comes to larger items:

• bed sheets
• duvet covers
• large towels
• blankets or throws

These can be draped over the arms or clips in some fashion, but they quickly lose airflow or hang awkwardly into the room. Anyone who washes large textiles often will probably not replace their traditional winged airer entirely, but rather use this one alongside it.

For day-to-day washing like T-shirts, underwear and trousers, the rack is ideal - but bedding is still best left to the old-style airer in the household.

How much space do you really save?

The biggest advantage is the footprint. A normal winged airer often takes up more than a square metre. Thanks to its narrow base, the Action rack needs far less, and the laundry rises more like a tower than spreading across the floor.

A practical example in a two-room flat:

• The classic airer blocks half the living room or the route to the balcony.
• The vertical rack fits into a corner beside a shelf or behind the door.

If you have particularly large amounts of washing, you can even use two of these racks side by side. Because of their slim shape, you often still end up with more room to move around than you would with a single large winged airer.

Tips to help laundry dry faster

To make the purchase really worthwhile, a few habits matter. With these tricks, washing dries quickly on a vertical rack:

• Do not hang items too closely together: leave some air between garments, otherwise moisture builds up.
• Air the room: opening windows wide for 5–10 minutes works better than keeping them tilted open for hours.
• Keep an eye on humidity: if you wash often, a small dehumidifier may be worth considering.
• Use rotation: turn thicker items from time to time so air can reach every side.

A hygrometer, which is a simple device for measuring humidity, is especially useful in small flats. It helps check whether the moisture level stays too high for too long. That protects not only the walls, but also your own health.

It is also worth placing the airer where air can move freely around it. A spot too close to a radiator may seem useful, but it can sometimes make the outside of thicker clothing dry while the inside stays damp. A little breathing space around the rack usually gives better results.

Who the Action clothes airer is especially good for

The system is clearly aimed at people who do not have much space. Typical users include:

• singles and couples in small city flats,
• students in shared house rooms,
• families who need an extra airer in a child’s room or hallway,
• households without a balcony, where laundry usually dries in the living room or bedroom.

The rack is also interesting for anyone who stores many items on hangers: business shirts, blouses, suits. These can go from washing to wardrobe with fewer creases, without a stop in the middle of a pile of washing.

What to think about before buying

As with any low-cost product, the question is whether it will hold up over time. A price below ten euros does not suggest premium materials. Anyone who buys one should assemble it carefully, make sure all joints click firmly into place, and avoid overloading it by force.

Another point: at 1.64 metres tall, the rack is not suitable for very low sloping ceilings right under the eaves. In older buildings or homes with standard ceiling heights, however, it should fit without difficulty. And if you only wash clothes occasionally, the rack can be taken apart quickly or moved into a corner.

It is also sensible to check the surface underneath the base. A stable, level floor helps prevent wobbling, especially if the rack is loaded unevenly with heavier items. If you plan to use it in a narrow corridor or beside furniture, measure the available space first so the airer does not become awkward to walk past.

What remains interesting is that more and more retailers are focusing on such space-saving systems. Instead of simply offering wider winged airers in new colours, they are addressing the real question: how can space be used more efficiently without making residents feel as though they live in a laundry room?

For many people, that is exactly the appeal of this Action clothes airer: a cheap, unpretentious helper that makes everyday life quieter, tidier and a little less stressful - without any major changes to the flat.