Aldi's winter hero for drying clothes quickly indoors is back next week – but I've found a £33 alternative at Argos that's even more effective

One of Aldi's most popular specialbuys, the heated winged airer, is returning to store next week (19th November) for a bargain price of £29.99. However, I've recently come across the Beldray Quick Dry Heat Unit and 3 Tier Cover, which might beat Aldi to the punch as the best budget-friendly way to dry your clothes indoors this winter.

I've been the proud owner of one of the best heated clothes airers (Lakeland's Dry: Soon 3 tier heated airer) for almost 10 years now; in that time, I've become very attuned to their pros and cons. Yes, they do speed up drying times on clothes, but with some of the cheaper models you have to regularly move your clothes around the bars to achieve the desired result.

While many of the Ideal Home team own and love the Aldi heated airer, they note that this is a big con with the Aldi version. You have to either lay your clothes flat across the bars or be constantly rearranging them to get those quick-drying results. Then there is the other issue: what do you do with the dryer in summer when you don't need the heating element?

Over the last two years, a new type of heated clothes airer has broken through to fix both of these issues. They use a fabric cover and a 'heat pod' to turn an ordinary airer into a quick-drying system during winter, which can be easily packed away during summer when it's not needed. Right now, Beldrays ' version has been reduced from £50 to £33 in the Argos Black Friday sale, and is one of the cheapest you can buy right now.

I've yet to test the Beldray heated airer system, but I have used a similar product from Minky when the technology first launched and was impressed by how effective it was. You pop the ventilated cover over your usual tiered clothes airer and then pop the 'heated pod', the part that's like a hair dryer, on the floor underneath the airer. The heated pod pumps out hot air to dry your clothes quickly and evenly, as the heat rises and spreads out under the cover.

I found that this type of system can dry clothes in 2-3 hours, which is reflected in the Beldray Quick Dry Heat Unit reviews: 'Clothes dry within 2-3 hours depending on thickness and amount on the airer. Great buy!' wrote one reviewer. 'I’m so happy with this; great if you don’t have the central heating on. It dried a full airer in 2 hours and warmed the room up, great value for money,' wrote another.

It isn't without its downsides; like the Aldi heated airer, the heated pod is noisier, and you have to check it will fit over your existing clothes airer, as one isn't included with the system. But unlike the Aldi one, you can also order it online right now.

There is a place in the home for both of these types of affordable airers. If you are short on space and looking to speed up drying times as much as possible, I'd give the Beldray system a try. But if you'll be bothered by the noise, are on a tight budget and don't have an existing clothes airer, I'd wait for the Aldi one.

Right now is the perfect time to invest in a heated airer with the Black Friday sales kicking off. Here are a couple others I've spotted on offer that we've tested and loved.