Samsung AirDresser Review
A steam cabinet that can refresh your clothes
Verdict
A smart way of keeping delicate items in their best condition, the Samsung AirDresser uses steam and gentle drying to refresh items and remove odours from them. It’s cheap to run, and the AirHanger system helps clean inside and out of all items. I’d have liked the option to use tumble dryer sheets to add a scent into the cleaning process, but that minor issue aside, this is a top tool that can cut down on the number of dry cleaner visits you need to make.
Pros
- Cheap to run
- AirHangers clean inside clothes
- Refreshes and steams most types of clothing
Cons
- Doesn’t take tumble dryer sheets
- Expensive
Availability
- UKRRP: £1999
Key Features
- A gentle cleanerThis is a steam cabinet, which can refresh clothes and remove odours, and it’s a tumble dryer, too.
Introduction
Washing machines are a staple of any home, but they’re not the most gentle way of keeping clothes in their best shape and aren’t even suitable for a lot of delicate materials.
Step forward the Samsung AirDresser: a steam cabinet that can refresh and look after all kinds of clothes, from leather to the finest wool. Used regularly, this cabinet can keep clothes in their best shape, saving on trips to the dry cleaner. It works well and doesn’t cost much to run, but it’s a big and expensive up-front purchase.
Design and features
- Chunky cupboard-style design
- Lots of programmes to choose from
- Useful range of accessories
As with the similar LG Styler, the Samsung AirDresser is quite a beast of a device. Measuring 1850 x 445 x 615mm, it’s tall but not particularly wide. It does weigh a hefty 89kg, so once it’s in place, you’re not going to want to move this cupboard.
Designed to refresh clothes, the Samsung AirDresser has multiple ways of looking after clothes, using hot air to blow away dust, steam to refresh, and a gentle dryer to remove moisture. Able to work with clothes that can’t normally be used in a dryer, including many wool and leather items, the AirDresser is a tool that can be used in place of a dry cleaner in many circumstances.
The one thing that this product (and similar ones) can’t do is clean stains. Think of this, then, as a useful tool for refreshing items, whether that’s because they smell musty from being packed away for a long time or just because they’ve been worn a lot, such as a suit.
Open up the large door and there are three hangers, each with trouser clips on them. Each are Samsung’s AirHangers: they allow hot air to blow through them, cleaning the inside of items as well as the outside. Samsung’s JetAir tech blows through the hangers and also up from the bottom. There’s an air filter inside that draws odours out of the cabinet and stops cross contamination.
For many types of clothes, this helps get them cleaner. The LG Styler, in comparison, uses regular hangers.
In the box, Samsung also provides a standard hanger adapter, although use this and you miss out on the advantages of the AirHanger system. More useful are the trouser weights, which will keep trousers hanging straight.
If you prefer pressed trousers, then the LG Styler may be a better fit, as this has a trouser press in the door.
With the Samsung AirDresser, there’s an accessory holder on the door instead, which is useful for items such as scarves, giving you a way to securely hang them.
Not all items should be hung up, such as more delicate jumpers. For these, there’s a clip-in shelf which can be stored in the door when not in use.
As this is a steam cabinet, there’s a clean water tank at the front. In my experience, a full tank lasts at least four cycles, so it’s not something that has to be removed often.
There’s a drain tank, which fills up during the drying part of any cycle or if the AirDresser is used as a tumble dryer replacement.
What this cabinet doesn’t have is a tumble dryer sheet holder for adding a scent to your clothes. That’s a little strange, as the Samsung Bespoke AirDresser (no longer available in the UK) has this option, as does the LG Styler.
Internally, there’s not much work to keep the AirDresser functioning: there’s a lint filter at the front, although I didn’t find that this clogged up as much as one in a regular tumble dryer, as the drying action here is much more gentle. As the AirDresser uses steam, it keeps itself clean naturally.
Control of the AirDresser is via the panel on the front. As well as simple cycles (Daily and Quick) for everyday clothes, there are special cycles for suits, outdoor clothes, wool items, down jackets, leather and technical wear. These vary on the cleaning method, how much steam is used and how drying is handled.
There’s also a dry-only mode, which is handy if you come in from a rain shower and want to dry out your coat.
It’s worth checking the manual to see which cycles suit your clothes. In general, I found that most items can be put through the AirDresser, including leather jackets and wool items that I’d normally keep well away from a tumble dryer. However, there will be a handful of items that can’t be used. The manual will also tell you how many hangers can be used at once; some cycles recommend just using the central hanger, for example.
As this is a Samsung product, it’s unsurprising that it hooks up to SmartThings. Via the app, you can select a cycle, plus new options are available for download, such as a special cycle for cleaning toys. It’s actually easier to use the AirDresser from its front control panel, but SmartThings is handy as it sends notifications when a cycle is complete.
Performance
- Cheap to run
- Removes odours from clothes
- Brings clothes back to their best
I put the Samsung AirDresser through a series of tests. First, there’s the Quick option that will refresh clothes in less than 20 minutes. This, I found, was useful for things like jumpers that might have been packed away for a couple of months. This cycle used 0.371kWh of power, which costs around 13p, assuming a unit price of 34p per kWh.
Next is the Normal cycle, which is a longer programme for everyday clothes. I used this on a jumper I’d been wearing to cook Mexican food: delicious results, but the spices really do seep into fibres. This cycle used 0.52kWh of power (18p) and my jumper came out nice and fresh.
Running the Outdoor cycle on my waterproof coat. This cycle used 0.616kWh (21p) and did a brilliant job of plumping my coat up, giving it a fresh look and feel.
Similarly, on my down gilet, the Down programme brought it back to life and made it plump and soft again. This programme used 0.458kWh (16p).
I also used the Winter Coat programme on a tweed jacket. This softened the fibres and removed odours, using 0.46kWh (16p).
With most cycles costing between 16p and 21p, the AiDresser is a cheap way to refresh clothing and can be used in place of a dry cleaner in many cases, bar where actual marks or stains need to be removed.
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Should you buy it?
If you’ve got delicate items that you want to keep in their best condition, this is a great tool for doing that and cheap to run.
If you don’t visit a dry cleaner often, you may find you won’t use a device like this. Those that focus on suits may prefer a model with trouser press.
Final Thoughts
With more accessories in the box than the Samsung Bespoke AirDresser, the Samsung AirDresser is a slightly more useful daily tool. I would, however, have liked the option to use tumble dryer sheets to add a scent to the cleaning process.
The main competition is from the LG Styler. That model has a trouser press and takes tumble dryer sheets, making it a better match for those that wear suits a lot. For all other types of clothing, the AirHanger in the Samsung AirDresser makes it ideal for a wider range of clothes.
Although expensive to buy, this cheap-to-run steam cabinet could be of genuine use at home if you’ve got the space and go to the dry cleaner’s a lot. It’s still a niche product, but for those with the right types of clothes, a great way of keeping them in the best shape.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every steam cupboard we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
We test compatibility with the main smart systems (HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, IFTTT and more) to see how easy each machine is to remote control. Smart devices only.
We test with the same sets of clothes for each machine, run through a cycle on our test washing machine, so we can compare energy costs.
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FAQs
It uses hot air and steam to clean and remove odours, but it can’t clean stains.
Yes, it’s also a gentle tumble dryer, suitable for clothes that can’t normally be dried.
Full specs
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
