What does laundry for most young adults look like? First, you carry an overflowing hamper to the laundromat next to your apartment. Next, you stuff as many clothes as you can fit into one of the washing machines (without separating my darks and whites). Once the washing cycle finishes, you’ll pull out a handful of clothes to hang dry in your closet while throwing the rest in a dryer. In my case, I want to say that I separate my wet laundry because some of my shirts are too delicate for a tumble dry cycle. In reality, I do this to save an extra quarter on what I spend on drying the clothes that don’t fit on the hangers in my closet.
I am not the only person who takes similar shortcuts when doing laundry (otherwise, I wouldn’t have shared this story). In fact, the Sanute was designed for young adults like myself, whose closets double as a drying rack for their wet laundry. Or, like my roommate, whose drying rack basically functions as a holder for her dry clothes. As children, we are told to fold and put away our clean clothes after they finish drying. As independent adults with busy work schedules, many of us don’t mind leaving our clothes on the rack … at least, until our parents come to visit.
At first glance, the Sanute looks like it could be a heating unit that came with your apartment. However, it opens to reveal multiple slots on which your clothes can dry. There’s also a top drawer where you can place smaller items like your undergarments and socks. This closed-off design choice lets you present a tidy room for visitors who might not want to see your clothes dangling out in the open. With the Sanute, you don’t have to remove your clothes and hang them in the closet after they finish drying. The Sanute is your closet.
The Sanute is also a dehumidifier and an air freshener, allowing you to bring the fresh, clean smell of a laundromat into your living space. This multifunctional appliance would drastically improve the lives of its users, and it’s clear that the designers thought long and hard about the needs of their target consumers. To increase ease of usage, each individual slats can be pulled out to hang help you remove only what you want to wear that day, without messing up your remaining clothes. I can easily imagine having a Sanute in my apartment and how many quarters I would save by having a personal dryer. Perfectly millennial-friendly, don’t you think?
Designers: Kihyun Kim, Dahee Son, Yoomin Sun, Eungee Ko, Yoonhee Kim
