If there’s one thing that COVID-19 has taught us (though there are plenty), it’s that maintaining cleanliness and hygiene, and sanitizing everything and anything in sight is a must. It’s also turned most of us into homebodies -irrespective of whether we were originally one or not. Since we spend most of our time at home, our mind automatically hones in on maintaining and taking the best care of our home. At least it does for me, once I wrap up my work! And a couple of innovative and unique home appliances can really help us with this. If you’re in a mood to Marie Kondo your home, or simply want to complete your chores easily and efficiently, these handy appliances will perfectly assist you in doing so. From a dust box that lets you clean your home in old-school style to a futuristic toilet cleaning robot – we have curated a whole range of nifty gadgets that promise to be the ultimate sidekick during your cleaning expeditions at home. Happy cleaning!
1. The Dayoo Kitchen Steam Cleaner & Dishwasher
With a nozzle inspired by a water-saving showerhead, the Dayoo Kitchen Steam Cleaner & Dishwasher permits you to use less water to clean more dishes in mere minutes.
Why is it noteworthy?
The contemporary dishwasher is a marvel of design and engineering… but it does have a few distinct flaws. For starters, it’s like a carwash for utensils. The nozzle within the dishwasher just senselessly sprays hot water in every possible direction, hoping to get food and grime off your utensils. It doesn’t necessarily target stains because it doesn’t ‘see’ them, and it wastes a massive amount of water trying to clean all your utensils regardless of their quantity and how they’ve been arranged on the trays. Washing utensils in your kitchen sink, however, is much more resource-efficient because you use an appropriate amount of water for a given set of utensils. The problem, though, is that it requires effort manually scrubbing grime off your utensils. Dayoo hybridizes both devices, combining them into one kitchen solution that relies on the best of both worlds.
What we like
- Make cleaning utensils faster, effective, and energy-efficient
- The heated steam does a more efficient job of getting grease and food off your plates and spoons
What we dislike
- Dayoo can heat water up to temperatures of 221°F, which obviously raises safety concerns, but the company behind the appliance says that as long as your hand is 4 inches away from the nozzle, you’re fine
2. The Sterilizer 2022
UV-C has become a proven way to sterilize surfaces and personal stuff in the past two years. Sales for such sterilizers have gone up, and now they come in different forms and sizes. The Sterilizer 2022 is yet another concept product that brands can probably consider bringing into production.
Why is it noteworthy?
Korean designer Woojin Heo has shared his design for a cleaning system. It’s not exactly a personal sterilizer, but it is meant for cleaning tools you usually use at home. The goal was to develop a sterilizer for those standard cleaning tools we utilize every day. Sterilizing your cleaning tools is important to prevent contamination and bacterial growth.
What we like
- The sterilizing system is built into the wall. You can have it installed inside the bathroom or in your mudroom or laundry room
- To make things easy to access, the design features a tilted system
What we dislike
- It’s still a concept!
3. The Missaglia tiles
When we spend a lot of time indoors and keep the windows closed for air conditioning, we feel cool and comfortable. However, that means we also need air purifying devices to make sure that we’re breathing in healthy air inside our homes. There are several kinds of air-purifying devices out there but they seem to be pretty distinctive and will most likely not blend in with your furniture. This new concept will solve that problem by designing something that looks like part of your decoration.
Why is it noteworthy?
The Missaglia tiles are square-shaped tiles with rounded corners which you can attach to your walls. More than just tiles to match your aesthetic, they’re actually air purifying devices that can capture pollutants, bacteria, and viruses that are floating around your house. But the advantage as compared to the traditional air purifiers is that it won’t take up any space in your room as you only have to attach it to the wall or any surface you want to place it in.
What we like
- Able to absorb and eliminate odors from both food as well as cleaning agents
- Won’t take up any space in your room
What we dislike
- May not match the aesthetics of all living spaces
4. OSOTEK
Designed to have a wet and dry mopping feature, OSOTEK is the world’s first 4-in-1 mop vacuum cleaner with a built-in water heater that efficiently wipes/mops and de-odorizes your floor in a way that’s just as effective as a floor disinfectant, yet without any of the chemicals.
Why is it noteworthy?
The phrase ‘intelligent cleaning’ isn’t just some marketing catchphrase. The OSOTEK HotWave is quite literally a smart cookie. It comes equipped with an infrared sensor that can detect how dirty your floor is and adjust the suction power automatically in real-time. This, in effect, reduces your need to constantly run the vacuum over a spot to clean it. The variable suction power intensifies when the OSOTEK HotWave detects more dirt, and reduces when your floor is relatively dirt-free, saving you energy while also conserving battery.
What we like
- Has a built-in ‘superthermal’ heater
- Leaves your floor more spotless than a conventional vacuum cleaner
What we dislike
- No complaints!
5. The Sebastiano
A new concept design for what they say is the “only designer robot in the world” has caught my attention as it says it will be my “home pal” and it was designed to be by my side. The Sebastiano | cleaning robot actually looks like a weighing scale without the actual scale and is covered by a cute rug. But it’s actually a cleaning device that can vacuum, sweep, and brush any surface whether it’s wood floorings or marbled floors.
Why is it noteworthy?
Another thing that may appeal to those who dislike those noisy old-school vacuum cleaners is that it is designed to be basically noiseless. So even if you’re watching a show or listening to your podcast, the cleaning motion of the robot should not disturb you, at least sound-wise. But it will apparently suddenly speak when the dust bin is already full and inform you that you need to empty it. The bin itself is triangular shaped and detachable so you won’t have any trouble getting rid of all that collected dust.
What we like
- When it’s not in use, it is programmed to go back to its charging port so you won’t trip on it
What we dislike
- There’s no app to help control it when it’s moving around
- It’s still a concept
6. The Dust Box
The Dust Box doesn’t exactly look like any of the current handheld vacuums in the market as it gives off a classic look with its boxy shape. It is intentional as they’re going for the old-school look of vacuum cleaners that we might have used in the 80s or 90s, except that this one is not attached to a bigger body.
Why is it noteworthy?
At first glance it looks like a container of some kind and in a way, it is indeed a container of all the dust, trash, and small particles around the house. We don’t have much information about this product concept and we can base our “review” only on the photos provided. It seems to have all the basic parts you will need for a basic vacuum cleaner. A handle to carry it around, a nozzle to pick up all the trash, and a box to store up all these and then eventually dump them out. The nozzle doesn’t seem to be that flexible so I don’t know how it will be able to reach under the sofa and in some crevices where you need something a bit softer or longer.
What we like
- This design brings much more room to store the dirt and trash
- Simple + easy to use
What we dislike
- No complaints!
7. H5
H5 is a multifunctional vacuum cleaner designed for small spaces that can break down into four parts that fit into a compact charging bin for easy storage.
Why is it noteworthy?
While living tiny is all the rage nowadays, it takes some skill to keep small city spaces clean. Especially when you live in an old apartment building or with pets, vacuuming becomes a daily chore. While vacuuming small spaces goes by quickly, storing a bulky vacuum cleaner becomes a nuisance just as quickly. To keep small spaces clean without the pain of storing big cleaning appliances, industrial designer Yipeng Zhu ideated a space-saving multifunctional vacuum cleaner called H5 that shrinks down to almost a ⅓ of its height.
What we like
- H5 keeps an overall slim build when assembled and when disassembled so it doesn’t take up too much space in storage
- H5 comes with three different vacuum heads that can be switched out for various cleaning needs
What we dislike
- It’s still a concept
8. Giddel
There almost comes a time when family members or housemates fight over the Porcelain Throne, but none actually like to stick around to clean it. Considering everything that goes inside, it’s really no surprise that cleaning the toilet ranks the highest in chores that even grownups don’t like to do. Some even hire other people to do that, but why settle for a regular expense when you can just buy a robot that is only too happy to clean the toilet for you. And that’s exactly what this rather cute-looking little guy is made for, to make your life a little bit less stressful, at least once in a while.
Why is it noteworthy?
Considering what it’s designed to do, it’s almost a bit ironic that Giddel looks almost too cute to get dirty. Big blue eyes set on a black face almost look at you innocently while hovering in the middle of the toilet bowl. A push on one of those eyes, which are actually control buttons, sends Giddel methodically spinning and scrubbing that toilet clean, including the hard-to-reach places that you probably wouldn’t even dare touch.
What we like
- You can also use your choice of liquid cleaning solutions, so you won’t be locked into whatever the company sells, which is good because it doesn’t actually sell any
- Is critical for people with disabilities
What we dislike
- Giddel can itself get quite dirty and will require cleaning
9. The Rubbish Beam
Picking up trash isn’t exactly fun, but you can make it exciting by getting cool tools and gadgets like the Rubbish Beam.
Why is it noteworthy?
The Rubbish platform and Rubbish Beam work together to help map and track litter trends. It aims to gamifying the experience so things won’t be boring. This effort also helps local waste management systems to improve efficiency and focus on what needs to be done. Data tracked and collected are analyzed to help municipalities know how to improve when it comes to waste management. The Rubbish Beam comes with LEDs to let you know it is paired with a phone app. In addition, it comes with a D-pad that enables you to categorize litter. This categorization can help analyze data from cleanups.
What we like
- The handle and trigger are fully contoured for a more comfortable experience as described
- It’s helpful in identifying areas and places that need attention
What we dislike
- No complaints!
10. The Leo’s Loo Too
Looking almost like a slick front-loaded washing machine, the Leo’s Loo Too by Smarty Pear uses a similar rotating chamber to automatically ‘flush’ out your cat’s poo, saving you the trouble of digging away at kitty excrement with a scoop.
Why is it noteworthy?
After your cat’s gone about its business, the Leo’s Loo Too waits for the waste to clump together before beginning its cleaning cycle. To clean out the cat’s waste, the entire inner chamber rotates a full 360, using gravity and a clever mesh design to sift out and separate the waste from the litter. At the end of one 360° spin, the waste gets sent into the Loo’s waste drawer where it’s collected in a plastic waste bag, while the upper chamber is cleaned and laid down with the litter once again. The entire process happens automatically and can be controlled/calibrated via a companion smartphone app
What we like
- Sports a modern enclosed design
- The enclosed space means your cat can go about its business with utmost privacy
What we dislike
- Occupies a substantial amount of space