Poster @katallen8 uploaded 43 seconds of video reviewing her new Super Deal Portable Washer-Dryer from Amazon, and it quickly garnered 3.7 million views. It’s compact nature, ability to be used in a bathroom, and under-$200 price point caught the attention of laundromat-weary consumers all over the world.

Here are the specs that make this machine so attractive:

Size

The Super Deal Portable Washer-Dryer is small enough to be tucked into a coat closet at just 23 inches long by 13.5 inches wide by 26 inches tall. And weighing just 26 pounds, it can easily be moved around an apartment, or even carried around on a long-distance RV trip.

Capacity

The washer drum has a 13-pound clothing capacity, which according to @katallen means one load can hold “six pillowcases, two sets of scrubs, and socks.” While that’s certainly not a full traditional load, when you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home, doing several small loads suddenly seems like much less of a hassle.

The dryer, however, only holds a five-pound load, so some clothes may need to hang on the shower bar or similarly be split up into multiple loads. Some reviewers do warn that the dryer really doesn’t get clothes completely dry – rather, they come out just slightly damp and often still need to hang for a few hours to fully dry out.

Ease of Use

Another plus for this unit is how easy it is to use in any space with waterlines. You don’t even need any kind of insulation. Just connect the hose to a sink, fill the machine with water, and let the rinse water drain into a bathtub, sink, or bucket at the end of the cycle. The controls are also super straightforward, allowing users to choose washer times up to 15 minutes with a five-minute spin cycler timer.

Cost

@katallen told the world she bought the washer-dryer for $196, but interested buyers are in even more luck, as Amazon has since dropped the price to just $154. That makes it a super affordable option for both college students and apartment dwellers across the U.S.

Of course, some of the comments on TikTok reveal that this type of machine has been standard fare for people around the world for many years now.

“It’s so funny seeing people buy this now a days [because] I remember seeing this in my grandma’s house in the Dominican Republic in the countryside,” laughed one commenter. Another said, “Imagine them being ‘in wow’ when that’s what we use in the Caribbean,” while another still added: “Do Americans not know that twin tubs like these are the standard washing machines in most of Africa?”

Even if the U.S. is a little slow to the portable, affordable washer-dryer party, we’ve caught on now and people are excited. One Amazon reviewer raved, “I didn’t believe this machine could do so much. I love it!” and another gushed “We LOVE it! Sure beats sitting in a laundromat and I can get a couple of loads in before I begin my day!” The Super Deal Portable Washer-Dryer is available here for those eager to ditch the laundromat for good.

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Soap Nut Shells

A natural, environmentally friendly, and non-toxic replacement for your usual supermarket washing detergent, soap nut shells offer the only 100-percent organic way to do your laundry without inputting any harmful chemicals. Derived from the Sapindus Mukorossi, which itself is part of the lychee family, soap nuts are actually berries that can be harvested between September and February, and their trees grow them for as long as 90 years before slowing down production.

Of course, these trees also contribute to converting carbon dioxide into oxygen, which means that even the act of planting and growing soap nuts aids our environment as much as using their shells to wash our clothes does. Add a shell to your compost pile after washing with it to get even more green use from it!

To incorporate soap nut shells into your laundry routine, just pop them into a small fabric bag and throw them into the machine alongside your dirty clothes. Though the soap nuts don’t actually contain any soap, they do contain a surfactant called saponin that is excreted in hot water. Better for your skin, better for the environment, and better for your delicates, these shells are the clear way forward for an eco-warrior like you.

Shampoo Bars

In a bid to eradicate plastic waste, eco-conscious brands are looking to alternative packaging (if any at all) to cut down their carbon footprints. Just think about going to the pharmacy or supermarket to purchase your favorite hair care products: how many of them come in nothing but wasteful plastic bottles and containers? After perhaps a month of using a bottle of shampoo, we throw it away and replace it with another, meaning that in one year alone, a single user throws away 12 more bottles than they need to — and that’s just for one product. Collectively, over 80 billion plastic hair care containers are thrown out across the globe every year.

Shampoo bars are a great way to keep from contributing to that daunting figure. Use organic ingredients to make yourself one of these sustainable replacements to conventional shampoo, and your baths will be that much better with you knowing you’re using something that comes totally plastic and cruelty-free (and that lasts two to three times longer than the average hair care product).

Bamboo Toothbrush

It’s no big secret you have to thoroughly brush your teeth twice a day in order to sustain healthy oral care. Unfortunately, a standard plastic toothbrush only lasts an average of three months, which adds up to four toothbrushes a year. That number doesn’t seem too high for a single user, but multiply it by the number of gnasher-cleaning humans on the planet, and that figure climbs to a gobsmacking 3.5 billion toothbrushes thrown away annually. Next time your bristles are looking a little worse for wear, opt for a sustainable replacement.

Bamboo toothbrushes are biodegradable, vegan, organic, cruelty-free, and recyclable. Their wooden handles can be disposed of naturally, and their bristles (made by brands like The Humble Co.) can be made using nylon-6, which has a carbon footprint similar to that of wool while being highly durable and hygienic so that you never have to sacrifice your health for your conscience.

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FoldiMate is a California-based startup that says it’s “committed to simplifying household chores affordably through technology, innovation, and robotics.” The company adds that its first product “will put an end to laundry folding in our homes as we know it.” Perhaps it’ll also put an end to squabbles about who folded the wash last time and the all-too-common complaint “why is it always my turn?”

The FoldiMate can fold everything from children’s clothes (ages six and up) to regular-sized towels and dad’s XXL shirts. The current model can’t handle baby clothes, but newer versions will hopefully be given that capability. What’s more, the machine learns as it goes, adapting its technique to your folding preferences and the typical items you need it to fold. It can also fold clothes to match the size of your closet or dresser drawers. Thank you, smart robotic technology.

It’s very easy to use the FoldiMate. Just clip on the articles of clothing you want it to fold and watch as the machine does its thing, depositing your neatly folded garments in a drawer below. This drawer can hold about 10 to 15 items, depending how thick they are, and when it’s full, all you have to do is lift out the stack to make room for more clothes. The ever-hungry FoldiMate keeps folding as long as you keep feeding it clothes.

The FoldiMate is still in the design stage, but the company is letting interested buyers register now so they can start putting in early orders. One thing is certain, though: you’ll have to be patient if you want to jump on the FoldiMate train, as units won’t be ready to ship until at least late 2019. The designers explain that the process of fine-tuning the machine has been delayed because “its complexity can be compared to the sophistication of an advanced robot, rather than that of a home appliance.”

Technology buffs were able to see the latest model of the FoldiMate in action at CES earlier this month, boasting a few new features that the team implemented based on tester feedback to make it faster and easier to use.

The designers also say they’ve changed the look of the FoldiMate to help it blend into any room in the average house. Personally, we can’t imagine this in the kitchen or living room, but who knows?

Of course, all of this saved time and energy does come at a price. The company is estimating a hefty retail price of $980, though it’s promising a discount on direct orders.

The post FoldiMate Makes Folding Clothes as Easy as Loading a Printer first appeared on Dornob.

The vibrations emitted by this palm-sized plastic device are powerful enough to clean and deodorize a small load of laundry, making the process of washing delicates easier and less damaging than ever before. The Dolfi, an ultrasonic device, is designed to be dropped into a small tub of water along with clothing and detergent to deep-clean textiles all the way through, instead of just rubbing the surface like mechanical washers.

This ultrasonic cleaning device can’t replace an entire automatic clothes washer, since it’s only recommended for up to 4.4 pounds of clothing at a time and can’t rinse or spin your clothes, requiring a little bit of effort on your part. But, it’s more effective for cleaning small amounts of laundry than hand-washing, and won’t degrade delicate textiles like regular washing machines.

Sound waves travel through the water and form microscopic high-pressure bubbles, which implode, creating millions of micro-jet liquid streams that blast dirt out of the fabric. The process takes 30-40 minutes and uses about 80 times less energy than a standard washing machine.

“Remember those great delicate pieces of fashion hopelessly ruined by machine wash? Dolfi is the next generation cleaning technology: it’s gentle on clothes, but tough on dirt.  Your favorites will be thoroughly cleaned from inside out with the power of ultrasound without any damage.”

“With Dolfi you can save on dry cleaning cost for delicates, on hotel or laundry services while you’re traveling and on overweight charges on your luggage from packing extra clothing. You can have peace of mind knowing that your favorite delicates won’t be ruined and that you won’t run out of fresh clothes on your travels. With Dolfi, you can buy any kind of fashion you like and not worry about the “Hand wash only” label.”

The highly portable design makes it ideal for doing small loads of laundry while traveling. Support the IndieGoGo campaign, which is open until February 19th, and you can choose from a number of rewards, including a ‘Stay Fresh’ set that includes the Dolfi device, an inflatable hanger and a sink stopper.

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If you live with a kid or a roommate who just can’t seem to grasp the concept of washing their dirty clothes regularly, the Martino Hamper from designer Brandon Washington could be a fun, cute way to not-so-subtly remind them of their laundry obligation. Designed by Washington as a personal design challenge over the course of 24 hours, the Martino Hamper is a chair – of sorts.

The chair is actually a clothing hamper with the back of a dining chair attached to it. The hamper only becomes usable as a chair when it is full of dirty clothing to sit on. For some people this might actually backfire and act as a reason to keep the dirty clothes where they are since the chair looks so comfy.

But for most, it will be a solid visual reminder that, when your dirty clothes pile up enough to actually furnish your room, it’s time to take care of the laundry. If you’re desperate for an extra seat for company, however, you could easily fill the basket with some extra pillows or a few folded blankets. That method would give you extra storage, an extra seat, and a piece of furniture that’s definitely a conversation piece.

Here’s some background on the project and designer from Core 77.

“Coming out of Allan Chochinov’s Products of Design curriculum at SVA, Brandon has positioned his piece as a the second derivative of DIY: df(DIY)/dy if you will. Of course, the gulf between art project and industrial design is a fluid one, and I suppose the Martino hamper is very much a product of its owner. So while the wooden chair and plastic hamper might read as déclassé, perhaps if the hamper itself had been filled with von Furstenberg tops and Prada leather jackets—let alone Fendi furs—it becomes a different animal, so to speak.”

The post Hamper Turns Into Comfy (But Stinky) Chair When Filled first appeared on Dornob.

All a college kid needs to do is to throw the shirt into a washer and press the ‘start’ button – no measuring needed. When the shirt comes out, it is clean and the mother’s tears are gone. The shirt is a totally adorable idea, but to be of any real use to college students it would need to be loaded with about a year’s worth of detergent.

The post Self-Washing Shirt is Easy Enough Even for College Students first appeared on Dornob.

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Quite possibly the least-addressed interior (but most in need of careful organization), laundry rooms have to meet many needs in often-small, secondary and sometimes-awkward areas of a home.

Laundry activities can, by necessity, be relegated to thin hallways, tiny landings or the extra square footage along one side of an attached (or detached) garage.

Meanwhile, washers and dryers (except some stackable ones) hardly lend themselves to space-saving strategies and compounding the problem.

Valcucine tries to approach the problem holistically, with custom ironing boards, fitted cupboards, integrated drawers, shelves and sliding panels that work with and around necessary appliances (including optional mobile laundry baskets located conveniently below each machine).

This series of general plans and layout ideas illustrating how one can maximize use of all available vertical wall surfaces from floor to ceiling.

The broad material palette used includes everything from painted steel and glass to unrolled wood, aluminum and acrylic resins.

And while their laundry-specific systems might win any awards, their similarly modern, minimalist and elegant dining room, kitchen and office accessories could.

From Style Park:

“Valcucine applies all its indisputable know-how to plan a “home laundry”: it designs a contemporary washtub that blends the features of bygone days with present-day shapes and materials: it invents new units to house appliances, ironing boards, customizable jumbo drawers and cupboards with a well-constructed set of accessories.”

“These systems have pure volumes and minimal structures in which painted steel, glass, unrolled wood, aluminium and acrylic resins are spontaneously used together.”

“The addition of the Protex washing machine and dryer of the Neue KolleKtion by AEG, the latest generation of appliances that guarantee perfect washing and superlative care of even the most delicate fabrics, completes the picture.”

“The concept of ergonomics and of transformability is the common denominator at the basis of all the Valcucine Laundry concepts. From the raised, vibration-dampening washing machine and dryer niches to the mobile laundry baskets below them; from the tops that can be pulled out when necessary to the fold-away, heated, ironing boards with a vacuum that are adjustable in height and to the boards that cover the washtub transforming it into a practical worktop.”

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Some of us prefer to hang our clothes on the line to avoid shrinking them in the dryer. A retractable indoor clothesline can work but if you have space for it a backyard wire is best – between a pair of poles or posts – but can also be a bit boring design-wise when not in use.

A slight designer twist, like this idea by Fabian van Sprecklsen, can make these dull and simple wires into a bit of clever yard art.

Inspired by the classic rural (and sometimes urban) image of a bird on a wire, each post is designed to look like a power line and bird-shaped clips to hold your clothes in place. Who knows, perhaps the real birds will even drop by for a visit (just be sure to bring the laundry in before they do!).

The post Birds on a Laundry Wire: Clever Outdoor Clothesline Design first appeared on Dornob.

What kind of room is a laundry room anyway? Some small apartments do not even have space for the machines – let alone an entire room designed for doing laundry. Other homes and condos (like the seven depicted in these pictures) require solutions that involve careful organization, clever plans and offbeat ideas: washers and dryers in a bathroom, bedroom, office, living, dining, utility room or (if there is one) even the garage.

These photos from Electrolux show everything but the kitchen sink being included in a layout – washing machines surrounded by laundry room storage cabinets, racks and shelves on the one hand and colorful wallpaper or other creative decorations on the other.

Depending on room size and machine dimensions these show, in short, a striking range of possibilities most people probably do not even consider in a remodel. If successful, the door to your wash might look just fine as another cabinet in a row or fit in well beneath a wrap-around shelving rack.

While you might not picture yourself wanting to work at a desk right by your tumbling clothing or watching TV with the spin cycle on to the side, these are at least thought-provoking design ideas that question the basic need for a designated ‘laundry room’ devoid of any other purpose. It is still acceptable to want to stuff these functions into a mud room or closet rather than cozying up with them in your bathroom spa.

But if your living space is small, well, you might just need to sacrifice a bit of (another) room unless you want to lug your laundry in and out (perhaps even up and down) every week. You can see here how an all-in-one washer dryer unit could easily fit into even a modestly sized bathroom or closet – though you’d have to limit your laundry hours to daytime if you sleep nearby.

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Much like the laundry itself, the design of a laundry room – certainly not the most glamorous space, save perhaps as shown in the pictures above – is often shoved to the end of of our interior decor to-do list. While you may not feel like decorating such a secondary space from floor to ceiling, it is an important core functional place in virtually every home with space enough and thus worth a second look.

From simple modern cabinets to handy mobile organizer units, these laundry space designs by Idea Group are specifically formed around the necessary functions of doing the laundry with built-in modular components for easier changes over time – in short, their beauty is in their relative simplicity, flexibility and fitness to function.

While a laundry furniture collection may not make the list of choice topics at your next gathering or preferred gift ideas, they are at least an interesting set of options for under-served subjects of potentially better interior design.

The post Modular Laundry Room Cabinets & Storage Design Ideas first appeared on Dornob.