Ironing Times Reduced As Steam Takes Over Domestic Chores

Professional steam ironing can now be domesticated following the invention of household appliances. Integrated alongside innovative ironing boards, some manufacturers are pioneering steam power.

Steam power has been with us for centuries, with the first recorded descriptions of the vapour phenomenon dating back as far as the first century. Through supporting the industrial revolution and pioneering cross country travelling, steam has made life convenient for us in a number of ways. In today's busy lifestyles where digital technology seems to be having a greater influence every second, steam can still contribute heavily, particularly in day to day life.

Steam has successfully been integrated into washing machines and dishwashers, out performing traditional water methods. Manufacturers such as LG and Whirlpool have led the charge in this area, producing more economical and powerful machines. In these instances, steam is able to heat up to a higher temperature than water so cleaning becomes more efficient and effective; the higher the temperature, the lower the chance that bacteria and bugs can survive.

However, cleaning isn't the only thing that steam helps us out with in modern day life. Some manufacturers have managed to update the modest steam iron. Steam generator irons by brands such as Philips and Laurastar have borrowed the technology and concept from professional industries in order to bring the convenience into the households. Large, bulky ironing boards are now attached to the iron via a tube. These advanced pieces of domestic engineering are unlike conventional ironing boards in that they do more than just provide a flat surface upon which to iron on. Instead, it inflates in order to stretch the item of clothing in order to help remove the creases. From the iron, you get extra fine steam pumping out of it at significantly higher rates than the average steam iron.

Manufacturers in the industry claim that the pressurised heat and air combination from the iron and the board respectively will halve the time that it takes to iron clothes. The higher pressure means that the steam is able to penetrate fabrics quicker and deeper resulting in a new level of crease removal. In addition to this, the extra fine steam means that your clothes do not dampen either. The inflatable board means that garments fit around it snugly and firmly to help maintain the desired shape. The board inflates from high pressure air shooting through it and this also serves a secondary purpose. It refreshes your clothes, meaning that they don't need to be dry-cleaned quite so often.

It's reassuring to know that even domestic chores can be made easier and quicker. A mundane task such as ironing will probably never be too exciting, but steam generator irons will at least remove some of the time that's taken up by the task. It's also great to see that technological innovations are not restricted simply to large domestic appliances such as washing machines, but the humble iron also gets a facelift. As can be expected, these advanced irons and ironing boards will cost more than standard equivalents. It's not known whether or not the prices themselves will fall as the technology becomes more popular, but those who can afford a little extra luxury in life will certainly feel the benefits.

RESOURCES

Kitchen Science is the UK's largest online only kitchen appliances retailer selling Kitchen Appliances including the American Fridge, Cannon Cookers, Built in Ovens, Electric Cookers, Integrated Dishwasher, Washing Machines, American Fridge, American Fridge Freezers and Integrated Fridge Freezer.

There is also a sister site Laskys.com, an online only specialist retailer in home entertainment including LCD TVs, plasma TVs or cheap LCD TVs. Their main products include the Panasonic plasma TV, consumer electronics, Samsung LCD TV, LG LCD TV, HP laptop and Sony laptop.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Kaduwanema

7 Strategies to Make Laundry Day Less of a Chore

With families so busy these days, the laundry room can be one of the most cluttered areas of a home. Kids are notorious for changing clothes frequently and adults often drop items as they come in the door. Often by the end of the week, the laundry room and hampers are overflowing and the weekend is spent performing the arduous task of doing laundry. So how does a busy family spend less time doing laundry and more time enjoying the weekend? By organizing the laundry process and laundry room to make the task a less time consuming chore.

Here are some tips to make laundry day much more efficient:

1. Assign one to two days a week as laundry day. If you run your washer and dryer less often it saves time and money on your electric bill. In our home we do laundry over the weekend and one load mid-week on Wednesday.

2. Make laundry day a family affair. There is no good reason for the home manager to be responsible for the family's laundry without help. This is a chore that children need to learn and it makes the job much more manageable when everyone pitches in.

3. In each family member's room or in a common area between bedrooms, replace the traditional one basket hamper with a three section laundry sorter. Clothes are then sorted according to color as they go into the hamper, saving the entire step of sorting laundry by loads (color, whites, etc.) This one tip will save you about 20 minutes per weekend.

4. Train your children to wear a piece of clothing at least twice. This was a habit I had to break in my youngest daughter, who found it easier to throw every piece of clothing she took off into the laundry basket instead of hanging it up. I developed a sign that hung over my kid's laundry sorter that said "STOP, is that item really dirty? If not, hang it up and wear again." Setting that expectation reduced our weekly laundry volume by about 30%.

5. Set up an organizer that contains your most used laundry supplies near the washer and dryer. That means detergents, softener, stain removers, hangers and baskets all in one place.

6. Assign each family member a basket or designated area for their clean clothes. As clothing comes out of the dryer, each family member is responsible to fold and put away their own items, then return the basket. Use these handy sorting labels for hanging clothes Simple Division Garment Organizers to separate clothes in a laundry room by each family member. Each family member can easily find their clothes to return to their room.

7. When purchasing new clothes, get into the habit of reading clothing labels and select fabrics that hold their color well, resist stains and wrinkles, such as polyester or rayon mixes. This will reduce the arduous job of ironing. I don't even own an ironing board anymore.
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Ideas For Cleaning a Washing Machine

We use the washing machine to wash down away the dirt and filth from your clothes, but have you taken the same care for your washing machine? Though we do not necessarily need to clean our washing machine on a daily basis, it is still important to uphold the cleanliness of your washing machine to prevent clog gage and other maintenance issues that may arise from a dirty washing machine.

Here are 4 tips on how to clean your washing machine.

Vinegar

Containing about 5% of acetic acid solutions, white vinegar is a very useful product for both culinary and cleaning purposes. Pour 2 cups of white vinegar into your washing machine. Choose the highest spin cycle and let the washing machine run it through. This process will help to eliminate any mold particles are dirt that is stuck at the washer agitator and barrel.

Lime Juice

If your washing machine is more than 8 years old, chances are that there may be signs of rust problems. For such problems, you can either use salt or lime juice to run through the washing machine. Switch on the washing cycle and let the water rinse out thereafter. Choose the hottest or heaviest load option.

Baking soda

There are many uses for baking soda. One of them is for cleaning washing machine. This is because baking soda contains alkaline which can help to neutralize acids and reduce dirt particles. This makes it a very effective cleaning agent. Just add baking soda and similarly, run it through a heavy wash. You can also mix with your laundry detergent to beef up the strength when you wash the clothes.

Hard To Reach Parts

There may be several areas in the washing machine that is hard to reach and clean. In such cases, you may need to turn to more conventional ways like using a sponge to do the job. Instead of running the wash-cycle, all you need to do is to use the sponge and mix it with the above cleaning agents such as lime juice and baking soda. Use a small holder if you find it difficult to reach parts like the rim and bottom of the agitator (for top loader).
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