Saturday, September 23, 2006

The clothes dryer that does the ironing

It might be a housewife’s fantasy or a trendy bachelor’s dream: a machine that will dry and iron your clothes was unveiled in Madrid yesterday, raising the prospect that the hated household chore could become a thing of the past.

Ironing is an obsession in Spain, where housewives traditionally press every bit of fabric, including bedsheets, socks and underwear.

But Spanish women have entered the workforce en masse over the past three decades, leaving people little time to indulge their passion for wrinkle-free attire.

That was the inspiration for the “Driron”, made by the Basque manufacturer Fagor. It looks like a 6ft (1.8m) fridge-freezer. The clothes are slotted in sideways on hangers like a wardrobe. Shirts and T-shirts are weighed down with what looks like a giant hairclip.

After whirring away for two hours, the clothes are dry and remarkably wrinkle-free.

But liberation from ironing does not come cheaply. The company will sell the white version of its machine for €1,600 (£1,070) and a trendy brushed steel version will cost €1,800.

Despite the price, Fagor hopes to sell 40,000 in the next three years.

Update: There's a video demonstration here.

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