Smart gear to make spring cleaning a breeze
It’s been a long couple months (or year?) indoors as we’ve been waiting out both the pandemic and a stubborn winter. But with temps starting to rise and buds blooming on the trees it’s time to turn our attention to spring, which means it’s time to clean.
If the thought of spending valuable spare time on the weekends mired in cleaning chores fills you with ‘ugh…’, you’re not alone. Thankfully there are a whole host of new tech tools and gadgets to help make cleaning smarter, simpler and more efficient. Read on to learn about the latest cleaning gadgets out there that can save you time and headaches.
Roaming Cleaning Robot
While the thought of autonomous, roaming robots in the home may fill some of us with fears for the future of the human race, the truth is they’re really pretty handy. The iRobot Roomba i7+ (latest iteration of the popular cleaning device) has the ability to clean hardwood floors and most carpet. The i7 plus also boasts the ability to clean itself by returning periodically to a base station that sucks up dirt and dust.
Smart Air Purifier
After all the time we’re spending indoors recently, we can all appreciate the importance of clean, quality air. It can be especially important in the spring, when blooming growth can trigger all kinds of pollen and particles into the air, so the Conway Airmega 300 makes things easy by pairing with an app to provide real-time air quality monitoring. The machine is nearly silent at its lowest speeds, and can service an area up to 1256 sq. ft.
Power Scrubber
Stubborn grime and grout can be one of the most labor-intensive (and time-consuming) parts of cleaning a kitchen or bathroom. But the super-powered head of Rubbermaid’s Power Scrubber picks up and improves on where the human hand leaves off, scrubbing 60 times per second. Ideal for hard-to-get-to areas around faucets, sink or stove, the powerful little scrubber even has the chops to tackle rust-caked grout.
Robot Window Cleaner
Another helpful, though less well-known, member of the robot cleaning family is the Ecovac Winbot X. While Roomba’s are known for tackling your floors, the Winbot attaches to your window, then uses a squeegee and two cleaning pads to wipe down the glass (though sometimes you have to pre-rinse if the windows are too caked with dirt). While previous models required you to keep the device plugged in to an outlet, the Winbot X boasts a cordless design.
Mini Vacuum Cleaner
The last year has moved more and more our lives online, which has also made us that much more dependent on our computers functioning well. While great for cleaning any small surface, this battery-powered vacuum is especially helpful for cleaning crumbs, dust and other debris from out of your computer keyboard. It can even handle items as ‘heavy’ as an apple seed or as fluttery as tiny paper scraps.
Microwave Steam Cleaner
Though a little more on the low-tech side of things, but no less handy, is this inventive new take on cleaning your microwave. Fill this perturbed plastic gadget with water and vinegar, then place it in the microwave and press ‘Start.’ By producing copious amounts of steam, the Angry Mama helps loosen up grime and gunk that can get caked on to the hard-to-reach interiors of your microwave. Just wipe down with a paper towel or rag and you’re done. (Though her job is done, Angry Mama will apparently remain angry at all times.)