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Home / Lifestyle

Can this new machine take pain out of ironing?

By Colin Fernandez and Harry Pettit
Daily Mail·
4 Oct, 2017 11:45 PM3 mins to read

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Laundry robot 'Effie' irons and dries clothes in just three minutes. YouTube / Effie

It could be the answer to one of life's most pressing problems.

Two young inventors have created a £699 ($1290) robotic ironing machine to make short work of crumpled shirts, blouses, trousers and even underwear.

The device, named 'Effie', can dry and iron 12 separate pieces of clothing at once, which its inventors claim cuts ironing time by 95 per cent.

It gets items ready within three minutes and has an app to alert you when your clothes are done, the MailOnline reported.

The device even has a scented ball compartment to add a smell of your choice to laundry.

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Effie has been designed by engineers Rohan Kamdar and Trevor Kerth, both 27.

Built in Mr Kamdar's family home in Pinner, north London, where Mr Kamdar lived until recently, the duo have made a fully working prototype, with a full version expected in spring 2018.

Mr Kamdar explained that he intended to take the 'pain' out of ironing, a chore he admits his mother has often done for him.

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And he would not dream of asking his busy wife, who is a full-time doctor, to take on the chore.

To iron a shirt, you first hang it up in the machine's cabinet on adjustable hangers.

The doors close, and it then an internal steam iron presses the shirt - taking out any creases.

The machine's name is a geeky play on words. It derives from 'Fe', the name in the periodic table for the metal iron.

The device, named 'Effie', can dry and iron 12 separate pieces of clothing at once, which its inventors claim cuts ironing time by 95 per cent. Photo / helloeffie.com
The device, named 'Effie', can dry and iron 12 separate pieces of clothing at once, which its inventors claim cuts ironing time by 95 per cent. Photo / helloeffie.com

It measures 128 cm (50") high, 80 cm (31") wide and 40 cm (16") deep.

While the device may have been invented in a garage, the pair are far from amateur inventors.

Both Mr Kamdar, who studied engineering at Cambridge University, and Mr Kerth, originally from the US, whose engineering degree was from the University of California at San Diego, have a background in designing and developing medical devices.

The pair created the machine out of 141 parts.

They used 3D printers, acrylic laser cutting and plastic moulding machines to create it, and have already applied for a patent.

They promise that it can cut the amount of time ironing down by 95 per cent.

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Underwear can be hung in a bag inside to be dried and a scented ball can be added to the steam tank.

The device even has a scented ball compartment to add a smell of your choice to your laundry. Photo / helloeffie.com
The device even has a scented ball compartment to add a smell of your choice to your laundry. Photo / helloeffie.com

Mr Kamdar, who recently got married and only just moved out of his parent's home, said: "Like absolutely everyone, our mothers ironed for us at some point.

"I got married recently and realised how much my mother did for me.

"I now have to do my own ironing."

"I don't entertain the idea of my wife, Payal, doing the ironing, she's a doctor and she has more than enough to be getting on with without doing my ironing.

"The idea of the device is to save time and effort. The idea of the device is to be for ironing what the washing machine is for washing clothes.

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"Nobody likes doing it, no matter what they say. The point of this device is to take away the pain, that's what we are trying to do."

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