Oliver Blackwell, who designed the WashDryIron, is exhibiting the machine at next month's Ideal Home Show. The University of Plymouth graduate hopes the machine will become an object of desire because it saves about 10 days a year in ironing time. "A friend's father said he wouldn't have got married if I'd come up with this sooner," said Mr Blackwell.
The 23-year-old student's innovative idea was thought up for his final degree project. He told BBC News: "There are thousands of exceptional students out there and I knew I had to come up with a damn good product idea to pass my finals.
The machine washes, dries and irons clothes in separate compartments and is said to eliminate colour runs, shrinkage and ironing. It can tackle up to 16 items at a time, including king-size bed sheets. Because hangers are used, they do not become entangled and have 83% fewer creases, according to the designer. The items are then dried and ironed by hot air blown across them. The designer claims another major benefit of the separate compartments is that muddy sports gear can be washed at the same time, but at a different temperature to delicate fabrics.
I fully endorse anything that lets me be more lazy, so this gets a 9 out of 10. (I think I am going to start ranking "From the Future" posts - Any suggestion for a (tiny) icon I could use to represent how many points out of 10 I give?)
