Cleaning

If you've heard of SoftBank Robotics, it's likely been in regards to the company's Pepper and NAO humanoid robots. This Tuesday, however, SoftBank announced North American availability of its new Whiz robotic vacuum sweeper.

We've seen a number of "electric mouthpiece"-type toothbrushes that are claimed to clean your teeth in 30 seconds or less. At a reported 50 seconds, the three-headed BruBruBrush takes a little longer, but its makers state that it works better.

The Window Wizard robot is designed to autonomously move across the glass while cleaning it.

Cleanyst is compact household appliance designed to cut plastic waste by allowing users to blend their own shampoo, shower gel, handwash, liquid detergent and dishwashing liquid at home by simply adding water to pre-prepared sachets.

​​iRobot has refreshed its line of cleaning robots, adding an new mopping machine to the mix along with an updated vacuum. Together, the Roomba s9 vacuum and the Braava jet m6 mop are designed to work in tandem to keep floors dust and dirt free, without any input from the user. ​

The Ecovacs Deebot 711 has Smart Navi Mapping Technology, up to 110 minutes of battery life, and can double the amount of suction power on demand. Plus it’s smart home enabled, voice controlled, and costs about US$350. We tried it out to see if it lives up to the hype.

The Shark Ion model S87 (aka RV851WV – we call it "Sharklon" for short) is a two-vacuum system consisting of a higher-clearance, multi-floor robotic vacuum unit and a handheld quick vacuum for dust-busting. Both are wireless, charging on a "hub" stand, and both are powerful suckers.

A lot of thought has gone into making Lumi the ultimate toilet brush. Its battery-powered base UV-sanitizes the brush after use, and evaporates off any drip water. It's weighted, so it's hard to knock over, and it opens and closes itself. If it wasn't a toilet brush, you'd eat your dinner off it.

​Dirt and grime in the grooves can result in a less than crystal clear listening experience when spinning vinyl. Record cleaning machines can help, but if you don't have the time for regular vinyl maintenance the SugarCube SC-1 can help strip the signal of its snap, crackle and pop.​

If you're dirty and sweaty from performing an outdoor activity, it's understandable that you don't want to drive home that way. Wouldn't it be nice if you could take a hot shower first? Well, the portable Geyser System lets you do so – depending on how you define the word "shower."

The Sonic Soak is designed to act like a tiny, portable washing machine, using sound waves to clean clothes – including your delicates – as well as jewelry, toothbrushes, cutlery, baby items, fruit, veggies and basically whatever else can be thrown into a tub of water with it.

Bar-shaped soap is great for sliding into your palm and all over your body, but as we all know it can be hard to keep a good handle on. Tetra Soap is a clever new solution to this little dilemma, taking the form of a tetrapod to more easily remain in your grasp.