Cleaning’s a walkover with vacuum shoes

HELP is at hand for those who hate vacuuming in the form of a brilliant feat of design.

Normally, shoes track dirt through the home but designers at Electrolux unveiled new vacuum shoes yesterday which suck up dust as you walk.

The ‘shoovers’, or Dustmate, as Electrolux has called them, are perfect for anyone who hates housework.

But for the fashion conscious out there — well, you’ll just have to suck it up while cleaning.

The shoes are made of bright green nylon with a flexible rubber sole.

An elastic sock which clips into the base holds the user’s foot in place.

The shoes have a tiny rechargeable vacuum engine inside the base and a movement sensor turns the vacuum on and off.

But the shoes, which are still at the prototype stage, are not available in the shops yet.

The product was designed after a survey showed that the rates of hoovering were falling.

The research found that only 28% of those surveyed hoover daily — down 6% in the last two years. And just 37% do it every three days — down from 32%.

The designers said the Dustmate is perfect for people who want to do their hoovering without having to drop everything else.

“We all have to vacuum our home,” a company spokesman said.

“This product is designed for busy people who want to keep the housework down to a minimum. Dustmate provides a cleaning solution that doesn’t take up any precious free time.

“As you walk, the base of the shoes collect dust on the floor without requiring any effort. It is a simple yet creative cleaning concept.”

Electrolux hopes the gadget will become an “unconscious by-product of everyday life”.