Laziness the mother of invention as Irish vote for self-cleaning house

A CAR that drives itself; a lawn that never grows so you don’t have to cut it; a house that needs no cleaning.

Which among these would be your dream invention?

Few of us like cleaning the house, but a new survey finds that the Irish may be a particularly lazy nation when it comes to household chores.

Of all the wacky, innovative and problem- solving inventions that could be created, over 50% of us voted for a ‘self-cleaning house’ as the product we would most like to see developed.

The survey, by Arthritis Ireland and Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, was carried out to encourage entrepreneurs, start-up companies and anyone with a good idea for an easy-to-use product to enter this year’s Arthritis Ireland Easy to Use Awards.

Other most wanted items included a see- through toaster, allowing users to view the bread as it browns; an electronic bottle-opener and a robotic vacuum cleaner.

Flat-pack furniture and electrical equipment were voted the most difficult products to assemble by respondents.

Almost three-quarters of those questioned admitted that they found so-called ‘easy-to-assemble’ items for the home, along with products such as computers, DVD players and televisions, more than a challenge to tackle.

Almost one fifth (18%) said that children’s buggies and prams are the items that leave them most flummoxed.

The survey also found the automatic tea-maker was voted the most useless invention, by almost 30% of respondents, with fondue sets and egg-slicers coming a close second and third.

Unsurprisingly, the slot for dream product was filled by the self-cleaning house, voted for by over half of all respondents.

In fact, the dream home may already have been invented by a 95- year-old woman from the United States.

Frances Gabe lives comfortably in Newberg, Oregon in the prototype of her self-cleaning house, enjoying a combination of 68 time, labour and space -saving mechanisms that make the concept of housework obsolete.

Each of the rooms is fitted with a cleaning/ drying/heating/cooling device. The furniture is made of a water-proof composition and, at the push of a sequence of buttons, jets of soapy water wash the entire room, with a dryer finishing the job.

Established last year, the Easy to Use Awards encourage innovation in design to make everyday products more attractive and usable for everyone, including people living with disabilities.

The judging panel for the Easy to Use Awards includes Dragons’ Den star Sean Gallagher, as well as Declan Lyons of Enterprise Ireland and Damini Kumar, director of Design & Creativity (NUI Maynooth).

- Further information on the awards and entry details can be found on www.easytouse.ie

Closing date for the awards is January 31.