Starting a service that lets people request real-life humans to do tasks for them or clean up their apartment is no small feat. Exec’s founder and CEO, Justin Kan, set out to build a service that would not only create jobs for people who might not have had them before, but delight customers too. He has done just that in not much time. The service, which has picked up steam in San Francisco… → Read More
Like Airbnb, Uber has spawned a subset of startups that are looking to capitalize on the success of its premium, mobile, on-demand model and bring a little innovation to their chosen offline industries. Exec, Cherry, YourMechanic and Postmates are a few examples of the growing “Uber for X” category. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before the formula was applied to maids.
That’s right. … → Read More
Exec, which is a service focused on San Francisco professionals, does all types of tasks for you at pretty decent rates. I’ve used the service to have papers scanned and faxed in the past, and it was always quite super. Recently, the company launched a new cleaning service, for those of you that are busy and don’t have time to clean up after yourself. You know, because you’re busy drinking red… → Read More
SpotlessCity launched in January and is just now building up steam to disrupt the entire “going to the laundry” industry. Built by Sonny Bajwa and his Brooklyn team, the site allows you to find a dry cleaner and request a pick-up. Bingo, bango, and your clothes are clean. God forbid you should go for a walk of an evening to drop off your unmentionables, but let’s not get into that… → Read More
Now that you’re aware of this Zamboni desk vacuum’s existence, to buy any other desk vacuum would be downright silly, wouldn’t it? → Read More
Japanese conglomerates Fuji Heavy Industries, Sumitomo and Subaru are developing a new robot [JP, PDF] that’s able to clean office buildings autonomously. The yet to be named robot (pictured on the left) is sized at just 50x45x80cm, meaning it’s able to maneuver even along narrow paths. Its functions include vacuuming the floors and picking up garbage. → Read More
If you’re standing up, you better find a place to sit down because I’m about to blow your mind. These are sponges that look like a ravioli. Again, these are sponges. That look. Like ravioli.
I KNOW, RIGHT?!!! → Read More
The so-called Fukitorimushi (“wipe-up bug” in Japanese), a cleaning robot of a very special kind, has been around for quite a while now. But what was showcased recently during a tech exhibition in Tokyo was the newest version. And the thing is still creepy as hell. → Read More
Truly a two-birds-with-one-stone product, the Baby Mop concept seems to be a divisive topic. Some people seem to think it’s a good idea while others call it “downright disgusting.” I’ll try to stay out of it, as I don’t have any children of my own. → Read More
Sorta like this, but not really because iRobot still doesn’t have the proper photos up yet IRobot has a couple of new Roombas for you pet owners. Two, to be exact. There’s the Pet Series Vacuum Cleaning Robot and the Professional Series Vacuum Cleaning Robot, both of which sound like a real hoot. The Pet Series has a few things that make cleaning up after your pets a little easier… → Read More
This gummy stuff will clean your keyboard and even disinfect it with one fell plop. At about $20 it’s not cheap – and not available in the U.S. but I definitely could use some on my groddy, greasy keboard. It looks like I’ve been eating chocolate and beef jerky over this thing. Seriously. → Read More
I’m not quite ready for the responsibility of robot ownership, but for those of you that are ready, the aptly-named ReadyBot might be right up your alley. It’s only in the proof-of-concept stage right now, but according to the ReadyBot team, the robot “picks up toys, uses a special carpet rake tool to scrape up small items into plastic bins, moving sideways and diagonally as needed to reach… → Read More
That’s…um…adorable? You might see one of these the next time you’re at a Japanese highway rest stop. The Lady Bird "is equipped with water tanks, brushes and other tools needed for heavy-duty scrubbing. Obstacle detection sensors allow the robot to safely perform its duties without running into people." It’s also got a built-in microphone and speech… → Read More
I’m not gonna lie. I have over 20 pairs of shoes and about 7 of them really smell bad. Some worse than others, it’s all my fault. During those hot summer days when I’m half-drunk, I throw on shoes without socks and 5 hours later it smells like rotting cheese. If I had the Shoe Pure 100 though, my shoes would smell like roses the next day. The egg-shaped device glows a beautiful… → Read More
Nike seems to get the youth of today. Aside from making cool kicks, the company took some time to whip up this concept cleaning system. Modeled after a floor hockey set, there’s a vacuum that doubles as a goal. You must sweep dirt and rubbish into it with a broom that resembles a hockey stick. You score some points, Mom is happy and the living room is no longer a mess. Sounds like a winning… → Read More
I know kids will ingest a lot of dumb stuff, but I didn’t know cans of air duster were on the list. It is an aerosol-based product though, and Memorex, makers of the Air Duster line of compressed-gas cleaner wants to help keep the kids off the drugs, so it’s adding bitterant to the products to “discourage potential abusers from “huffing” by making the contents… → Read More
Some of us love design and have to have top of the line everything. With that said, for those of you sick of your Dyson, you might want to check out LG’s new Kompressor vacuum cleaner. Small and compact, this thing looks pretty easy to stow away should company come over. The device features a unique cleaning system that turns everything sucked up into a massive block. It also comes with a… → Read More
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