We throw our clothes in the laundry pile when one of two things happen: they get dirty or they develop odor. In either case, taking the garments on a trip to the washing machine is absolutely necessary. At least, that was the case until the Bosch FreshUp came along.
Billed as an “innovative fabric refresher,” the device, basically, removes the stink on your clothes without the need to wash them. That way, you can save the trip to the laundry for clothes that get soiled, stained, and mudded up, while garments that simply develop some kind of odor (whether from sweat, smoke, or anything else) able to be dry cleaned on the spot.
The Bosch FreshUp is a small handheld device that you simply press onto any garment you’re looking to deodorize, which should activate the onboard plasma technology. Once activated, the indicator light will change from white to purple, informing you that it’s ready to perform its stink-reducing duties. From there, you press and wipe it across the garment from side to side, making sure to cover every part where odors may be present. The device is intended to perform spot cleaning, so smells will only be removed in areas where the garment is in direct contact with the plasma treatment area.
So, how does it deodorize? According to the outfit, the charged plasma it produces is able to dissolve odor molecules, allowing it to instantly remove unpleasant smells from common dry fabric without the use of detergents. It’s safe to use, too, producing only low concentrations of UV light and ozone as byproducts (low enough to be perfectly harmless to humans), so you can use it to deodorize clothes even while you’re wearing them. Granted, you’re going to look weird moving this thing around the armpit area of your shirt while you’re waiting at a terminal, but you won’t get any radiation or anything. Speaking of using it at the terminal, it draws power from a rechargeable battery that can hold up to four hours’ worth of juice between charges.
The Bosch FreshUp can clean most garments in around two to five minutes of treatment, although thicker fabrics and more intense odors can require more intensive sessions. That’s right, those awful-smelling socks you wore to the basketball game just might need a bit more than one pass on either side to effectively deodorize. Oh yeah, make sure to dry any item you plan to use with the device, too, as it’s not intended to work with anything that contains any kind of moisture. The light, by the way, will shift to a blinking glow once it detects any kind of dampness.
What kind of clothes can you clean with this? According to the product page, it can work its magic on cotton, wool, silk, linen, cashmere, and various polyester blends, although it won’t prove very effective on waterproof textiles, essentially eliminating many technical garments. Both leather and fur are also not compatible with the device.
The Bosch FreshUp is available now, priced at £249.99.