Laundry can be so sweet

Some people hate doing laundry. In our household, it’s viewed as a rare opportunity to advance the agenda without working up a sweat. You start out with a big messy pile and end up with a nice neat stack (and, if you are lucky, an even number of socks). Sure beats doing windows or cleaning out the fridge. Every so often I idly wonder how this could be any easier, and now Whirlpool has an answer. It's a $1,600 machine that doesn’t just wash and spin but also manages to keep wet laundry fresh-smelling for up to 10 hours. It does this by periodically giving it a toss and drawing away moisture with the help of a fan. That means you, the hardworking supervisor, can duck out for a movie or maybe even the office and return 10 hours later knowing you haven’t risked permanently wrinkled sheets or fermented socks. The new Whirlpool Duet weds FanFresh with stain-steaming, water- and energy-saving, and noise-reduction technology. And it comes in red as well as white (as does its partner, the $1,600 Duet steam dryer). I rarely panic about laundry going sour, but at a time when appliance makers could use a few more sales, maybe it’s time I did.