Make life easier

For most of us time is precious, so here are three top gadgets to help us use our time more efficiently

Robot vacuum cleaner

No more dragging a heavy machine around the house. Charge up this clever gizmo, press the on switch and put your feet up. The robot can even tell what type of surface it’s cleaning and automatically adjusts. It can also identify if a spot is particularly dirty and give it an extra-thorough clean. Sensors help it negotiate corners and furniture (as well as avoiding stairs!), and one power-charge is sufficient for the robot to clean up to four rooms. Once it has finished, it will even park itself back in its recharging dock.

iRobot Roomba 560 Vacuum Cleaning Robot

Self-cleaning oven

Roasts, grills and cakes are delicious, but cleaning the oven is a pretty horrible job, involving chemicals and lots of elbow grease. Self-cleaning ovens have a lining made using 'oxidisation catalysts'. When the 'clean' option is selected, the oven locks and heats the interior to an extremely high temperature of approx 500°C. Any spillages inside are then burnt to a crisp and fall away from the ceramic lining. Once cooled, the remnants can simply be brushed out. The process does use more energy than a standard oven but such models usually have more insulation than usual, reducing the energy needed for cooking.

Self-cleaning oven

Electric toothbrush

Some people like to start the day with a workout, but for most of us just waggling a toothbrush back and forth is as much exercise as we can take first thing! An electric toothbrush makes cleaning your teeth easier. More importantly, dentists recommend them because they can remove up to twice as much plaque as manual brushing, so not only do they take less effort, they do a much better job.

Electric toothbrushes