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LG Steam Direct: washing machines that iron

Never be without ironed clothes again

LG has the laundry world in a spin with its revolutionary steam direct drive washing machines that can steam clean a shirt in 20 minutes and iron it too!

Just over a year ago, LG discovered that an injection of steam directly into the wash took the detergent to its ideal cleaning temperature much faster, thereby slashing washing times and the amount of water needed. It also gave LG's steam machine the 'refresh cycle', which uses steam alone to rid once-worn shirts of odours and wrinkles. Yep, that means no more ironing.

Unsurprisingly, the first 'steam direct drive' washing machine has been a runaway success for the Korean company. You could even say it hung the competition out to dry. Sorry. And after reinvesting some of that cash windfall, the men and women in white coats at LG have come up with three bigger, better, steamier models�

The three newbies actually occupy the same space as regular machines, but with a bigger door and 9kg capacity, you can now stuff a double duvet in there and still have room for the sheets. In fact, the new machines know exactly how much you're washing because their internal electric scales scroll the precise weight in kilos across the front display panel before adjusting the cycle and the amount of water required accordingly.

This is, of course, good news for the environment and in addition to using 35% less water, they each use 21% less energy than traditional machines as well, bagging each of the new models the highest possible A++ energy rating.

All three clean machines use the whisper-quiet direct drive system, which does away with the old fan belt mechanism, but the plain white machine forgoes steam in order to bring the price right down to £599. The silver and black models add the steam functionality and cost £799 apiece.