When it comes to cleaning, think AI-enabled tools and green credentials …
AI CAPTAIN!
Welcome to the future! When it comes to cleaning your house or your office, devices with AI capabilities are becoming ever more useful. Samsung’s Jet Bot Combo robot vacuum (a three-in-one cleaner that vacuums, mops and sanitises) can also be used for remote communication. Users can record messages and send the robot to another room to pass on the message: Dinner’s ready! Tidy your room! Time to wake up!
Other AI-enabled tools include cameras on refrigerators to track food usage – you receive a reminder if your items are due to expire, or recipe suggestions based on ingredients that remain. The Home Connect app on Siemens washers and dryers automatically chooses the most efficient cycles for washing and drying, as well as dispensing the correct dose of detergent and fabric softeners for each load.
THE CLEAN REFILL
Non-toxic cleaning solutions are better for your health, safer for children and pets than harsh chemicals, and reduce your environmental footprint. Look out for products which carry an Ecocert certification, like Ecover and Kit and Kin (founded by former Spice Girl, Emma Bunton) and Lilly’s Eco Clean, made in Ireland. (Actor Courteney Cox has also launched a cleaning products company called Homecourt, by the way.)
Irish website Faerly.ie has a good selection of green cleaners. Dutch company Kinfill offers a subscription service for its products. Designed to cut plastic use and reduce emissions by shipping small packages rather than bulky bottles mostly filled with water, surface cleaners, laundry, dish soap, and hand and body washes arrive as concentrated formulas to be added to a refillable aluminium bottle of water. The same priniciple applies for Neat, at Tesco.
ROBOT CLEANERS
Innovative Irish robotics company Akara Robotics develops autonomous cleaning and disinfection robots designed specifically for hospitals and clinical environments. The company was founded as a spinout from academic research at University College Dublin, with founder Niamh Donnelly shaping Akara’s vision and technology. With a background in engineering and robotics, Niamh guided the company from early research concepts to real-world deployment in hospitals all over the world. Its robots use advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and ultraviolet (UV-C) light technology to disinfect patient rooms quickly and consistently, helping reduce the spread of healthcare-associated infections.
By automating repetitive and time-critical cleaning tasks, Akara allows hospital staff to focus on patient care, and the company represents a growing movement toward intelligent automation in healthcare, with robotics improving hygiene, reducing risk, and supporting overstretched medical systems through smart, purpose-built technology.
IN GOOD COMPANY
If you don’t plan to don a Prada housecoat and tackle the cleaning yourself, Ireland has a growing number of contract and one-off cleaning businesses that prioritise environmental sustainability, using nontoxic products, biodegradable solutions, and greener cleaning methods for homes and offices.
Green Cleaning For You in Dublin and EcoShine Cleaners are highly rated for their eco-friendly domestic services, while Eco Fresh Cleaning focuses on healthy, chemical-free cleaning. In Cork, Eco Green Cleaning Services uses biodegradable, non-toxic cleaners to minimise impact on air and water quality, and Green and Clean serves Munster with greener residential cleaning options. Eco Cleaning Company specialises in eco-conscious window cleaning, while Go Green Cleaning in Kildare offers sustainable carpet care.
SEE MORE: Tips For A Cleaner Life Inside And Out
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