New Household Devices (Apr, 1930)
New Household Devices
Appliances, Machines, and Utensils Invented to Save Labor and Add to the Comfort of the Home
Sweeping the kitchen is simplified by a sanitary dust chute of steel built into the baseboard. A swinging door opens at the touch of a foot lever, and sweepings go down the chute to the basement.
The curtain “hold-back” at the right consists of a curved metal arm pivoted on a support fastened to the window frame. It draws back the curtain to admit more light.
This electric “floor heater” does not concentrate its heat in a beam, but radiates it in all directions. Its streamlined base facilitates the movement of rising air currents that warm the room.
Compact and attractively cased, the two-purpose radiant heater at the right is designed especially for a woman’s dressing table, where it serves as a hair dryer. At other times it warms a cold spot in a chilly room.
Built up in sections, like a sectional bookcase, a new electric range may be made as simple or elaborate as desired. By adding parts to the basic unit consisting of base and oven, fifty combinations are possible. The range can be adapted to right- or left-handed users.
A new type of electric exerciser, pictured above, requires no bulky stand nor cabinet. It may be clamped quickly to a door or even a window sill. When not in use it can be tucked in a drawer, or placed in a bag for traveling.
Above are two views of convenient breakfast table tongs for handling a hot boiled egg without danger of burning the fingers and without the use of a napkin. When the handles are squeezed, the curved jaws of the device grip the egg firmly while exposing one half of the shell for slicing with the knife.
The handy wall brush at the right has near it’s head two hooks, one of which will take down a picture and replace it; the other pulls down window shades that have soared skyward. Triangular brush makes it easy to clean corners.
Dishes are less likely to be chipped when washed in this papier-mache dish pan. The composition is not hard enough to damage a plate that drops on it, yet is firm enough to make a serviceable basin.
No lifting is required to dump this outdoor incinerator. Mounted on a stand, a turn of a handle swings it and drops its ashes and residue into a pail for disposal. While the contents are burning, the handle shifts them about, thereby aiding complete combustion.
A combination clothes washer and ironer. After clothes have been washed in the machine at the left, the twenty-six-inch ironer roll at the right irons them neatly. It does not interfere with the washing operation and may be left attached to the washing apparatus permanently.
The diminutive household jack shown at the right is handy for such purposes as lifting a heavy stove to replace a leg, or raising one corner of a piece of furniture. It is sturdy, and exerts a push of 500 pounds.
Here is an electric clothes washer without a motor. It operates magnetically, much like a doorbell, to agitate the water in the vessel and force it through the wash. In the cover is an ” impeller ” which vibrates 120 times a minute, having the effect of agitating the water and suds.
A new electric bottle warmer heats the baby’s milk to just the right temperature, then shuts off automatically. At the same time a signal light flashes to indicate that the milk is ready.
One side of the iron rest at the left is flush with the ironing board so that the iron need not be lifted. The other three sides are raised to keep the iron from falling off. Under the base is a layer of asbestos to prevent scorching the board or cover.