TIHS 2024: The Best Home Cleaning Innovations

The Inspired Home Show (TIHS) is the annual gathering place for buyers and sellers in the homeware space. Business owners, executives, and other professionals in the industry fly into Chicago, Illinois from all over the world every year to attend the three-day-long event, hosted by the International Housewares Association. The show features new products within a variety of categories, including home decor, lighting, clothing care, and more. Cleaning products are designated their own category at the show, and there are plenty of new gadgets to check out this year. 

House Digest is currently attending TIHS 2024, and we are ready to report back on the best home cleaning innovations on display at the event. These items might just change your weekly cleaning routine forever. If you are always on the lookout for the latest cleaning hack or new trending product to make tidying up easier, you might be interested in learning more about what TIHS has to offer. Let's dive into these game-changing innovations to find out whether they could help you revolutionize the way you clean.

EarthStone — a Summit Brands company — impressed at TIHS with their Multi-Purpose Cleaning Block, an environmentally-friendly multi-use cleaning product made of 98% recycled glass that eliminates the need to clean a variety of surfaces with harsh chemicals. The unique item, which can be used either wet or dry, is great for scrubbing away soap scum, limescale, rust, and hard water stains. Great for porcelain and ceramic surfaces, it's definitely something that should be tested on a small area prior to scrubbing away.

"The surface is rough, so you need to be more gentle with your scrubbing, which is actually an advantage since you don't have to rub as hard to make it work," said a House Digest reporter on the floor at TIHS. "As you scrub, some of the rough particles slough off and combine with the water to form a kind of paste, which is what actually does the cleaning." 

Imagine assigning a robot the task of cleaning your windows for a streak-free finish while you go on with the rest of your day. Well, that convenient solution is a reality thanks to the Mamibot Manufacturing USA Inc iGLASSBOT W200 SkyBot. This robot window cleaner suctions onto glass surfaces and scrubs away grime; users can operate it with a remote control that attaches directly on the device.

At only 8 centimeters thick, this product has a slim design and can hold a charge for 100 minutes of cleaning time. However, on the floor at TIHS, we were especially impressed by the unit's almost silent operating volume. Compared to other Mamibot robot window cleaners, it also scores points for concealing its cleaning pad, giving the W200 a modern flourish. 

The Multi Platinum Cordless Handheld Vacuum from Gtech is small but powerful. This lightweight vacuum includes attachments that will help you get into those hard-to-reach spots, such as couch corners or along baseboards. The device also simplifies car cleaning, and an optional extension tube makes vacuuming above-head areas easy. This vacuum runs for 30 minutes on a single charge, which takes about three hours to complete.

"It's pretty lightweight — easy to hold, not awkwardly heavy where the battery pack is," said a House Digest reporter who attended TIHS. "The floor cleaner attachment is a bit more like a regular vacuum and it covers a little bit more area than the brush attachments. The lovely engineer said he cleans his stairs with it and it works great."

You probably already know that lint buildup in your dryer is serious, as it can cause house fires or damage your appliance. Thankfully, HY-C Company LLC's LintEater solves this hazardous problem. This cool cleaning innovation, which comes with a brush, extension rods, and other extra parts, might just help you stay on track with periodic lint removal. It also scores points in terms of its variations, explained a House Digest reporter at TIHS.

"The original comes with four rods that screw together to accommodate up to 12 feet of vent. [They also offer] an auger brush, a blockage removal tool to clear out 'birds nests,' as the rep put it, a lint brush, a vacuum adapter, and a dryer adapter," they explained. "There's also an extension kit available if you have a really, really long dryer vent, and you can buy a Retrieval Tool that basically looks like a spiral spring. It would be good for grabbing a wayward sock."

The cordless Gtech Orca Floor Cleaner is extremely convenient both as a wet mop or traditional vacuum. It distributes water as it glides across the floor, so there is no need to dunk it into a dirty bucket. After five hours of charging, the device can mop for a maximum of 15 minutes and vacuum for 45 minutes. Once you've used the device, simply empty out the dirty water tank and place it back on the charger so it can begin its self-cleaning function.

We were also pleased to note some of the device's lesser-known qualities on the floor at TIHS. This is product that spoke to us — literally speaking. (When the Orca faces a full bin, it'll tell you it's time to empty it.) We also spoke to an engineer who lauded the product's performance as a vacuum even though its wet mop chops will steal the show in most homes.