In its last issue, Stiftung Warentest (the leading Germany consumer magazine) did a brief test of the new Electrolux Iron Aid steam dryer. It's a typical non-vented European dryer, meaning that its drum is about half the size of US dryers and the heating element is rated at approx. 2300 watts.

What's interesting, however, is that this dryer - similar to the new Whirlpool Steam Dryer - claims to reduce ironing by applying moisture to the clothes. Unlike the Whirlpool version, though, this dryer actually uses real steam rather than spraying a fine mist into the drum. The steam is applied after the dryer finished drying the load and also temporarily throughout the anti-crease cycle.

Be that as it may, I though some might find it intersting to see, whether this technology actually works. Quite frankly, I though it's rather silly to put wet laundry into the dryer - to dry it - redampen it - and dry it again. However, it seems as though Iron Aid actually does a better job than a regular dryer. This dryer - BTW - also features a cycle similar to LG's SteamFresh.

Here is what they had to say:

"Usually, you have to empty a non-vented / condenser dryers water tank after each cycle. On the new Electrolux Iron Aid, however, the user fills a small amount of the water into a special tank  which is quick and easy to do  so that it can later be injected into the drum as hot steam. Similar to ironing, heat and moisture are supposed to help smoothen out wrinkles. We have used jeans and shirts to see, whether the Iron Aid cycle keeps what the commercial promises. After the Iron Aid treatment, our testers hung the textiles onto cloth hangers and compared them to items that have been through a regular drying cycle without the Iron Aid option.

The result: if you donÂt have high expectations / want perfectly pressed clothing you can wear the items straight from the dryer. Perfectionists will have to do some ironing afterwards. However, you will still save about 50% ironing time.

We were also satisfied with the dryerÂs performance itself as well as with its ease of use. The energy consumption is a little bit higher compared to most other "Good" dryers in our last issue (October 2006). The Iron Aid cycle itself uses relatively little energy, however. Even if you add the additional energy costs of having to iron clothes afterwards the overall energy consumption is about the same as having to press clothes that have not been treated with Iron Aid before."

To the left: shirt after the regular cycle. To the right: after the Iron Aid cycle.

The dryer retails for $1300.

Alex