Each year I get offered a lot of very interesting gadgets that no one actually needs. I have to admit, I thought the Samsung AirDresser was going to be one of those pointless gadgets that sounds like a good idea, and that interior decorators would put in expensive remodels, only for them to be used by the owners of the house maybe twice.
But, much to my surprise, it’s now an appliance I use all the time, and I kind of wish I’d gotten the bigger model that can do more, because I really rely on it. Here’s why:
I’m too lazy and cheap to go to the dry cleaner
This is really the market that the AirDresser was made for. Now, to be clear, the Samsung AirDresser does not actually dry clean your clothes, and my tailor explicitly recommends NOT steaming tailored wool suits and coats.
That said, every now and then steaming them on delicate shouldn’t be too bad, depending on the garment, and is better than not dry cleaning or refreshing coats and suits at all if they’re getting a bit smelly (I do not want to admit how infrequently I get my suits and wool coats dry cleaned). It’s ideal for those coats that you got from the op shop for $5 that you can’t machine wash, but aren’t really worth dry cleaning. Just never, ever put silk in there.
It has revolutionised the ‘clothes chair’
OK, so you know how most people have a chair in their room where they put the clothes that are too clean for the hamper, but have been worn so it doesn’t feel right to put them back in the wardrobe? The Samsung AirDresser is designed for that. It’s not a full-on wash, just a steam, deodorisation and getting the worst of the wrinkles out of them.
It’s ideal for jeans, which you really shouldn’t wash too often if you want to keep them looking good, but will start to smell if you don’t put them in the freezer or a steam wardrobe every now and then. It’s the same with extra fluffy track pants and jumpers that you want to keep fluffy, and don’t have any food spilled on them, but are starting to smell.
I don’t own an iron, and ironing doesn’t look fun tbh (sorry mum)
My mum is from that generation that irons everything: napkins, pillowcases, shirts, pants, hankies, everything. Every weekend she’d spend a couple of hours ironing in front of the TV, and it looked so peaceful. But, despite being someone who mostly lives in button up shirts and tailored pants, I don’t actually use an iron ever unless I’m sewing something. Who has that kind of time anymore, and where would I put an ironing board? Putting shirts, pants and even very carefully folded tablecloths in the Samsung AirDresser is just so much easier. You can also get handheld steamers, and I do have one, but they require more effort and who can be bothered with that?
How are you supposed to refresh shoes without one of these?
There’s probably a way. Some shoes say that they can go in the washing machine, but those shoes lie and they’re never the same after that. When they come out of the washing machine they look like one of those nervous chihuahuas that have seen horrors beyond our comprehension.
And yet sometimes slippers and sneakers eventually get that smell that can best be described as “what if eggs could commit war crimes”. Putting it in the AirDresser doesn’t clean the shoes and slippers as well as the washing machine, but if you first brush them down with the Philips Sneaker Cleaner (another gadget that I originally suspected to be a stupid gimmick, but now I appreciate having a giant electric toothbrush for my sneakers) they come out like new and last longer.
It works as a dehumidifier
In winter, in Melbourne, everything is wet and sad; the sky, you, and your apartment. When you come back in from the rain, you can put your clothes in the AirDresser to dry them and make them nice. Sure, this is expected. But at night, because of the cold, humidity can get pretty bad, particularly if your apartment is as well sealed as mine is. If your windows are getting a lot of condensation in the morning, there’s a good chance you have high humidity. Now, a good standalone dehumidifier is around $700-$1,000, which is a lot cheaper than the ~$3,000 steam wardrobes on the market, so you wouldn’t buy it just for the dehumidifying skills. But most models do have a ‘room care’ setting, which is just a fancy way of saying ‘dehumidifier’ setting. It works pretty well, it’s not too loud, and it’s just a nice added extra on top of everything else it does.
Does anyone actually need the Samsung AirDresser, though?
Look, no. This is not an essential purchase. It’s expensive, and it doesn’t really do a lot that you can’t do in ways that only require slightly more effort and creativity.
The model I have is also not even necessarily the most feature-packed model on the market. LG has a similar product that also includes a shelf for shoes, and a little press in the door so you can get that “freshly ironed” crease in your pants, if that’s something you like. This year’s Samsung AirDresser model also has a mirrored door, AI control and five hangers, which would be even more useful than my 2022 model which holds three hangers (only two are included) and has a brown-ish door.
All that said, this has become a device that I really rely on, and have made room in my tiny apartment for at the expense of other things, including part of my beloved headphone wall. If I were the kind of person who had a spare $3,000 and was renovating a wardrobe in a larger space, I would definitely have a Samsung AirDresser or LG Styler close to the top of my wish list