My “Clothes Chair” Problems Are Over, Thanks to This Helpful Laundry Solution

My husband and I have lived in a lot of different types of homes in the New York metro area over the years (one studio, five small apartments, and, most recently, our first house, to be exact). Despite moving from one small living quarter to the next, and eventually settling into a more spacious home, there’s one household clutter problem that seemingly follows us everywhere we go: Our “clothes chair.” Whether you call yours by the same name or not, I’m going to guess you have one too. And if so, I may have just found your new favorite appliance.

A “clothes chair” is a chair, bench, or random piece of furniture in your home where you frequently stack lightly worn clothing pieces that don’t really belong anywhere else, for two important reasons: The item (a pair of jeans, blazer, or jacket) isn’t quite clean enough to be put back into the closet or drawers with other clean clothes, or dirty enough to be tossed into the laundry hamper.

Your clothes chair becomes like a purgatory, and the unsightly pile tends to grow, not shrink. I thought buying our first home and having more space would finally eliminate this issue, but honestly it got worse. A month into homeownership, we already had a “clothes couch,” “clothes bench,” and “clothes stool” happening. Then we stumbled upon a solution.

I recently had the opportunity to test-drive the LG Styler Smart Wi-Fi Enabled Steam Closet with TrueSteam Technology in my home. Before unboxing it, I wondered if a steam closet system was actually something that our tiny household of two needs, but I have to say, so far I’ve found it to be a surprisingly handy tool for your laundry room, bedroom, or closet. Here’s why: It’s a slim appliance that you place anywhere you have an outlet handy. Just plug it in and go — no water line access needed.

All you need to do to get it going is to add water to The LG Steam Closet. It uses the company’s signature TrueSteam® Technology to deodorize, refresh, and sanitize clothing without chemicals. It comes with two moving hangers that vibrate from side-to-side to help loosen allergens, dirt, and debris and a shelf at the bottom to place items like soiled sneakers or pet toys.

I’ve found that it’s a great way to eliminate the “clothes chair” pile in my home because it’s so easy to use to refresh items I wear but aren’t quite ready to just throw in the wash. I’ve used it to sanitize and steam clean my blazers after work, my favorite jeans, and delicate dresses and evening wear I’ve only worn for a couple of hours that would typically need to be dry cleaned because I’m not comfortable throwing them in the washing machine.

When it’s cool at night, I have a sweatshirt and throw that I like to wear when I sit outside. My new habit is to throw them both into the LG Styler when I come back inside, and the next time I need to use them they’re refreshed, smelling good, and ready to go.

When my husband and I are getting ready to head out for a date night or to be guests at an event, we’re often running late. Sometimes having to iron our clothes before we go is an extra step that we dread. The Styler is the perfect solution for this problem too. Once we know what we’re planning to wear, I throw his slacks and my dress into the Styler, select the “Refresh” mode, and 30 minutes later our outfits are ready to go just about the same time we are. It’s been a real time-saver for us.

There’s also a pants press inside to help remove wrinkles from trousers and restore the crease if that’s something that your daily life requires. We’ve taken to joking that we feel like we have a basement dry-cleaning service at home.

In addition to the Refresh cycle, I also found the Sanitary cycle to be super helpful in our day-to-day lives. In just 45 minutes or less, it sanitizes items placed inside by helping to remove pollen, pet dander, bacteria, dust, and all the other pesky airborne allergens out there — without having to use harsh chemicals like bleach or soaps.

We have two dogs and suffer through allergy season, so this has been a game-changer. When my husband’s seasonal allergies are flaring up, he sanitizes his jacket and shirts as soon as he walks in the door, and he says the difference is immediately noticeable for his breathing and comfort. The LG Styler has come in handy when I’m sanitizing the dogs’ balls and plush toys or blankets, too (they’re delicate and often don’t wash well in the machines, but they come out looking and smelling so much fresher from the Styler).

We also do a lot of gardening and yard work, so our sneakers and garden gloves also need a good refresh and sanitizing from time to time. We’ve thrown them in the LG Styler too and they came out in great shape.

Another great way to use the LG Styler, in my experience, has been to gently dry individual pieces that you don’t want to use extreme dryer heat on. When my clothing and shoes are soaked after coming inside on a rainy day, I pop them into the Styler and select the Gentle Dry setting. They’re bone dry in minutes and this mode also works great when drying non-washable fabrics. While it hasn’t been sweater season where I live just yet, I’m looking forward to also using the Gentle Dry mode to dry wool sweaters and other delicate fabrics this winter.

I should note, the styler is thin and the rack and shelf are very compact. It only holds two small garments or one larger coat/jacket at a time. The size makes it easy to store inside a medium to large closet or laundry room, but doesn’t make it ideal for steam cleaning in bulk or larger items, if that’s your primary need.

To keep it cleaning, you’ll need to refill the water reservoir with fresh water between uses and dump the dirty water in the accompanying output reservoir as well. It takes less than a minute and the ease of use is phenomenal. The touch screen is also user-friendly and easy to navigate between cleaning and sanitizing modes. The overall design aesthetic of the unit (we have it in white to match our washer and dryer, but it comes in black as well) is quite impressive and our guests immediately want to know more about it when they see it. After playing around with mine, a close friend was inspired to purchase one to use to sanitize and refresh all of the vintage clothing she snags at local thrift stores. 

If you’re looking for an easy solution for refreshing, drying, or sanitizing lightly worn clothing or tough-to-clean items in your home, I think you’ll find that the LG Styler (model S3CW) — coming in at just under $1,000 on most retail sites — is an appliance splurge that’s well worth the price tag. It’s also a great solution for pet owners, families with small or very active children, and anyone who is a regular at the local dry cleaner. In addition to being sold on Amazon, you can also buy all models of the LG Styler and learn more about their functionality (with tutorial videos) over on LG’s website.

Raise your hand if you have a “clothes chair” silently collecting clutter in your home, and tell me about the solutions you’ve found in the comment section below.