Hot Stuff From Housewares Show

Every March, manufacturers of the gadgets, widgets and machines designed to make our lives easier while we cook and clean converge on Chicago to display their latest wares, at the International Home and Housewares Show.

It's one of the largest tradeshows in the world, spotlighting the $283 billion housewares industry.

David Gregg, senior editor of Beststuff.com and Best magazine, attended the show this week and brought some of the gizmos that caught his eye to The Early Show Thursday.

iRobot Scooba Floor Washer
Make mopping a distant memory. Thanks to Scooba, your floors will be cleaner than ever and you'll never have to touch a dirty mop and bucket again. Scooba is pre-programmed to prep, wash, scrub and dry the floor all by itself. This cool "Twilight Zone"-like robo-mop cleans under furniture and tables and in hard-to-reach places most mops could never dream of reaching. Scooba cleans a standard-sized kitchen floor on a single tank of water and cleaning solution, and is truly simple to operate: Just fill the tank, press "clean," and empty the tank when finished. Cleaning has never been easier.
$399.99; irobot.com; available now

Capresso CoffeeTEAM Therm
Capresso presents the new CoffeeTEAM Therm, the first and only coffeemaker/burr grinder combination to feature a stainless steel vacuum carafe to keep coffee hot and fresh for hours after brewing. Unlike other systems, the grinding process is kept separate from the brewing process, so the grinder never becomes wet or moist and doesn't need permanent cleaning. The ten-cup CoffeeTEAM Therm reflects a new trend in specialty coffeemakers, with its contemporary, stainless steel and black design, built-in, professional grade, solid steel conical burr grinder and stainless steel vacuum carafe. The conical burr grinder grinds slowly to impart minimal heat, preserving coffee aroma. The stainless steel vacuum carafe looks handsome in the kitchen or at the dining room table, and keeps coffee hot and ready to serve for up to four hours. The TEAM Therm stores enough beans for ten cups of coffee. The user maintains full control of the coffee strength by having the ability to program it for mild, medium or strong brew cycles. A feeder channel window enables monitoring of the coffee flow and shows when the feeder needs to be cleaned. A state-of-the art electronics system reduces all programming functions into one button, making it user-friendly and contributing to the overall sleek design.
$299; capresso.com; available next month

Graviti Pepper Mill
Just as its name implies, gravity initiates the Graviti motorized pepper mill when it's flipped upside-down. An easy, one-hand motion gets the grinding under way. This Euro-styled, battery powered spice dispenser is available in red, yellow, orange, green, chrome and silver.
$25; ; available in the middle of next monthFLAVIA Fusion Drinks Station
FLAVIA Fusion allows individuals to choose among more than 30 drink combinations, including Gourmet Coffees, Loose Leaf Teas, indulgent creations such as Cappuccinos, Mochaccinos or Milky Way Swirl Lattes (exclusive to FLAVIA), and well-being drinks, which were developed with specific health benefits in mind. Unlike messy or unclean coffee and teapots, FLAVIA's unique, filterpack technology enables the user to brew direct and pure from pack to cup. In addition, FLAVIA Fusion requires minimal-to-no cleaning between drinks, giving consumers total convenience, so they can spend more time enjoying their drinks. Available colors include ice blue, red and black. The FLAVIA Fusion was awarded an ADEX Design Award in the 2005-06 Awards for Design Excellence competition, the largest and most prestigious award competition for product design for furnishings marketed to the design trade.
$99.95; myflavia.com; available now

Pek Wine Steward
For the price of a few fine bottles of wine, the Pek Wine Steward offers the most effective wine preservation and serving temperature management available today. The Pek Wine Stewart injects high-purity Argon gas into your wine bottle, reducing air contact with the wine surface and virtually eliminating oxidation, while preserving wine at the peak of freshness. The "Pek" is available in two models, the Preservo and the Supremo, which both come in two stylish colors, silver or classic black. The Preservo, for $99.00, features the finest level of wine preservation available and the Supremo, for $199.00, offers the same high level of wine preservation with the added benefit of cooling the wine to a precise serving temperature.
peksystems.com; available now

Leifheit Stinkless Trash Can
Leifheit's Tipper Trash Cans feature a 9.5 gallon "Lotex Everclean"-coated inner-bin. Lotex is an antibacterial agent in the inner-surface of the bin that inhibits the odor caused by rotting garbage. The rounded edges of the bin liner clip the interior bag in place, to prevent waste from getting into the can and not the bin. The lid opens to an extra-wide angle for easy pull-out of the garbage liner. An extra-wide, rubber-coated pedestal provides a steady base, and protects your floors from getting scratched. The Tipper accommodates standard kitchen bags.
$139.95; leifheit.com; available now

LG SteamWasher
LG's new SteamWasher represents an innovation in consumer washing machines. For the first time, steam technology is being incorporated into the wash process, delivering better cleaning performance and less wear and tear on your clothes. LG's system also features a "SteamFresh," steam-only 20-minute cycle to remove wrinkles and odors without the use of water or detergent. That's great for in-between washes and reducing trips to the dry cleaner. The Steam Washer makes its uniqueness quickly apparent by its very cool-looking midnight blue color.
$1,499; lgusa.com; available at the end of next month