Student designer Paul Oxley has created the Aquavac Electronic Tea Towel as a high tech replacement for the common or garden kitchen cloth. Apparently one of the main ways food poisoning spreads is through dirty cloths, so the idea is to use this device to hygienically clean up spills and dry crockery. Whether or not a high tech piece of anti-bacterial plastic is cook friendly enough to replace the traditional kitchen rag remains to be seen, but we give him 8 out of 10 for trying.
Paul, 24, from Chapeltown, Sheffield, explains: “Every year millions of people get food poisoning and between 100 and 200 people a year die from it. I found that one of the main ways of spreading the bacteria responsible for most cases is through the use of tea towels. “In response to this I have designed a hygienic solution to many of the chores associated with the tea towel. My product is called Aquavac and will clean up wet and dry mess around the kitchen. It will also dry your hands and crockery.”