Once the washing and rinsing cycles are completed and the spin-dry process has removed excess water from the laundry, the machine turns off automatically. The automatic dryer, by heating and tumbling the laundry, evaporates the remaining water from the articles in a predetermined amount of time. Dryers are usually controlled with temperature settings for normal, delicate, and permanent-press fabrics. The electric hand iron is used in most homes. It has temperature settings for different kinds of fabrics and often a small reservoir of water, which is heated to produce steam.
Some irons have automatic shut-off controls for safety.
Although various implements and materials are used in the home for cleaning, the standard appliances are a carpet sweeper and vacuum cleaner. Some homeowners also possess rug cleaners and floor polishers. For outside the house there are power lawn mowers, weed cutters, hedge trimmers, and snow blowers. Electrically operated paint sprayers also belong to this category. Most of these are motor-driven appliances.