Patent ID: 8383035

Claim:
A method of removing smells using a rotatable drum configured to receive objects from which a smell is to be removed, a steam generator for supplying the steam into the rotatable drum, and a passage that extends to the rotatable drum to generate a forcible flow in the rotatable drum, the method comprising: a first step of exhausting air from the rotatable drum by generating the forcible flow in the rotatable drum using the passage, comprising rotating the rotatable drum at a first speed that causes the objects received in the rotatable drum to adhere to an inner circumferential surface of the rotatable drum without mixing the objects received in the rotatable drum; a second step of adsorbing steam generated by the steam generator into the objects received in the rotatable drum, comprising: rotating the rotatable drum at a second speed that causes the objects received in the rotatable drum to separate from the inner circumferential surface of the rotatable drum and mix in the rotatable drum, the second speed being less than the first speed; and supplying the steam generated by the steam generator into the rotatable drum as the objects received in the rotatable drum are mixed such that the steam is adsorbed into the objects; and a third step of removing the adsorbed steam, comprising: rotating the rotatable drum at a third speed; and supplying hot air to the rotatable drum using the passage and generating the forcible flow in the rotatable drum to remove moisture from the objects received in the rotatable drum.