Patent ID: 8272090

Claim:
A method for performing a refreshing operation of a washing machine or a drying machine to remove wrinkles or smells from laundry using steam without using washing water, which includes a steam generator for heating water to generate steam and a drying heater, separately provided in a drying duct, to heat air flowing in the drying duct, comprising: generating and supplying steam to a drum containing laundry to allow the laundry to contain a small amount of water, wherein a water inlet of the steam generator is connected with a switch valve through a steam water supply pipe so as to receive water only from the switch valve and to generate steam in the steam generator and wherein the steam generator is provided separately from the drying heater; supplying air to the drum after supplying the steam, wherein the supply of the air comprises supplying hot air to the drum to remove moisture from the laundry; and rotating the drum for a predetermined time after the supply of the steam is terminated and before the supply of the air is started, thereby continuously removing wrinkles from the laundry.