NOT YOUR MOTHER'S WASHER [Steam Cleaning]

Suddenly, it's cool to steam clean your clothes.

On the heels of the home-entertainment center rage and the kitchen renovation age comes a new way for deep-pocketed homeowners to separate themselves from the herd - the laundry room makeover.

Once relegated to the basement, these new-age laundry rooms are larger and brighter than your mother's laundry room and often built onto the second floor of homes and feature high-tech, brightly colored appliances at eye-popping prices.

Which explains why the $1,599 red LG Tromm SteamWasher has become the "it" appliance for the well-appointed metroarea McMansion.