Bob the tabletop dishwasher is eco-friendly and customizable, too

CES 2022 has been filled with tons of computing gear and gadgets to clutter our houses — but what about tech to clean it up? That’s where Bob comes in.

Bob is a compact dishwasher that isn’t trying to be anything more than it is. The Daan Tech creation is intelligent, yes, but it’s not “smart” as in voice-activated and app-connected. Its most important features are really just innovations that make it stand out from your traditional dishwasher — like 24 color combinations and using barely any water.

Bob is the perfect size for a small apartment. Daan Tech says it can hold approximately six plates, four glasses, two mugs, and six sets of utensils in a single load. And it doesn’t even require a plumbing hook-up; Bob has a 3.9-liter water tank you can refill whenever you’re ready to do the dishes.

Bob is made in France and is available for pre-order now starting at $299, with delivery estimated by the end of the summer. Which means now would be a great time to start deciding which color combos will best match your kitchen.

Minimal or custom? — Your decision will be made a little more difficult by the fact that there are actually two Bobs. Bob Minimalist is $299 and comes in just two colors with fewer bells and whistles; Bob Custom is $399 and has more perks.

Bob Minimalist looks exactly how you’d expect, given its name. It’s available in either matte black or matte white, with an analog display and white LED lighting. It has the same 3.9-liter tank and automatic door-opening tech as its more-expensive sibling.

Bob Custom, on the other hand, is available in two body colors and 12 door colors, all with a shiny finish. It has a 3.2-inch color LCD display and seven light colors to match. Bob Custom’s inner workings are more customizable, too — you can design your own washing programs, customize alert sounds, and even add your own background image to the display.

Green no matter the color — Besides being nice to look at and fun to use, Bob is also friendly to the environment. Both the Minimalist and Custom models are made of 100-percent recycled materials, for one thing. And running a washing cycle uses about one-fifth the water needed for hand-washing the same dishes.

The Bob Custom even has the option to disinfect household objects without any water at all. Its built-in UV-C disinfection process can kill bacteria on items like your phone that can’t really be washed by hand.

Daan Tech has reportedly sold more than 35,000 Bob units already. For those of us without the space or funds for full-sized appliances, Bob might just be the perfect marriage of form and fashion.