LAS VEGAS — Closets that freshen clothes, cooktops that won't let pots boil over, faucets told to dispense just enough water to fill the coffee maker. Wherever one looked at the annual Design and Construction Week, there was a new way to make our lives more efficient.

“We can make appliances work harder for you,” said Cara Acker, a senior brand manager for Bosch Home Appliances.

So while homeowners list security cameras, video doorbells and programmable thermostats as the technology they're most interested in, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders, the future is offering that and much, much more.

More than 2,000 exhibitors participated in the annual trade show, which brings the NAHB and the National Kitchen and Bath Association together. Some highlights:

DRESS REFRESHTwo companies, LG and Samsung, demonstrated self-contained clothing lockers that use a combination of air and steam to remove dust and odors from clothes and other items, like stuffed animals and pillows.Samsung Electronics says a 25-minute cycle in its AirDresser removes 99 percent of the germs and bacteria in clothes ranging from cotton to cashmere.LG Electronics, meanwhile, says its LG Styler with SmartThinQ eliminates so many allergens during a 20-minute cycle that it's certified by the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America.Both units can hold three items and a pair of pants, and both are Wi-Fi-enabled to send alerts when the cycle is finished. The Styler can also recognize simple voice commands through Google Assistant.The Styler is already on the market, with a new black mirror finish available later this year. The AirDresser launch date isn't yet set.

DRYER DISHESIt's a bold boast, but Bosch and Thermador, which are owned by the same parent company, say their high-end dishwashers will eliminate towel and air-drying, even on plastic.In their high-end dishwashers, the heat generated by the moist zeolite is circulated through the tub after the final drying cycle. This “CrystalDry” feature should be available in late summer on the Bosch Benchmark and 800 Series dishwashers. The price hasn't been released, but the technology debuted last year on the Thermador Star Sapphire dishwasher with “StarDry.”.Not to be left out, the mid-priced Bosch 500 series dishwashers will be advertising a new feature called AutoAir.

COOKING CREATIVITYInduction cooking is getting an upgrade, and celebrity chef Brian Malarkey used it in a cooking demonstration at the GE display, touting the precise control it allows.“You have so much more range,” he said.For those with nascent cooking skills, GE Appliances' new Cafe brand offers an induction surface that uses Bluetooth to sync the burner with a smart frying pan when following a recipe through its Hestan Cue app. That pairing will adjust the pan temperature and monitor the cooking time.For more confident cooks, Gaggenau has a full-surface, 36-inch induction cooktop that can determine the shape, size and position of up to six pots or pans. The power level follows the pan as you move it around the cooktop, and sensors ensure that pots don't boil over.

WATER WORKSFor those of us who can't see straight until we've had our coffee, there's now a way to measure the correct amount of water automatically.Delta's VoiceIQ faucets lets you set up to six custom container sizes, so a voice command to “fill coffee pot” will turn the water on and off, dispensing the preset amount. It also understands requests for direct measurements, like “2 cups” or “3 quarts.” It is designed to work on any Delta faucet with Touch2O Technology manufactured after January 2018.It also lets you track water usage.

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