The internet is full of tips on how to make cleaning fun, but I want more. I want an invention that would make the task nothing but pure joy: house-cleaning lasers. All of the mesmerizing visual effects of a laser light show! None of the backbreaking scrubbing of spring cleaning!

A small step toward my fantasy is available today. The process is called "laser ablation," which is a scientific term for using very focused lasers to remove one material from another. Laser ablation is typically used to clean rust and grime off metal.

The handheld version seen below is made by a Belgian company called P-Laser. As P-Laser engineer Thijs Peeters told Digital Trends, it’s basically a laser machine gun that shoots a lot of light bullets. "When the light hits the surface, the dirt layer and any oxides under it absorb the energy and then evaporate or crimp off, leaving no residue," he said.

The laser even creates a calming, ASMR-like sound if you’re into that sort of thing — but even if you’re not, watching light blast away rust is a thousand times better than going at it yourself with a Brillo pad.