The house where I’m repeat sitting has a tap for instant hot water, but it spits every so often, so you need to be careful to avoid being scalded.
At my own latest home, which we recently purchased, there was an existing instant hot water dispenser, but we noticed that it was also heating up part of the sink surround, which seemed like a malfunction. So when we had the house remodeled, we replaced it. We’ll be keeping an eye out for possible problems.
I agree, those Quooker taps are pretty convenient, but they do tend to splutter. I always use them with extreme caution!
I mostly love induction hobs - they can boil a pan of water incredibly fast, but… I have found certain ones (or perhaps its the pan) don’t cook rice well. Normally I have a simple formula for cooking basmati that works perfectly every time (and I cook rice very often), but not on certain induction hobs…
Last year we did a short sit in Essex, huge house with all fancy gadgets but what a fantastic idea (maybe it is a common thing in the US because of bigger houses?) - every bathroom and toilet had a laundry chute (looked like a normal cabinet) connected to the laundry room in the basement, with all dirty clothes landing in a basket, ready for the washer. They also had a very stylish Magimix see through toaster 
Lots of gadgets and homeware items. Touch-sensitive bedside lamp. Motion-triggered hallway light. Both of these were relatively dim - ideal for middle of the night stumbling to find the loo. Someone mentioned toast tongs. I’ve seen a few, and my favourite pair disassemble to store flat, with a simple prong and slot to join the two fingers. The best item of this past winter has been an electric blanket. Not the old fashioned sort that lies on a mattress under the bottom sheet (they’re great too), but a soft cuddly fleece one, for use in sitting room or, especially, home office.
We’re full-time travelers, often just with carry-on luggage, so gadgets aren’t really our thing — unless we’re traveling by car. I think we might be the only full-time travelers who pack a Nespresso machine, a waffle iron, and a porcelain fondue set… plus about 30 kilos of weight plates, resistance bands, and a TRX. Oh, and there’s always a bottle of wine tucked away somewhere — which probably says more about us than we’d like to admit! 
Love my spray mop too @botvot after trying one out on a sit a few years ago. If only more households had them!!
I did a sit in Glasgow during winter and the host left me one of those. I never needed it, so left it on the couch, unplugged. Turns out my sit dog loved it. She’d park herself on it at every opportunity. 
Are you kidding? How do you take 30kg of weights, espresso machine etc on carry-on luggage?!
Only when we travel by car! Sorry for the misunderstanding. That would be next step craziness! 
Also me! 
Portable Bose speaker 
Air fryer
Toaster tongs
Spray mop
Inspiration for furniture and linens in our own home!
Relatively few houses in the U.S. have laundry chutes. That’s because the chute has to sit above the laundry room and, the bigger the house, the less likely that happens. And many newer homes have laundry rooms on the same floor as bedrooms, to save carrying laundry up or down stairs.
Our latest home is one story, with one of the laundry room doors directly opening into the master bedroom walk-in closet. Nice to be only steps away with laundry.
I saw some very handy strap on head lights which could be recharged with a computer USB plug socket… It gave a great light ahead and of course freed one’s arms too. I thought this would be great when out walking the dog in the dark and trying to locate it!
I haven’t actually bought one yet as the dogs I walk aren’t my own. I only walk them in daylight hours too.
I was surprised I only saw this gadget once as I thought it would soon become more popular.
Are you talking about a head lamp, like these — popular with outdoorsy folks:
My husband uses a pair of these to walk our dog at night — you just throw them around your neck and go, so quicker than a headlamp. They also charge via USB.
Thank you for your comment @Maggie8K! We are housesitting since 2022 mostly internationally but I’ve never seen a laundry chute in the house before, just on that one occasion. I’ve never been in the US so I was like hmm am I missing something, maybe it’s actually a common thing?
On our current sit the washing machine & dryer is located in the cellar but you need to exit the main house first and walk through the garden to get there. We had a lot of rain in Devon lately Every time I do washing I’m thinking about this laundry chute 
@Sunny44 Yes, we have homes in the U.S. (usually older ones) where the washer and dryer are inconvenient as well. Often in those homes, they’re in the basement or in the garage. But nowadays, they’re usually more convenient, though without chutes.
Chutes started appearing decades ago, but not consistently. And nowadays, because many homes in the U.S. are built by mass production builders, they’re similar and without laundry chutes.
Many U.S. houses now have dedicated rooms for washers and dryers (often with extra storage and a utility sink), often on the second floor, along with the bedrooms. In denser areas, where land is more expensive, they’re often in a closet of their own.
In the U.S., many homes don’t have a basement — often depends on what type of land they’re built on, whether there’s hard rock to dig or low water tables to consider.
