Jun 11 2008Washer Works With A Single Cup Of Water
Well we've seen water conserving washing machines before, but in this age of waste, there can never be enough conceptual green washers. And now inventors at Leeds University claim to have invented a washer than can efficiently clean clothes using only (two girls) one cup of water and a bunch of plastic chips.
The process is based on the use of plastic granules (or chips) which are tumbled with the clothes to remove stains. A range of tests, carried out according to worldwide industry protocols to prove the technology performs to the high standards expected in the cleaning industry, show the process can remove virtually all types of everyday stains as effectively as existing processes whilst leaving clothes as fresh as normal washing. In addition, the clothes emerge from the process almost dry, reducing the need for tumble-driers. Xeros' technology uses as little as a cup of water in each wash cycle and could also bring benefits to other industrial processes such as wastewater treatment and metal degreasing.
Interesting. There is speculation as to whether the energy (and oil) involved in manufacturing the plastic chips necessary to wash clothes outweighs the water saved. So we'll see how that plays out. Regardless though, those stupid inventors have it all wrong. Screw using plastic chips, they need to build a washer that cleans with Doritos. Now that's a freaking washer.
Washing Machine Drinks Just One Cup of Water Per Wash [uk.gizmodo]
Thanks to Andrea, who washes clothes the old fashioned way, by buying new ones
Reader Comments
1. ass@ass.com - June 11, 2008 4:01 PM
frist...how do you get the chips out of the clothes???
2. Drunkman - June 11, 2008 4:18 PM
So instead of wasting water we add more waste to the environment in the from of plastic chips. Nice.
3. Elizabeth - June 11, 2008 4:25 PM
You need 45 pounds of pellets per 100 washes (or fewer), so essentially you waste 1/2 pound of plastic per wash. It seems like this idea needs tweaking.
4. Willravel - June 11, 2008 5:56 PM
#2 hit it on the head. Do we really need another way to use plastic, which is made from oil?
How about a sonic washing machine that runs on solar power?
5. visavismeyou - June 11, 2008 6:28 PM
You just freaking had to make a 2 girls 1 cup reference didnt you... thats sick bro
6. Kaht Maligned - June 11, 2008 6:51 PM
I would be skeptical..My stained sheets can absorb a cup of liquid. What would the rest of my grubby clothes be washed with? The liquids that have stained my sheets?
7. chaz - June 11, 2008 7:38 PM
ok i work in a plastic factory, my problem is i go home with alot of plastic dust debris on me. will this still work?
8. emily - June 12, 2008 12:22 AM
I'm all for the savin' the environment and whatnot, but every time I hear the word "green" being used in the not-strictly-referring-to-the-color sense, I get the urge to chop down a tree and salt the earth. The phrase "go green" sends me into burn down the f***ing rainforest mode. Goddamn hippies!
9. rui - June 12, 2008 4:00 AM
Plastic is envirommental??
Electrolux came out with much more appropriate concepts and designs:
the award-winning "Airwash" waterless washing unit concept that utilizes negative ions, compressed air and deodorants to clean clothes.
The design labs at Electrolux have yet another revolutionary waterless washing machine concepts with the KaionWAVE washing system which uses ultraviolet-C light to wash nano-coated fabrics and Electrolux Sunshine Washer which uses the power of the sun and the sunshine effect to do the laundry.
10. rui - June 12, 2008 4:04 AM
just got the link for the negative ion/ air compressed washing machine :
http://www.electrolux.com/node49.aspx?Assid=10865&FolderID=20806&Page=1
11. NekoNeko - June 12, 2008 4:40 AM
Great. Now I'll have to spend part of the time picking out the little plastic triangles... or just running it through a regular washing machine to get the waste out.
If they're worried about pollutants, why not use a lower toxicity detergent? Or even better, go back to the old way of washing clothes with a scrubbing board & then use the water to water their plants?
12. Momboelitist - June 12, 2008 10:29 AM
I'm thinking they could use potato chips instead....or corn chips!
Actually there is a washer out there that does work via electrolysis. It does require water but no soap.
13. guate6 - June 15, 2008 11:30 PM
Oil isn't the only way to make plastic. In Brazil, they've developed plastics out of sugar. That's right, sugar. And since there's a lot of sugarcane in Brazil (and other parts of the world that export rum, like Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, etc.) the technology is going to be more "green" and is actually cost-effective (especially if you include the cost of oil), to make plastics.
That said, I'm not going for it. I think it's more beneficial to use the water-saving washers. The most "anti-green" washers are the ones at apartment complexes. They use a ton of water, wash a tiny bit of clothes, and the driers don't dry worth crap. Figure out a way to get apartment complex washer/driers to actually work, and I'll invest in that idea.