Nearly Dry Washer
In many parts of the world water is an extremely valuable commodity. Some people believe that in the future we might even see “water wars”. Yet much of our technology still wastes a lot of this precious fluid. The traditional washing machine is a case in point - the average UK household apparently uses almost 21 litres of water a day on clothes washing.
Researchers at the University of Leeds may have found a solution to that particular problem. They’ve developed a virtually waterless washing machine that uses less than 2% of the water and energy required for a conventional wash. The process is based on the use of plastic chips in the machine to bust up stains. Since the washing emerges almost dry it also greatly reduces the need for energy to be expended on drying. The same process could also replace some forms of dry-cleaning which use potentially harmful solvents such as perchloroethylene (Perc).
The virtually dry wash technology is being commercialised by Leeds University spin-off Xeros.
Photo Credit: Sunfox (Creative Commons)