‘Waterless’ washing machine on sale soon

• Mar. 18 by Laura Hogan (3)

A new washing machine, which claims to use 90% less water, will be on sale at the end of 2011.

The device, created by UK based company Xeros Ltd, reduces it’s water consumption by utilising tiny nylon beads as cleaning agents.

The nylon beads attract stains away from clothes and when the washing cycle is complete; the beads drain away with the small amount of water ready to be reused.

The Beads

Stephen Burkinshaw, a Polymer Chemist at Leeds University, is the man responsible for the nylon beads. He spent 30 years working on the technology, starting with the dyeing of plastics and resulting in plastics ‘attracting’ dyes and stains.

When the beads reach 100% humidity, their structure changes, so the stains are ‘sucked’ into the centre of the beads and are not deposited back onto clothes.

The beads are also recyclable; so when they become full of stains and dirt, they are recycled into car dashboards for example. Eventually Xeros want to create technology inside the machine’s themselves for recycling the nylon beads.

Savings

Not only will the Xero’s ‘Waterless’ Washing Machine save water; it claims to save pounds, by reducing utility bills by 30%. Xeros Chief Executive Bill Westwater said:

‘The net saving in water, detergent and electricity and including the cost of beads, we calculate, is about a 30% saving for the user.’

In the UK, laundry is said to account for 15% of household water consumption, suggesting that if everyone in the UK converted to the new Xeros washing machine; the reduction in emissions, would be the same as removing 1.4 million cars off the roads.

Another saving that will be made through the Xeros washing machine; is that of dry cleaning bills, as the device is safe to wash ‘delicates’ in.

Future

Many companies are already interested in backing Xeros and helping with the funding of a consumer version of the machine; but the main problem now faced by Xeros is changing the public’s minds on laundry and how we wash our laundry. Speaking of this issue, Westwater said:

‘For millennia, people have been washing their clothes with water and a bit of detergent and suddenly we’re coming along and saying that most of that water can be replaced by these beads.

That’s a big leap in the consumer’s minds.’