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Thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds, water is a step closer to becoming a thing of the past -- well, when washing clothes anyway. A new technology called Xeros cleans clothes using just two per cent of the water conventional washing machines do. That's just a cup of water per wash.
Great news for the environment, but there is a trade-off. Instead of water, Xeros uses plastic granules, or chips, to tumble with the clothes to remove everyday stains -- and the results are the supposedly the same as using just water. More on the plastic chips later.
But still, it's pretty amazing stuff. Since this method only uses a tiny amount of water, your clothes are virtually dry, meaning you can get rid of that tumble dryer. That's another plus for the environment, in addition to the fact that you use less energy to heat less water. The developers are hoping the process can be used for commercial washing and at the dry cleaners, meaning fewer harmful chemicals.
According to Professor Burkinshaw, professor of textile chemistry and director of Xeros, an average wash can use 35kg of water for every kilo of clothes. "The performance of the Xeros process in cleaning clothes has been quite astonishing," he says. "We've shown that it can remove all sorts of everyday stains including coffee and lipstick whilst using a tiny fraction of the water used by conventional washing machines."
But what of the plastic chips? Dr Rob Rule, managing director of Xeros, explains that the technology is still in an early stage, with around 12 to 18 months to go before a product will be commercially available. He says: "We're definitely looking at renewable alternatives to plastic and even if there isn't there's no reason why the plastic we use shouldn't already be recycled and recyclable afterwards."
Well that's good news. I think all of us here at SmartPlanet are already looking forward to testing out the Xeros technology when it becomes a real product like when we tested the LG Steam Direct machine. It certainly has the opportunity to revolutionise the way we wash clothes and save a massive amount of of water, even compared to LG's new Eco Steam machines.
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