New Washing Machine Uses Plastic Chips Instead of Water

Friday, 20 February 2009 00:00

British company Xeros has invented a washing machine it claims will wash a full load with only a single cup of water.

The technology is the result of research carried out at the University of Leeds under Professor Stephen Burkinshaw, to reduce the amount of water consumed during textile wet processing and garment cleaning.

The machine uses plastic chips to remove dirt and stains from clothes, and as such claims to use as little as one cup of water for each washing cycle, which is less than two per cent of the water and energy of a conventional machine.

The Xeros website says while “for many years, the textile industry has sought to reduce the amount of water it consumes, in-line with other industries, copious amounts of water continue to be used in the wet processing of textiles. The Xeros technology, which was developed by Professor Stephen Burkinshaw, enables massive savings to be made in the amount of water and energy consumed during the washing, scouring, dyeing and printing of textiles.”

The machine is set to be commercialized for the UK market this year.

Read more: www.xerosltd.com