Waterless Washing Machine Wins Design Award

Waterless Washing Machine Wins Design Award
NASA Tech Briefs

Gabriel Tan and Wendy Chua, industrial design students at the National University of Singapore, recently won the Electrolux Design Lab Award sponsored by the Electrolux Group. The annual award invites participants to design household appliances for the future.
Instead of using water and soap, the "Airwash" washing machine uses negative ions, compressed air, and antibacterial deodorants to clean clothes. The Airwash can be placed in any room. Clothing is placed on a rack, which then slides into the unit. The clothing is then "blasted" with negative ions, cleaning the clothes in a much gentler manner than a normal waterbased washing machine.
The system is especially useful for delicate clothing, especially items that easily lose color and shape. Airwash cleans one piece of clothing at a time, with each piece taking between three and 12 minutes to "wash." The designers applied technology and processes used in air conditioners and ionic air purifiers to create the prototype, which one day could eliminate trips to the dry cleaner.

Visit www.electrolux.com/node35.aspx?id=1026357 for more information.
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