Posted on 07/02/2009 12:43:04 AM PDT by newbie2008
So we’ve seen a few ways to save on water when it comes to washing clothes, but none quite so efficient as the Xeros machine. Instead of using gallons of water, the Xeros machine depends on polymer beads that when combined with a small amount of H2O, enough to get the beads damp, they attract dirt away from the clothing. The beads are good for hundreds of washes and according to its inventor, Stephen Burkinshaw, the machine uses 90% less water than a traditional washing machine and 40% less energy once you account for the reduction in drying time since the clothes are just slightly damp and not wet.
Toss one of these in every US household and the carbon emission reduction is the equivalent of taking 5 million cars off the road, while water conserved is 1.2 billion gallons. You’ve still gotta use detergent, but I don’t think any conservation would make me pass up that downy fresh smell. The Xeros machines are set to go into production sometime in 2010, but there is no word on when they’ll be commercially available.
can I run it with my wind turbine?
Are they bio-degradable or is this another feel good idea?
Do you have to replace the beads after a specified number of cycles? How do you get them out of the clothes without a lot of hassle? It sounds like they are hedging on the energy saving because the clothes are already "damp dry." In the new America, you can just use a tub and clothes line and save even more.
Sounds like those scam blue balls that were popular in the 80s. You can still find the dryer balls in stores today.
(Please refrain from immature jokes)
Don't scoff at clotheslines. I hang my laundry on a clothesline because I like the smell of line-dried sheets and to save money by not using the dryer.
Having a water treatment facility at my work I am familiar with polymer beads. So my question is how many washes do you get before your clothes start looking like they were sand blasted.
nooooooo.......powered by the hamster in wheel next to the washing machine... bammies’ got control of the wind didn’t you know that?
That problem can be avoided by washing the clothes in a regular washer first.
Moi?
IMMATURE?
:)
I’ll betcha the X is pronounced Z......
The Zero Machine.
Ha.
Promises, promises. Will it work with a hand wringer washer? LOL
How do we know if the clothes are really clean or if we are walking around with grits of whatever on our clothes?
Does this mean we have to purchase something else new along with the car which no one can afford because no one has jobs?
I saw one of those hybrid cars yesterday. They are small and I can’t see where you can put one person inside them much less two or a family especially one with a baby and all the safety stuff and other you are forced to provide for the baby.
Duh.
Don’t eat grits!
:)
why not beat your clothes on a rock and hang them out to dry on a rope?
So it uses 10 percent of the water of a regular washing machine. And the beads are reuseable for hundreds of washes. Want to throw in a load of soiled baby diapers, and follow up by washing your fine clothing? I think I’ll pass on this gadget. No way is it going to work on dirty clothes!
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