Plastic May Be The Devil But What If It Could Wash Our Cares Away?

Although it's still in the development stage, the Xeros washing machine is poised to become every eco-mom and dad's wildest dream come true -- noooo, and not because doing laundry makes parents giddy. Pour yourself one cup of water -- yes, just 8 ounces of aqua -- and then stare at it. Take a good long hard look because that's the volume of fluid that will be required to clean an entire load of dirty clothing effectively. Say what? Scientists from Great Britain's University of Leeds are working on a dream machine that will use just 10% of the water and 33% of the energy required of standard models. Anticipated to be available on the market place as early as next year at a comparable cost to normal machines, the Xeros could very well transform one of the most common household energy sucker uppers into a streamlined example of green living that appeals to the masses.

Curious how it works? About 44 pounds of reusable plastic chips are distributed among a typical load of laundry via an internal washer cartridge. Measuring just 1/2 centimeter each, the plastic bits absorb dirt and stains in the clothing circulating around them when the user adds just one cup of water and detergent to the load. Once the liquid mixture is heated, the chips are activated which enables them to remove common stains as well as more stubborn ones like coffee and lipstick. At the conclusion of the laundering cycle, the machine empties the chips into a reservoir for future use -- it's estimated that they will work effectively for up to 6 months/100 loads before they need to be replaced. This technology could transform the commercial cleaning industry considering the fact that such a minute percentage of liquid is used -- meaning that clothing that normally requires special care due to shrinkage could potentially be cleaned via the Xeros. Imagine perc-free dry cleaning forever more...or not needing to ever set foot in a dry cleaning facility again. If every household used the Xeros to launder their clothing, imagine how much longer their threads could last and how much money/energy we could all save? Everyone in favor of the Xeros, say "Aye!!"