Waterless washing?

Indesit, Electrolux, LG and Bosch are looking into the future waterless washing. The technology is well established now for washing clothing in this way but perhaps few of us realise that waterless dishwashing isn’t so far fetched as it may seem?

Paolo Falcioni – Indesit wrote:Clean dishes without getting them wet? It’s a possibility. In much the same way clothes can be dry-cleaned, technologies to get dishes dirt-free without turning on the faucet may soon be science fact rather than science fiction. More specifically, the application of ultraviolet and ionic technologies to loosen and remove soil holds promise for eventually going water-free.

During the 2005 Electrolux Design Lab Awards, for example, a team of students from Singapore developed a prototype for the Airwash, a waterless washing machine that uses atmospheric air and negative ions to clean clothes, a technology that could easily apply to waterless dishwashers, according to Bob Martin, Electrolux director of industrial design.

“The technologies that the teams are espousing are very cool and very theoretical,” Bob Martin says. “But that is how companies and industries innovate. The designers in my position are thus forced to question why we cannot develop what seems, at first, so far-fetched.”

Paolo Falcioni, international technical affairs manager for Indesit, says he’s seen several designs and prototypes for waterless washing machines at European appliance shows, but is also quick to characterize those efforts as an exercise in brainstorming.

“Still, I side with James Bond,” Falcioni says. “From steam to ultrasonic to microwave and UV, it is technology that we are all looking into from an R&D perspective, so never say never.”

How nice it would be if all dishwashers and washing machines didn’t need a supply of water? Imagine, no leaks, no wet floors, no wading in puddles trying to turn off the friggin’ stopcock!

I wish!!! :rolls: