New Clothes Washer, Big Potential

According to the folks over at Energy Star, the average American family does nearly 400 loads of laundry per year, which is why washing clothes ranks just behind toilets as the second largest indoor water use. Washing clothes also consumes large amounts of energy to pump and heat the incoming water, then even more energy is expended to wring out every last drop in the dryer. So imagine the water and energy savings that would result from a clothes washer that requires just 1 cup--8 ounces!--of water per load.

The machine, or more specifically the polymer-based cleaning process, was invented by Professor Stephen Burkinshaw at the University of Leeds. After spending 30 years researching textile chemistry, Burkinshaw founded Xeros, a private venture with the goal of bringing the new ultra efficient cleaning process into the market.

The Xeros machine has huge potential to save water and energy. From an article at GreenerDesign:

Cleaning company startup Xeros Ltd. and Cambridge Consultants have developed a washing machine that cuts water consumption by as much as 90 percent and launders clothes using reusable nylon polymer beads.
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Creators of the machine say it can clean clothes using 30 percent less energy and just a fraction of the detergent and water that are needed in conventional machines. The wash cycles are quicker than those in traditional machines, and clothes emerge slightly damp -- rather than wet -- which cuts drying time.
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The firms say that projected energy savings for the machine climbs to 40 percent when factoring in shorter drying times for clothes. The companies also say that if all the domestic washers in the U.S. were replaced with Xeros machines, 1.2 billion tonnes of water would be saved a year -- about enough water for 17 million swimming pools. In terms of reducing carbon footprint, the conversion would have the effect of taking about 5 million cars off U.S. roads.

How well could a pile of beads and a cup of water really clean your clothes? Well, Professor Burkinshaw, Professor of Textile Chemistry and founder of Xeros, explains:

“The performance of the Xeros process in cleaning clothes has been quite astonishing. We’ve shown that it can remove all sorts of everyday stains including coffee and lipstick whilst using a tiny fraction of the water used by conventional washing machines.”

Now before we start jumping up and down at the prospect of drastically curtailing one of the largest water demands inside the home, we should remember that there's a pretty good chance that the Xeros washing machine will fall under the extensive and rapidly expanding list of "too good to be true" green products.

On the surface it doesn't really seem like a great idea to shift from wasting water to wasting plastic beads, since the plastic beads could have a number of adverse affects on our rivers. To deal with these concerns, Xeros claims that the nylon beads can be used for dozens of loads then recycled after when they need to be replaced. We'll have to see about that one.

In addition, some of the numbers don't add up and it isn't entirely clear exactly how much water these Xeros machines will save. The company claims 90% reduction in water consumption as a result of requiring just one cup of water per cycle. But when you think about it, that would seem to imply that traditional washing machines only use 10 cups of water, or little more than half a gallon per load. Seems a little fishy.

Assuming the engineers at Xeros bust out their calculators, double check their math and address any sustainability issues associated with the plastic beads, the Xeros clothes washing process could be something to get excited about.

Xeros has entered a deal with GreenEarth Cleaning to roll out the washing machines in North America sometime next year. The plan is to enter the commercial clothes washing and dry cleaning market to test the product in the field before promoting its use to residential customers.