The (almost) WATERLESS washing machine: System uses plastic beads to clean clothes - and it's more effective than detergent



In humid ity , plastic becomes absorbent and traps di rt within beads' core

After cycle is complete, the plastic beads are spun out and can be reused

If all UK households converted to the technology, it would save around seven million tonnes of water per week



A new washing machine that uses virtually no water could give a whole new meaning to ‘dry cleaning’.

Instead the technology uses millions of tiny plastic beads that remove stains and odours from garments.

The company behind the technology, Xeros, claims the process is not only more effective at cleaning clothes, but it’s also far more efficient.

Scroll down for video…

Instead of water, the technology uses tiny plastic beads that remove stains and odours from garments

It estimates that if all UK households converted to Xeros technology, they would save approximately seven million tonnes of water per week.

HOW DOES THE MACHINE WORK?

The nylon polymer beads have an inherent polarity that attracts stains in a similar way to how your white nylon garments can get dingy over. However, under humid conditions, the polymer changes and becomes absorbent. Dirt is not just attracted to the surface, it is absorbed into the centre. After the water dissolves the stains, the dirt is absorbed into the centre of the beads, where it remains trapped. After the cycle is complete, the beads are spun out of the load through holes in the drum, where they then return back to s sump pump and are reused.

The polymer beads also cut down the amount of detergent needed to clean clothes, and can be used for up to 500 loads before they need to be replaced.

Strangely, the researchers that developed this technology at Leeds University were initially attempting to solve a completely different problem.



Professor Stephen Burkinshaw wanted to find out how to help dyes stay on fabrics for longer. But he realised the process could work in reverse to remove stains.

Not long after the breakthrough, the group developed a prototype, and a spin out company called Xeros.

During the wash cycle, more than a million tiny polymer beads are added into the load along with a cup of water and a few drop of Xeros’s special detergent.

The machines are thought to require less than ten per cent of the water used in normal washing machines. They also use just a fraction of the electricity needed to complete a cycle with a traditional machine

The nylon polymer has an inherent polarity that attracts stains in a similar way to how your white nylon garments can get dingy over.

However, under humid conditions, the polymer changes and becomes absorbent. Dirt is not just attracted to the surface, it is absorbed into the centre.

After the water dissolves the stains, the dirt is absorbed into the centre of the beads, where it remains trapped.

After the cycle is complete, the beads are spun out of the load through holes in the drum, where they then return back to a sump pump and are reused.

The machines are thought to require less than 20 per cent of the water used in normal washing machines.

They also use just 50 per cent of the electricity needed to complete a cycle with a traditional machine.

The beads also resist dye transfer between colours and whites, so less wash cycles need to be completed.

Currently, the technology is only available for hotels and large launderettes, but the company plans to create a household version in the near future.

'The bead-cleaning system is now being developed for domestic laundry use and research is underway to explore how it can be applied in other applications including leather processing,' said Xeros chief executive, Bill Westwater.

