The $10 billion laundry industry has rarely changed since the U.S. introduced automatic machines in the late 1940s, but one company is poised to clean out the competition with a revolutionary system that uses virtually no water and lots of reusable polymer beads.

This new eco-friendly washing machine promises not only to leave your clothes clean but your pockets plumper too. It's amazing, and we're talking Huell Howser levels of amazing.

Using 70 percent less water and half the detergent one would normally use, the Xeros Commercial Laundry System's polymer beads clean clothes by absorbing stains, dye, and soil from fabric at lower temperatures—which means it also uses 50 percent less energy.

The Sheffield, England–based company has recently made its mark in North America, selling to dry cleaning companies, industrial laundries, and four hotel chains, including Hyatt and Wyndham.

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Xeros' eagerness to take hold of the American market isn't just limited to the commercial market— it's thinking of the little people too.

Xeros is raising funds to start production on a domestic model coming to a store near you, reports the Financial Times.

“Our scientific breakthrough in the U.K. combined with forward-thinking U.S. entrepreneurs is a great example of how our two countries can come together to lessen laundry’s carbon footprint," Bill Westwater, CEO of Xeros Ltd., has said.

The energy-saving system is the result of years of research and development at the University of Leeds School of Textiles, where Stephen Burkinshaw, a professor of textile chemistry, invented the patented polymer-based beads.

The company's slogan is "Water for Life, Xeros for Cleaning," and it says the problem with traditional washing machines is that they rely on water as the core ingredient for the washing process. An independent study commissioned by Xeros found that its system's savings in "carbon footprint and water depletion equate to over 700 kg carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions and 1.2 million litres of water."

As a bonus, if you forgot to separate your whites from your darks after a fun-filled weekend, the Xeros machine has your back:

By combining lower wash temperatures with the beads’ ability to absorb stray colours, you can minimise the risk of colour being re-deposited in your wash. This means that you spend less time sorting colours.

With the average American household doing 300 loads of laundry per year, the almost water-free system will be a welcome development for drought-stricken areas, waterways damaged by chemical cleaners, and the environment at large.

Now if we could only take a note from Europe, and hang our laundry out to dry too. Dryers are one of the top three energy-guzzling appliances in U.S. homes.