Jamie's Blog

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

A washing machine that doesn't use soap


Haier has announced a washing machine that doesn't need soap. It separates water into its OH- and H+ ions to perform the cleaning. The OH- binds to dirt and stain molecules, and the H+ sterilizes the clothes. So there is no need for detergent. Just water and electricity.

This could be really nice for people like me who are always forgetting to buy detergent. And when I do remember to buy it, I'm never sure what kind to buy. I get to the store and look at all of the different kinds, all claiming improved, better or advanced cleaning, and I don't know what to think. So I end up randomly picking one that isn't too cheap but also isn't too expensive. The theory being that the expensive ones are probably overpriced, but the cheap ones probably don't work well. Chances are that there isn't any real difference, and I'm just deluding myself in picking one.

If I had this washer, I wouldn't have to worry about it. I could just throw my clothes in and get back to the more important things in life. Like posting to this blog.

Via FresHome: Detergentless Haier WasH20 Washing Machine

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posted by Jamie Barrows at 8/01/2007 03:20:00 PM

7 Comments:

  • It would be very nice - if it works.
    I don't understand the way it functionates.
    Are there independent tests?
    What about the energy consumption?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at August 02, 2007 12:20 AM  

  • I have no idea how it works. I suspect that it would use more electricity than a normal washer, but I really don't know. Here is a link to the official product page. www.wash2o.fr The info might be on that page, but since I don't ready French I don't know.

    By Blogger Jamie Barrows, at August 02, 2007 8:23 AM  

  • Thanx for the link.
    The french site doesn't say very much. I found: the OH- Ions shall draw the dirt out, the H+ Ions (like in an acid) shall destroy bacteries.
    For fresh odour should be added some kind of perfume.
    Energy efficiency is declared with "A" - but I don't know the french classification (in Germany once A was the best, nowadays it should be AA or more A's....)
    In September it will be available on the french market - so obviously no real experience until today.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at August 02, 2007 10:34 AM  

  • Thanks,
    As I said, I don't read French. Spanish and English are the only languages I know. I can usually make some good guesses as to content on French websites based on Spanish. But that's not the same as reading it.

    By Blogger Jamie Barrows, at August 02, 2007 11:00 AM  

  • No problem, Jamie. I had the possibility to learn 3 (-4) foreign languages at school. In Germany it is normal at grammar school to learn at least 2 foreign languages. It helps "looking over the fence".
    And it is a good tool provided actively by our educational system to enable people to do it.
    (You remember the discussion we had on the other blog :-)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at August 03, 2007 12:46 AM  

  • Here in the US, learning a foreign language isn't stressed that much. That probably has something to do with the size of our nation. Most people in the US will probably never have a need to know any language beyond English. So it isn't a high priority here.
    I expect in Germany you have chances to use other languages besides German all the time.

    By Blogger Jamie Barrows, at August 03, 2007 8:14 AM  

  • Yes - English :-)
    Jamie, you are right. In Europe there are many more "fences" than in USA. Every several 100km there can be another country with its own language. But it's not possible to speak them all.
    So, many people use English as a kind of "universal" language.
    English is also present in everydays life, because in advertisment and technical (computer) and other areas of life english expressions are rather common. Critics use the term "Denglisch" (a composition of "Deutsch" [means "german"] and "Englisch" ["english"] to express, that the original german would adpot too many english expressions.
    About some 50% of the Germans really speak english. So a part of them doesn't really understand those english messages (what sometimes leads to funny misunderstandings). A perfume-store-chain once had the slogan "Come in and find out". Some people thought it would mean "come in the store and try to find the way out" The company stopped the advertisement...
    Other languages are not really present in everydays life.
    Besides probably the guest-workers form turkey, greece, italy, spain... or immigrants from russia. They sometimes don't know very well the german language. But it is considerated as their deficiency, not as a demand for germans to learn those languages.
    So learning foreign languages is more or less "hobby", you have to maintain it yourself (reading, films, foreigners, internet...).

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at August 03, 2007 10:58 AM  

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