"It looks like a cooler, but its actually MUCH cooler than that!"
THE $40 MICRO, FOOT-POWERED, WASHING MACHINE
I get this question ALL of the time at my building workshops- "Can you fit a washing machine in a tiny house?"- Well, yes, you often can, depending on your priorities, but they take up a ton of space.....well, until this one came along!
Invented by Alex Cabunoc
and Ji A You, this one's called the GiraDora, which is a combination washer and spin-dryer, all in one, that is foot powered! This was intended for developing countries to help break the cycle of poverty, by freeing up time, creating potential jobs (paid laundry service would become possible when it no longer takes upwards of 6 hours per load the old way), and was crafted to be ergonomically efficient. As you can see below, once loaded with soap and water, the user can sit atop the washer (with a padded top), and operate the foot pedal in a less labor-intensive manner. As a drummer, "bass drum pedal" immediately comes to mind- something I use/depress literally thousands of times each night I gig with my band DEFDEALER, so I know first hand, that this wouldn't be too tough to operate....and just maybe I could work on my rhythmic skills at the same time! Laundry the old way involves a lot of bending and stretching, so this is certainly an ingenious product. I'd LOVE to try one of these out sometime!
The only missing element in this is where one can purchase it...
ReplyDeleteor how to make it yourself :)
DeleteI agree. I would love to know how to do either
agreed, where can this be purchased?
DeleteYeah I was gonna say that. Too many of these ingenious products for the third world can only be gotten in the third world.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great idea and I'm sure they would be flooded with orders. It would be nice if it was currently available, but it's not.
ReplyDeleteIT looks as though this was only a winning project in a contest. And has yet to go into full scale production. I have emailed the people at http://www.dellchallenge.org/projects/giradora-safe-agua
ReplyDeleteand asked for some information on purchasing this. I will post back when/ if I hear anything back
http://www.designmattersatartcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/GiraDora-FAQs-AUG-2012.pdf
ReplyDeleteYes, correct....I do have a link to them above in the blog post too, but I think most missed it.....
ReplyDeleteThey are still in the prototype phase. You can find more information about them on their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GiraDora
ReplyDeleteSweet! Like their FB page, they'll make an announcement when they are available.
ReplyDeleteit's a prototype designed for the 3rd world, I wouldn't count on being able to buy one anytime soon in Amerika.
ReplyDeleteThis would be an awesome tool for fiber artists when felting small work.
ReplyDeleteColor me confused, but would the user of this have to sit on this and operate it for the entire washing/spin-dry cycle? I have a feeling it'd get pretty tiring after a few minutes of operation. If these could be plugged into a socket and run off solar power or something along that line, I'd really go for it. Very intriguing and innovative idea!
ReplyDeleteWow !
ReplyDeleteIt is really interesting to $40 Compact Washing Machine. I wish my country had the same.I mean With so many washers companies in the country, I think every sale of washing machine needs to focus on importance of electricity & water. Of course, washing machine reviews India is a prized thing, but products like you mentioned would surely give the washing machine market in India a much required boost.
At the end of the day, we all want efficiency with savings :)
Well, you could always do the laundry while sitting at the computer. I'd love one of these. Too many useless little washing machines without a spin cycle out there and the spinner alone is expensive. I like my hand wringer but it's hard on some clothes.
ReplyDeletehere's another interesting product: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01z-14mbCcU
ReplyDelete