You know by now that one of my personal must-haves is an in-home washer and dryer. This is one of the reasons the “21” high-rise at 3883 Turtle Creek (which has a ban on in-unit washing machines) didn’t last long on my list of potential homes for me. But perhaps that’s all changed?
Enter the Drumi and BiWa.
Designed by Toronto-based Yirego and winner of several design awards, the Drumi uses just 2.5 gallons of water and zero electricity to clean three days’ worth of undies, shirts or baby clothes.
Zero electricity you say? Yes, the Drumi is powered by a pedal power. With just about five minutes of toe-tapping your clothes are clean, and used 80% less water and only a dollop of detergent in the process. My only recommendation is to alternate feet or else you’ll have one Popeye leg and one Olive Oyl.
But the Drumi’s “green” credentials don’t end there, the machine itself is made from 40% recycled material. And green is only one of the five colors available – there’s also blue, orange, pink and gray.
Of course Drumi won’t replace every traipse to the laundry room, but when those “lucky” knickers aren’t ready for prime-time, Drumi is there! Because according to the Drumi website, one of their key target groups are urbanites who “often buy new undergarments instead of going to a public laundry facility.”
The product will retail for CA$169 and while it’ll be available in the US this summer, the company is taking pre-orders. I sense Santa will be very busy at “21” this year!
And finally, the truth about toe-tapping, ex-Idaho Senator Larry Craig is heard!
The BiWa
If you need more of a workout than a little toe-tapping, perhaps the BiWa is right for you. Short for Bike Washing Machine, the BiWa looks like a stationary bike but where you’d expect a wheel, there’s a washing machine drum. As you pedal, clothes are cleaned and the excess electricity generated by the pedaling powers the display screen on the bike (or goes into battery for the next load).
While larger than the Drumi, you’ll need to do multiple washes a week per person. But hey, your resolutions are in tatters and you still need to get rid of some junk in the trunk, right?
The BiWa was designed by Chinese students at Dalian Nationalities University which is focused on technology and applied sciences.
So far, all these marvels only wash clothes. I’ve seen no pedal-powered dryers. I guess it’s a good old-fashioned clothes line hanging in the shower or maybe strung across an outdoor balcony?
So how about it “21,” will these pass muster?
