The Circo dishwasher has a handle on washing dishes

This student designed dishwasher should be much cheaper to buy or run than the typical model. There's a reason for that – it's powered by hand. The Circo manual dishwasher is designed for use where space is limited, or by people who cannot afford an electric dishwasher.

In addition to offering a compromise between the convenience of an electric dishwasher and the low cost of washing dishes by hand, the Circo dishwasher is said to be environmentally friendly. Not only does it require no electricity to run, but designer Chen Levin says it uses only 3 l (0.7 gal) of water compared to the 10 l (2.2 gal) of a typical dishwasher.

The Circo is designed in such a way that it can replace the dish-drying rack. Once it has been used to cleanse a set of dishes, the dishes can be left to drip-dry in the same space. To operate the device, users need only fill the removable base-tray with water, add a sodium acetate tablet that serves to heat the water and help with the cleansing process, and begin turning the side-mounted handle.

The mechanism works in a similar way to a normal dishwasher, with a centrifuge that sprays water up from the base. Levin tells Gizmag that creating this mechanism was the most challenging part of the design, and he's understandably reluctant to give away much more information about this part of his design. What he does say, though, is that a full load of dishes takes just one minute to clean.

Levin explains that he began designing the Circo dishwasher in November 2014 as part of a university project. Part of the design brief was to simplify a complex technology so as to make it accessible to people to whom it might otherwise not be. Levin opted to focus on a kitchen appliance, and the Circo dishwasher is now said to be at the final prototype stage, with investment being sought.

The video below provides an overview of the Circo dishwasher.

Source: Chen Levin