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Dolfi ultrasonic pebble automates hand washing delicates

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The Dolfi is designed to wash delicate clothes using ultrasonic waves
Dolfi does not damage delicate clothes fibers
Dolfi is billed as the "world’s smallest and gentlest washing device"
Dolfi works by ultrasonics
Dolfi will be the focus of an Indiegogo campaign
The Dolfi is designed to wash delicate clothes using ultrasonic waves
Steps in using the Dolfi
View gallery - 6 images

Delicate clothing are the here-there-be-dragons of the laundry world. Unlike jeans and socks, one mistake can result in a favorite garment shrinking to doll size or ending up a gray, shredded mess. To help avoid this sort of wash day tragedy, Swiss engineering lab MPI Ultrasonics has come up with Dolfi, a pocket-sized device that makes laundering hand-washables a hands-free job.

At first glance, the Dolfi "pebble" may look like a cross between a Wi-Fi router and a bar of soap, but its actually a portable ultrasonic washing device for delicate items of clothing. Billed as the "world’s smallest and gentlest washing device", it's designed as a home and travel washer that uses 80 percent less energy than conventional machines and operates on a set-and-forget principle.

According to the makers, Dolfi is very simple to use. Soiled delicates are put in a basin or other container of water, detergent is added, and the Dolfi is switched on and put in the water. Thirty minutes later, the clothes are rinsed, hung up to dry, and are then ready to wear with the bacteria, dirt, and odors removed and the fabric undamaged and retaining its normal color.

Dolfi is billed as the "world’s smallest and gentlest washing device"

The device works by way of a small transducer inside the Dolfi's plastic shell. This generates modulated ultrasonic waves on a series of wavelengths that creates microscopic bubbles in the water by means of cavitation. As these collapse, they produce tiny shock waves that dislodge dirt from the clothes fibers. Or to put it briefly, Dolfi shakes the dirt out without harming the fabric.

Dolfi will be the focus of an Indiegogo campaign that launches on January 20 with a goal of US$100,000. The name of the product is a tribute to dolphins, which navigate by means of ultrasonics, and part of the campaign money goes to dolphin research and welfare. If the campaign is successful, premiums will include an early supporter price for the Dolfi of $89, an inflatable hanger, and a silicone basin stopper.

The video below introduces the Dolfi.

Source: Dolfi via psfk

View gallery - 6 images
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7 comments
Gadgeteer
It's an alluring pitch, but unfortunately hardly a new concept. There have been lots of inventors and companies that have tried to sell ultrasonic clothes cleaners for quite some time now. The problem has mainly been that ultrasonic cleaning works best on rigid items. Flexible items like fabric just absorb the energy. If this works at all, it's likely simply because the item was soaked in water and detergent for a half hour, something people have been doing to delicates for many decades. See the Woolite commercials from the 1960s and 1970s.
nicho
Agree with Gadgeteer. Further I'd like to see Gizmag introduce a 'Crowdfund' tag for articles that are about gadgets that don't exist yet. That way we can differentiate between something that has gone through enough due diligence to attract funding, and something that is a dream.
Thea Tapson
I was super excited to test this product out, I had intended to be first in line at their indegogo opening, and wanted to know what the weight was, and what the power usage was. They refused to answer my question, so I went online to see if I could find it myself. Or if there were any other companies offering a similar product. Well, there wasn't, and for good reason apparently, if you read this article, it shows that ultrasound doesn't work well with textiles, due to the fact that they absorb sound waves rather than resist them, so while the technology works well with something hard, as soon as that material is soft, it stops being effective. It's likely that this product will work as well as swishing the clothes in the water without it present, if that. I'll wait for the company to prove their science, they tried to get me to purchase some research for 36$ that they claim supports it... but yeah, not gonna do that. Buyer beware in this case, go read for yourself.
DonGateley
I wholeheartedly agree with nicho. Further I'd like the ability to turn off display of all the wet dreams that have the "Crowdfund" tag.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Gizmag should not be promoting what has become a giant framework for fraud. Wait until these concepts are at least in pre-order where there is consumer fraud protection.
Dave Lorde
Not very convincing. This is supposed to be a portable device, but not even their website says how it is powered...
Erik2133
Dolfi’s IndieGoGo campaign is now LIVE. Go here http://igg.me/at/dolfi to pre-order your own Dolfi device!
Mohammed Madani
don't be frustrating be optimistic the criticism must positively .