Three years ago we heard about the GiraDora, a foot-pedal-powered clothes-washing machine created for off-grid use in developing nations. While many of our readers expressed an interest in it, the device has yet to reach commercial production. If that's the sort of thing that turns your crank (or pushes your pedal), though, you can now order Yirego's similar Drumi.
Designed for use by students, cabin-goers, car-campers or anyone else without ready access to powered washing facilities, the 22-inch (56-cm)-tall Drumi requires no electricity.
To use it, you first load six or seven pieces of clothing (or 5 lb/2.3 kg by weight) into its spherical drum, add detergent to the hopper on top, and then pour in 5 liters (1.3 US gal) of wash water. After spinning the drum back and forth for five minutes by pressing on the pedal, you drain out the water using a push-button, add five more liters of rinse water, then spin it for another five minutes before draining it again.
According to Toronto-based household design company Yirego, the process uses 80 percent less water and detergent than would be required by a traditional machine for the same size load, plus it's much quicker. As for whether or not it it does as good of a job at actually cleaning ... who knows?
If you'd like a Drumi of your own, they can now be pre-ordered for CAD$129 (about US$105) – ahead of a planned crowdfunding campaign. Shipping is scheduled for next July, assuming all goes according to plans.
You can see the device in use, in the video below. Should you be interested in other tiny washing machines, you might also want to check out the blender-like Swoosh, the bucket-agitating Venus, or the salad spinner-inspired Laundry POD.
Source: Yirego via Treehugger