Paris awaits the launch of a washing machine that needs no detergent. Heralded by the environmental lobbyists, it eliminates the need for harsh phosphates and other chemicals.
The machine passes an electric current through the water used in the washing cycle to create acid and alkaline atoms. These take on the role of and replace the washing powder, liquid or tablets. The electrolysis process causes a separation of the water in the machine into OH- ions and H+ ions. The OH- ions remove the dirt. The H+ ions act like a bleach. Together they acidify the water, sterilising the clothes.
One rather sceptical TV channel plans to buy a battery of the machines and let Parisian housewives loose on them with their weekly wash. The machine is made by Haier, a Chinese company that ranks second in the world as a home appliance manufacturer.
A French distributor of a rival German washing machine alleges that when Haier’s detergent-free model was launched in India, within weeks most of the owners selected the switch on the front that allows detergent to be used, and went back to their washing powders. Haier, however, remains confident that there is a big market in France for its innovative product.
The price? A snip at seven hundred Euros.
www.wash2o.fr
