Harish Palaniappan's

Can you wash clothes without Water?

One of those questions which we thought has obvious answers, turns out to become that we are wrong...and its possible to wash clothes without water.

This was seen at the Electrolux Design Lab 2005 Awards.

Electrolux today presented its third Design Lab Award to Airwash, a waterless washing unit. Students from leading schools of design in over 88 countries participated in the competition.

The winner, Airwash, is a waterless washing unit that utilizes negative ions, compressed air and deodorants to clean clothes. Its form is inspired by the waterfall, nature's negative ion generator. Airwash eliminates the need for detergent and water. By using atmospheric air and negative ions - a natural cleansing agent - it fights dirt and bacteria with nature's own weapon. It is designed to be placed anywhere in the home, not only in the laundry area. The simple user interface "floats" to wherever on the appliance the user wants.

The jury selected Airwash as the winner because of its intuitive, ecological and beautiful design. Airwash also does away with the expensive, time consuming task of going to the dry cleaner.

Students from over 88 countries participated including Australia, Colombia, Canada, India, Japan, South Africa, Sweden, the US and Portugal.

Second place in the competition went to "Flavor of Sunshine" from students at Zhejiang University, China. Third place went to "Happy Feet" from students at Korea University of Technology and Education in South Korea.

News Source: Electrolux design lab awards 2005 press release