In Pictures: Inventor's tiny washing machine won Dyson design award
Yi Jiang designed foot-powered washer for his industrial-design thesis project
Living in a high-rise building has its ups and downs. For Yi Jiang, trekking to the basement to do laundry was one such downside. The chore would lead him to design a small, foot-powered washing machine for his industrial-design thesis project while he was a student at Toronto’s OCAD University in 2013.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Jiang says that while larger items of clothing such as jeans or jackets still need to be washed in a traditional machine, smaller items such as T-shirts and underwear don’t require such an energy-inefficient method. “For a really small load, do we really need electricity to generate the power?” he says. “That’s how the foot pedal idea came up.”
Mr. Jiang launched his machine, called the Drumi, at Toronto’s Green Living Show in March this year, where it was a big hit. It stands 55 centimetres tall and weighs about six kilograms. The user adds five litres of water and detergent and pumps the pedal for a few minutes, then presses a button to drain the dirty water. More clean water rinses the clothes.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
The washer is portable and good for students, boaters, RV trailer enthusiasts and cottages. It requires no electricity and emits zero carbon emissions.
In July the Drumi won a James Dyson Award for its design and environmental impact. Demand for the Drumi, which is priced at $169 and manufactured in Shenzhen, China, has surpassed the company’s preliminary annual sales projections of between 800 and 1,000 units.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail