Washing machines

LG has announced a new washing machine at CES with two washing units – a smaller one for small loads and the bigger one for usual loads. This is supposedly a result of listening to customer’s needs and also a desire to save energy on the smaller loads.

It got me thinking about other aspects of washing machines which could be improved.

Firstly, soap. We still put it in manually. I would be nice to just stick the whole box into the machine somewhere and have say a screw drive automatically load the soap each time according to the needs of the load. No spilled soap. No over or under dosing.

Secondly, settings. We still have to choose gentle loads, long wash etc. A little bit of sensing technology could identify straps on bras for example and automatically choose gentle mode. Or colours and whites would lead to an auto choice of cold wash. Etc.

Finally, for front loaders, a back wall that pushes to the front thus automatically adjusting the volume of the washer to the load size and minimizing water use.

No need for controls. Just stick it in and you get the best out of the machine.