Handwash Small Loads With The Laundry Pod
This is pretty neat, The Laundry Pod, an ecofriendly, oversized, salad-spinner-like device that you use to handwash your small loads. And, presumably, make a salad for 30. [Dexigner] (Thanks to c-side!)
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uh-oh. White handles with stylish design and "pod" in the name? Apple lawyers coming with cease-and-desist letters in 3,2,1...
Seriously though, this is a great item. Not for me, since I own a washer and dryer, but for my great uncle who is 84, still living on his own, and IIRC, washes his clothes in his bathtub b/c he doesn't like the hooligans who hang out at the laundromat.
Jeez, I could really use that. I hand wash in my tub, and I hate it.
Is this one of those thing that you look at, think, "Wow, that's really neat, I wonder how much it costs?" and then find out it's just a design and they never plan on making them? And if they do, they'll cost about a million dollars. Because I'd really like to find this.
(If I missed a blindingly obvious link somewhere, I'm sorry. Please let me know. I'll be red-faced for a week.)
Neat color -- but you really can't wear it on your chest and play zydeco
@savvy9999: Actually with it being green, Monster Cable might have to send their lawyers after them.
If this turns out to be a great product, can hostel owners across the world invest in this? Pleeeeeeeaase? I'm wouldn't have to wash my underwear and socks in the shower/sink.
Consumerist why do you tease me so? The Laundry Pod appears to be a prototype that you can't purchase yet.
Boo!
And here I thought I could finally stop hand washing my "hand wash only" clothes in my sink.
Lehman's sells something similar, that is less fancy-colored, but also looks less like a cooler.
Seems like a great idea, but why are you reporting on a product that doesn't actually exist? This is Consumerist, I want to consume!
Seriously, I really hope this thing gets to market, at a reasonable price. I'd buy one.
@PixiePerson: Exactly. This is one of those things that never seems to materialize even though it's won "awards" for design, etc. And if it ever does, we'll only see it in Europe. Too bad, it's a great idea.
not the pod thing, the other thing
I've been looking at similar products on Amazon...half my wardrobe is "hand wash only," and I only have access to commercial washers. If laundromats offered a few machines with a delicate setting it would make my life easier.
You can't purchase it yet...that's clearly a 3D model, and it says at the bottom of the article that they are looking for a distributor.
oh man... i could SO use one of those right now. try to keep costs down by hand washing everything except bulky items like sweaters and jeans. this would help so much.
the laundry room in my building has prices so high that the owners must be in league with organized crime. :-(
@Blinky987: No, this wouldn't be practical for hostels. Parts would break or go missing. Someone would put oily clothes or clothes with some other substance that didn't rinse out fully and cause additional cleanup in order to keep this thing clean. A sink is just a sink from the hostel's point of view, regardless of how you use it.
Nice product. Look for a cease and desist letter from Apple Legal . . .
Aww, that's cute!
I need a product on the other end of the spectrum - Perhaps one of those super mega capacity washer and dryer sets that I can put the entire family's laundry in and wash in one shot.
Babies create a TON of laundry!
@Fuzzy_duffel_bag: Does that really work? I remember they were advertised heavily a few years ago and then seemed to disappear
Well after reading the article maybe I'll just get a good quality salad spinner.....
Never really thought about it since I don't eat salad.. but it would work great for my hand-washables...
@zentex
It does not work any better than a bucket, but you can not "form emotional attachments" with a bucket the same way you will with this. Plus, the bucket is just just that, the POD is a conversation piece, a way for you to proudly display your eco-consciousness.
now I know what to get my wife for christmas!
@Oleg Chetverikov: Presumably it's got the "salad spinner" feature that you can't get in your basic 5-gallon bucket. But we'll never know because the article gives no specs.
@PixiePerson: Try searching for countertop washers, they're out there along with really cute countertop dishwashers. I can't vouch for how well they work but I've seen them.
Why isn't this a real product yet?!?!
*pouts*
I too was going to mention Lehman's. At this other site they offer the counter top washing machine plus some electric spinners. They look like salad spinner on steroids. [www.laundry-alternative.com]
My great grandmother had a spinning dryer of sorts in her shed back in Texas. It had to have been from the 20's. It had gears and a crank. It sat next to an old washing tub and a wringer. The clothesline was out back. Funny how old tech becomes new once again.
i've been looking at the wonderwash [see the links to lehman's from a previous poster] for a while.
but my method for handwashables that aren't jeans and heavy sweaters:
empty giant laundry detergent bottle with as wide a mouth as you can get
load it about 1/3 to 1/2 full with clothes
detergent or chips of laundry bar soap
water, but not full [you'll need the air]
cap it tightly, stand in a place where minor water droplets flying doesn't matter [shower works for me] and shake like crazy. then let it sit a couple of minutes for any soaking that needs to be done, shake again
pour out the suds, add clean water, shake to rinse [repeat until suds are gone and rinse water runs clear]
then pull your clothes out.
like i said, heavy things don't fit this method. remember that whatever you put in there will be swollen with water when you take it out. but it's always worked for my [non underwire] bras, stockings, blouses. i've used it for machine washable t shirts, socks and underwear when i didn't have a washing machine also
if you have something that needs even more thorough washing: add marbles. seriously. [you can also clean the inside of a narrow necked vase by sloshing marbles inside it]
I just use a small tub that fits inside my kitchen sink, some detergent, and my hands. If I'm doing a lot of stuff, I use gloves, and I usually wash one thing at a time until I'm done. Cheap, easy, and it gets my handwash clothes clean.
OK folks this is where you can buy it right now today online...
This product is actually sold as an oddjob small batch manual concrete mixer. BUT... you will notice that the same features that make it a great concrete mixer also make it a great oddjob small load clothes washer... internal flutes to mix and agitate laundry... round construction to permit you to roll it on the ground to operate it, possibly even just let it roll around in the bed of your truck while running errands to do the wash... and finally sturdy construction for long lasting value.
Gosh, I can even picture a setup where you creatively place this on a piece of plywood with a roller lined cradle assembly so you can watch your favourite tv show, and do your laundry with your feet and not even get out of your favourite chair...
Cost $37.50 CDN or about $30 US.
@PixiePerson: Seriously. Long ago I saw something similar, but it was only sold in Japan. I clicked on the link hoping to see if I can purchase this, but only to find out its another concept design...:(
Seems like something like this would be great for trailer camping.
@zentex: where does the plunger come into play?
and i think the most useful part of this is the spinner... although i can't see spending much more than $30 for this. otherwise it's hand-wash/rinse and spin cycle in my washer
@Oranges with Cheese (dammit, now my reply button won't work):
You can get a wide variety of indoor drying solutions. They make retractable clotheslines specifically for tubs and showers. You can get a drying rack. I have a loooooooong retractable line in my basement. But one of the easiest ways is just to hang the clothes on hangers from the shower curtain bar. They mostly drip in the tub. :)
It's hella dry in my part of the country in the winter so things dry lickety-split indoors, slightly humidify the house, and don't get static cling if I indoor-hang them.
If they could somehow make this into a durable suitcase, then I'd buy it to take with me on long trips.
I handwas in the sink then wrap my bras and other delicates in shamwows, they really do work better than regular towels. It's too humid to dry things over night by hanging them in VA. I got spoiled in Colorado where things dry in a couple of hours
Every time I see one of these things I think, step backwards. Who was it that said the laundry machine liberated women again? I forget...
This is just dumb. Use a washer/dryer like a real person.
My washer has a hand wash setting that works very well, it is very gentle.
Many hand wash articles can be put on a regular delicate setting with Woolite, as well. Especially if you use those mesh wash bags to contain them during the wash so they don't twist around so much during the spin.
Otherwise, a little Woolite in the sink or a dishpan works just fine, wring them out and dry them on the shower rod.
how does a design concept mockup fit into the scheme of things on consumerist? this isn't a product that one could potentially purchase, so why is this even posted to this site?
i had high expectations when Consumer Reports bought this site, but its just another sarcasm-drenched Gawker Media site for the fanboys (apparently).
@FATCOP:Not everyone is lucky enough to have a washer and dryer in their home
@Onion_Volcano: Yeah! I am sure that the only thing your wife loves more than doing laundry, is doing laundry by hand! woo!
I wonder if this was something shown at the Housewares Show in Chiacago this week? Not available in stores yet, just getting publicity and orders at the trade show.
@Oranges w/ Cheese: Can't speak for Jabberkaty, but I used one of these when my dryer broke at my old apartment and my landlord got pissy about repairing it.
There is a similar device sans cutesy "pod" name at Lehman's:
It's better than swishing it around in the sink, if you have something more substantial than pantyhose. Otherwise, don't bother.
@fatcop: There are lots of 'real people' that don't have a washer/dryer. I haven't ever been able to justify the purchase of them; I consistently spend $4-6 a month at the laundry room. I don't have to worry about owning units that break down or leak, or having to move them when you move out.
I have often thought about getting a hand wash unit to do small loads while watching TV to even further reduce costs and my carbon footprint.
Does it work better than a 5-gallon bucket, a plunger, and some laundry suds?