A Green Way To Clean Up A Dirty Problem

Saturday is Laundry Day at La Sagrada Familia Orphanage in Peru. The 600-plus kids here work hard, study hard, and play hard – and generate nearly two tons of laundry every week, reports CBS News science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg.

It’s hard on young hands – scrubbing and sudsing for hours on end. All that wringing out, can wipe you out.

Enter – the bici-lavadora. “Bici” comes from bicicleta, which is the Spanish word for bicycle. Lavadora is the Spanish word for washing machine.

A re-tooled steel drum holds the clothes, the water and soap, and pedal power does the rest.

Seiberg reports it is pretty easy to use – there’s one gear for wash, one gear for the spin cycle, even one for rinse.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology student Lisa Tacoronte says it’s important the locals learn more than just how to use it.

“We teach them how they can take it apart, how to maintain it and repair it,” Tacoronte said.

The bici-lavadora was born in a obscure corner of MIT. The school’s experimental D-Lab, for Development, specializes in simple solutions to third world problems.

The washer was a show-stopper at a recent World Development Expo. At $125, it’s already used in Guatemala and Peru, with more countries to come, saving time, electricity and precious water.

“We’re teaching these children the importance of recycling and saving valuable resources,” said Lily Bevries, the orphanage director through a translator. “Like water, which in many places is in short supply.”

“Is there some reward for you in doing this sort of socially-responsible work as opposed to going off and trying to make millions of dollars?” Seiberg asked Tacoronote.

“It’s a little more self fulfilling and I think I value the connection I make with these people,” Tacoronte said. “And it’s just I feel like I’m really doing something productive.”

The kids love the new machine, and the clean laundry it produces.

Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved.

Dolphi, the world’s smallest washing machine may make traditional ones obsolete

The laundry. Its a chore that many people kind of dislike. Especially with the bustle of the work-a-day life where an hour or more at the laundry whittles away at the precious few moments that are left after the work week has played its course. And its not just the time spent at the laundromat, or folding and putting away the clothes that is irksome, its what happens to the actual clothes. They get mangled and shrink. Colors bleed and fade. As a result, the garments that went in to the wash are often times not the same ones that come out.

Tameca L Coleman

Thats where Dolfi, the worlds smallest and gentlest washing device comes in. Its a washing machine thats about the size of your smartphone which may, as Yahoo News put it on Jan. 18, make washing machine history. With just a sink or container filled with water and some laundry detergent, Dolfi gets to work on dirty clothes and gets the job done in 30 minutes.

Supposedly, the device cleans clothes just as well as the classic washing machines but without the side-effects such as fading, stretching and discoloring. The process is much less harsh on clothes than traditional washing machines. Digital Trends notes that the device uses ultrasound technology that sends out the ultrasonic soundwaves, creating powerful water micro-jets as the resultant bubbles implode. These jets do all the cleaning, so you dont have to.

The idea came out of entrepreneur and Dolfi founder Lena Solis frustration with trying to do laundry while traveling. She was inspired by the amazing benefits of ultrasound. Ultrasound technology is also used in other home products, as well as in chemistry laboratories. Solis spawned the idea and then the Swiss engineering lab MPI Ultrasonics designed it.

The device works so gently that delicates can also be washed with it. Lace and even dry clean only cashmere wont get mangled in the wash, nor will special contraptions be necessary to keep precious delicates from being destroyed as they would have in a traditional machine. According to PSFK, Dolfi is also soundless and is 80 times more energy efficient than traditional washing machines.

Want to try one of the devices out for yourself? Dolfi will set up an Indiegogo campaign on Jan. 20. For $89 you can have a portable device that washes clothes on the go and treats your delicates just right. While there is some doubt whether the device will truly make washing machines obsolete, this innovation promises to change the way people wash their clothes.

Repair a Wet Cell Phone

Take it all apart

OK, so now that we’ve stopped panicking, we try to save the phone! Yes, I know what you’re thinking. What were you still doing with an ancient Nokia 6100 and why bother saving it? (especially when the ring sound no longer works!)

Well, at the time, it was coming up to my daughter’s birthday, and Christmas, and I couldn’t afford a new phone. Plus, it had all my contact numbers on, and messages that I wanted. So, saving it was a priority! I now have an iPhone, and tried the same rice method when my 3 year old spilled her juice on it recently. The phone still worked, but the sound didn’t – however the next day, after sucking out that moisture, it was back as good as new!

So, here’s what to do next.

Dry the exterior of your phone with a cloth, and then take it apart as much as you can.

Remove the back, the front casing, the keypad, the battery, and the SIM. Take more pieces apart if you can. Moisture will have crept up into all the nooks and crevices, so the more surface area you can expose, the better.

The most important thing is to remove the battery. Many circuits within the phone will survive water intact provided they are not connected to a power source, so taking this out quickly is vital. It is also important to take out the SIM, and dry this thoroughly. At least if the phone does not survive, you will still have your vital details stored on the SIM to be retrieved later.

Photo Credit: Image copyright of the author