New Orleans, LA (AHN) - Using only one cup of water per load, U.K.-based Xeros‘ new type of washing machine will instead rely on reusable nylon beads to trap dirt and stains.

Along with partners GreenEarth Cleaning, Xeros, which has been testing the machine for three years, will sell the machines in North America, at first mostly to commercial dry cleaners and Laundromats, LiveScience reported.

Because the Xeros machine uses 90 percent less water than traditional washing machines, it also saves energy by cutting down on the need for a dryer. It also uses less energy and detergent.

One of the reasons we eschew nylon fabric in clothes is because it easily retains dirt and stains, which is why the nylon beads the Xeros washing machine uses attracts dirt and stains from clothes, the Economist reported.

The green washing system was presented at the Clean Show in New Orleans, held June 18 through 21. It uses thousands of tiny nylon beads to mop up the dirt released by detergent from dirty clothes.

Xeros commissioned an environmental consultancy group, URS Corp, to evaluate the washer. URS found the system’s carbon footprint to be 40 percent smaller than more existing systems for washing and drying laundry, the Economist reported.

Xeros partner GreenEarth claims there’s negligible impact on the clothes cleaned by the nylon beads.

“The testing completed to date has indicated no appreciable difference in wear between garments processed in the Xeros technology versus the traditional laundry process,” Tim Maxwell, president of GreenEarth Cleaning, told LiveScience. “Extensive testing with silks, embroidered garments, and other delicate items have shown no ill effects.”

There are so many changes we have made to our lives, it’s hard to know what to talk about sometimes. Have you ever read the back of your shampoo bottle? your soap? Can you even pronounce half the ingredients? While buying a bottle of shampoo two weeks ago, I was consumed with label reading. I was surprised how many man made ingredients were in the odd bottle of shampoo. What was Sodium Laurel Sulfate and what does it do? Apparently it does A LOT! and not all of it is good. Apparently it can be dangerous and it’s in EVERYTHING. A quick Google search will show you articles that say there are no proven side effects AND articles that tell you it can blind children, cause skin damage, and causes gum disease…and yes it’s in mouthwash and toothpaste.
Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) is part of those “inactive ingredients” that don’t do much for your scalp, teeth, or skin. It’s the part of the soap that is foamy. Now I don’t know about anyone else but if something MIGHT be dangerous, I’m probably not going to use it. I’m not willing to take the risk.
What really concerned me was that it can blind children even in small quantities. It’s rare but it does happen.
It was hard trying to find a soap, shampoo, and toothpaste without SLS. It was even harder finding organically made SLS-free anything! (Toothpaste also needed to be floride free as well, since we’ve recently discovered those dangers too!)We finally ended up at Trader Joe’s cause if anyone had it, it would be at Joe’s. We found shampoo, cream rinse, toothpaste, and castille soap that I’m using for everything! Castile soap is like an all purpose soap… It will wash you clean, and possibly the shower too!
I feel a little like screaming out “People! These things can kill you! Give you cancer! Make you sick!” but often I feel like I’m screaming into the wind. Someday we’ll be heard.

From: EcoMerge  Friday June 5, 2009