Water efficient washing machine developed

A washing machine that uses less than two per cent of the water and energy of conventional models has been developed in the UK.

Researchers at Leeds University have created the Xeros, an appliance that utilises plastic chips to remove dirt by pounding the clothes among them.

Only one cup of water is necessary for clothes to be washed in the machine, which is heated to help dissolve grime and is then absorbed by the chips, which can be used for around 100 washes.

Dr Rob Rule, a director of Xeros Ltd, commented: "Xeros has the ability to save billions of litres of water per year and, we believe, the potential to revolutionise the global laundry market."

The machines could be available by 2009.

Advice from the Energy Saving Trust to conserve water in the home and reduce carbon emissions is to switch to an Energy Saving Recommended washing machine, which can reduce energy consumption by one-third.