Wow! When you look at the pictures of this foot powered washing machine, it does not look as exciting as it does when you actually see it action. I am always looking for off grid laundry solutions, so naturally when I ran into this the other day it peaked my interest. What is more impressive is that the designers insisted on focusing on a design that only uses upcycled parts.
That was the only way they could come up with a laundry solution that was affordable and could be easily replicated in the developing world too. To complete this DIY project will cost about $4, if you are willing to use recycled materials.
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Here’s What You’ll Need:
- 5 Gallon Plastic Bucket with lid
- PVC/Metal pipe from the junkyard
- Pipe joints
- Light weight rope
- Rough piece of cloth for spot cleaner
- Tools
- Plastic 2L Soda Bottle
- 1 gallon milk container
The mechanics behind this washing machine is very simple. Basically if you put a button in the middle of a piece of string and pull it from both ends, the button will spin. The bucket assembly is probably the most important section of the project and it would be wise to begin with that section.
Then the frame can be made to scale with the bucket assembly. I love that it has the agitate and the spin cycle after which you can drain the water from your washing machine and hand your clothes out to dry. Then you can disassemble all the parts and store them in the bucket when not in use.
You can see the development process photos on the Engineering For Change blog, here…
Foot Powered Washing Machine Designs
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