Detergent-less washing machine

Yes, it sounds impossible, but apparently they've done it. A washing machine that doesn't use detergent. It's patented, of course, and it would seem that this machine converts water into a kind of detergent. Any chemist knows that soap, really, is just a way of making water wetter. And by breaking water into H+ and OH- ions, the Wash2O is able to clean clothes with a slightly basic solution, and then sterilize them with a slightly acidic solution. Then, before dumping the water, everything is mixed back together to pH neutral.

It's a pretty fantastic idea. If you could get on in America, it would set you back about $1000, but remember that you'd never have to buy detergent again, and you wouldn't have to feel bad about dumping phosphates into the rivers.

Though, I think I'll wait to hear some first-hand reports.

Via Engadget