written on March 17th, 2010 at 1:48 pm by catarina

22 comments

diy solar clothes washer

This solar clothes washer was made by 2nd year art students from the École Supérieure d’Art d’Aix-en-Provence (France). The challenge was to make a DIY washing machine using only materials available in the sahara. The prototype shown above uses bicycle parts (the tires and wheel), bamboo, and a solar panel connected directly to a recycled electric motor (from a photocopier).

The Open Source Washing Machine project was created by France Cadet, Jean-Noël Montagné and Jean-Pierre Mandon at the École Supérieure d’Art d’Aix-en-Provence. Three machines were designed by the 2nd-year students over a three-day period.

Here’s a short video and photos. More about the project at oswash.org.

diy solar clothes washer

I’m looking at the machine right now and trying to resist the urge to do my laundry in the school’s patio :)

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22 Responses to “the open source washing machine project”


  1. Hugo Gomes

    2 years ago

    “using only materials available in the sahara”

    water ?


  2. catarina

    2 years ago

    Well, some water is necessary to wash clothes :) I believe that the idea here is to use small quantities of water and also to not have the washer depend on running water (it’s not connected to any piping system). See http://www.oswash.org for more information about the concept and concerns behind the project. And remember that this is a work in progress, it’s the way this group of people found to start thinking and addressing a specific issue, not the ultimate solution.


  3. Chris

    2 years ago

    It looks like something the D’ni would use (Myst).


  4. karim

    2 years ago

    this sounds very interesting, but if all such things are applied in day today life then what will the big electronic companies do? again like electric cars this might also have many constraints of the modern world that we are so used to


  5. goodsignal

    2 years ago

    This deserves a page on appropedia.org

  6. What is the best HE detergent for front loading washers and are HE detergents really necessary?


  7. Chip Bell

    1 year ago

    I built one using an old windshield wiper motor an old tub and a paddle made from a sawed out section of a plastic milk crate you could fill the tub put your cloths in with soap and plug it into your cars power socket or directly to the battery it worked just fine.

15 Trackbacks For This Post

  1. nouProjecte » Open source washing machine project Says:

    [...] still make the system too expensive for areas that could truly use a DIY washing machine. [via openMaterials] Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Open source hardware | Digg [...]

  2. After enlightenment, the laundry « commons re:source™ Says:

    [...] theme, I came across an interesting open source hardware project on the OpenMaterials website. Yesterday’s OpenMaterials post by Catarina Mota highlights the Open Source Washing Machine Project, which, in its words, “aims to rethink the [...]

  3. solinkable.com Says:

    The open source washing machine project…

    This solar clothes washer was made by 2nd year art students from the École Supérieure d’Art d’Aix-en-Provence (France). The challenge was to make a DIY washing machine using only materials available in the sahara. The prototype shown above uses b…

  4. Open source washing machine project « The tech telecom and all Says:

    [...] The OSWash project seeks to develop different technologies for different climates and societal contexts. For instance, one country might have plentiful fresh water but less sunlight, whereas another environment might put water recycling at the top of the list of needs. Part of the problem is that many solutions that are cheap by our standards (for instance, using a Freeduino-based controller) still make the system too expensive for areas that could truly use a DIY washing machine. [via openMaterials] [...]

  5. CS.no » Solar powered washing machine made out of recycled parts Says:

    [...] [Openmaterials] [...]

  6. Solar-Powered Washing Machine A DIYer Project Come True | EarthTechling Says:

    [...] of 2nd year École Supérieure d’Art d’Aix-en-Provence art students in France. Dubbed the Open Source Washing Machine, it makes use of a solar panel, bamboo, old bicycle parts, and a motor from an old photocopier. It [...]

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