Pop-Sci Core77 Design Challenge/ Description HUMAN POWERED 10/20/03

Description of Design

tepo a human powered mini wash & dryer With Tepo, users can have the leisure of washing clothes without consuming an abundance of water, electricity and money. All over the world there are discussions about water and energy consumption. It is important to think of new ways to reduce our consumption of such resources starting in our daily lives. Like many appliances, when it comes to washing machines, we simply push a start button and walk away while the machine does the work for us. Though convenient, we fail to take notice of how much energy and water is actually being consumed. Tepo is a human powered mini wash and dryer that can be used any place where there is access to running water. The user controls the amount of water by determining how many cycles of washing and rinsing is necessary. Tepo requires no electricity, but instead runs on human power utilizing the same pump and spin mechanism found in the OXO Good Grip Salad Spinner www.oxo.com. Tepo provides an alternative way for washing small loads, like one of your favorite shirts, a couple of pairs of socks and underwear. Even those who have their own washing machine can avoid wasting a full wash cycle for such small loads. Additionally, Tepo???s hand pump and spin mechanism provides a gentle washing action ideal for delicate items, such as lingerie. The user controls the action so there is less damage to the delicates. Depending on how soiled the items are, users also control the number of cycles so there is less waste of water. Tepo is also helpful for those who do not have their own washing machine such as dormitory and apartment dwellers. By using Tepo for small loads of clothes they can avoid making inconvenient trips to communal laundry rooms and laundromats where the expense of a $1.00 per load can add up. This can also be wasteful when you only have a few items to wash. Since storage space in these living situations can be limited, Tepo's compact size makes it portable and easy to store away. How it works: LOAD Place soiled garments loosely inside basket For example: 2 shirts 2 pairs of socks 2 pairs of underwear ADD DETERGENT ADD TAP WATER LOCK Twist and lock the lid securely into place WASH Grip knob and press down. The hand pumping mechanism spins the basket creating a gentle wash cycle. Repeat until garments are clean. DRAIN Twist spigot cap off and drain soapy water into sink. RINSE Refill basket with water, pump and drain. Repeat until rinsed completely. SPIN-DRY Drain all water and pump. Remove garments and hang dry.