domestic
Laundry
Insights are found in the boxes with the light-bulb symbol at the bottom corner of pages. 2
INSIGHT
CONTENTS 1. Three Stages of Laundry.................................4
8. Deep Clean................................................ 79
2. User Journey.................................................7
Machine Washing ................................................. 8 Hand Washing ..................................................... 9 Machine Drying ...................................................10 Air Drying ...........................................................11 Ironing...............................................................12
9. Refresh Clean.............................................97
3. Products.......................................................14
Washing Products ................................................16 Drying Products ....................................................18 Ironing Products ................................................... 20
4. Labels & Care.............................................24
Dry Cleaning ......................................................29
Organic Stains.................................................... 81 Inorganic Stains .................................................. 83 Pigment & Dye Stains ........................................... 85 Stain Removal: Why Water? ................................. 86 Acids and Bases ................................................. 88 Spot Cleaning .................................................... 90 Testing: Acid & Bases ........................................... 93 Kill Bacteria ........................................................99 Steam Cleaning .................................................100 UV Radiation..................................................... 102
10. Second Skin............................................105 11. Areas of Interest....................................... 107
5. Stats & Facts................................................ 31
National Statistics ................................................ 32 Survey Results ...................................................... 34 Water Consumption ............................................. 36 Energy Consumption ............................................ 40 Time Consumption ............................................... 44 Average Time Per Use .......................................... 47
6. Future & Concepts....................................... 50
Body Box ........................................................... 53 Laundroid ........................................................... 55 Styler ................................................................. 57 iBasket .............................................................. 61 Orbit ................................................................. 63
7. Why Do We Clean?..................................... 66
Hygiene & Comfort .............................................. 69 Visual ................................................................ 70 Smell ................................................................. 73 Routine ................................................... 75 Appearance ....................................................... 76
1
laundry
noun (plural laundries) 1.1) The action or process of washing clothes:
‘cooking and laundry were undertaken by domestic staff’ 2) A room in a house, hotel, or institution where clothes and linen can be washed and ironed:
‘the pathology department was in the hospital basement, next to the laundry’ Source: Oxford Dictionary of English
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3
1. Three Stages of Laundry
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Washing
Drying
Ironing 5
6
2. User Journey
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Machine Washing 1 Sort Clothes
Take clothes to washing machine
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3 Put clothes in washing machine
Add detergent to drum or tray 5
4
Select wash cycle: temp, material, spin
6 Run washing machine 7 Take clothes out of washing machine
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Hand Washing 1 Sort Clothes Take clothes to sink or tub
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3 Fill sink or tub with water
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7
Submerge clothes in the soapy water
Add detergent and mix with water
Soak clothes for 2-5 minutes
Knead or swish clothes (Do not twist or wring)
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6
8 Drain water
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Refill sink or tub with clean water
Rinse clothing to remove soap
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Machine Drying 1
Remove lint from previous cycle
Empty water container 3
Take clothes out of washing machine
Put tumble dryer friendly clothes in 5
2
4
Select settings: (iron dry, gentle)
6 Run tumble dryer 7
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Remove clothes from dryer quickly to avoid creasing
Air Drying 1 Take clothes out of machine/sink/tub
Take damp pile to drying rack/line
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3 Lay clothes flat on rack or hang on line
4 Leave to dry
5
Take dry clothes and fold ready for ironing
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Ironing 1
Take clothes to ironing board Fill iron with clean water
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Set the iron setting: (silk, cotton, linen) Place clothing flat on ironing board
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6
Turn clothes to iron each side Hang clothing
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4
Turn on iron
Iron clothing flat, keep iron moving
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2
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INSIGHT
Hand washing and air drying have many more benefits than their machine counterparts. The manual options are cheaper, more environmentally friendly and better for the clothes. There are a lot more touch points however which makes hand washing and air drying quite labour intensive. 13
3. Products
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Washing Products
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3 5
2
4 6
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10 9
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13 14
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1. Bio Liquid Detergent 2. Non-Bio Liquid Detergent 3. Fabric Softener 4. Stain Remover / Bleach 5. Detergent Powder 6. Detergent Capsules 7. Fabric Dye 8. Handwash Detergent 9. Cashmere Shampoo 10. Colour Catcher 11. Garment Bag 12. Laundry Ball 13. Washing Machine 14. Laundry Basket 15. Handwash Tub 17
Drying Products
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1
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
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3
Retractable Rack Retractable Line Laundry Basket Clothes Pegs Home Dry Clean Kit Tumble Dryer Electric Heated Rack
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Ironing Products
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Starch Spray Ironing Board Plastic Funnel Ironing Board Cover Plastic Measuring Cup Steam Iron
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1 4
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INSIGHT
Washing has the most amount of products and investment. The laundry market is saturated 23
4. Labels & Care
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INSIGHT
Symbols are simple but not always clear. The majority of people have mis-laundered their clothes at some point 27
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Dry Cleaning Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene (PERC). A dry-cleaning machine is similar to a washing machine dryer combination. Garments are placed in the washing chamber in the core of the machine. The washing chamber contains a horizontal, perforated drum that rotates within an outer shell. The shell holds the solvent while the rotating drum holds the garment load. During the wash cycle, the chamber is filled approximately onethird full of solvent and begins to rotate, agitating the clothing. The solvent temperature is maintained at 30°C. During the wash cycle, the solvent in the chamber is passed through a filtration chamber and then fed back into the chamber. The solvent is then removed and sent to a distillation unit consisting of a boiler and condenser. Tetrachloroethylene is listed as a toxic carcinogen. Clothes that can be washed and dried usually cannot be dry cleaned.
INSIGHT
Dry cleaning might be waterless but the solvent is harmful and shouldn’t be used in a domestic environment. Home dry cleaning kits use the tumble dryer and mimic the dry cleaning process without using solvent 29
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5. Stats & Facts
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National Statistics
Most detergents clean at temperature as low a 20°C. The national average wash temperature of 49°C is due to older machines not having a setting below 40°C and the misconception that bacteria isn’t efficiently removed at temperatures below 40°C. 32
INSIGHT
Who does the laundry?
£113
average annual spend on detergent for family of 4
86%
14%
47.6%
(wash above 40°C)
49.8°C
(average wash temp)
32.3%
(wash below 30°C)
97%
of people own a washing machine
79% 115 kWh
of people own a tumble dryer
of energy used annually per household
58% 68%
of washes are full
agree that consumption levels are high 33
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Survey Results*
*Anonymous online survey with 105 responses from people ranging from 18-60+ 34
46% 54%
26%
folding clothes and putting them away
least favourite aspect of doing laundry 29%
hanging clothes to dry
29%
ironing clothes
48%
86%
don’t have a specific day for laundry
78%
27% > once a week
wash clothing that have special instructions less often
74%
will completely rewash an item of clean clothing if they make a visible mark on it
14% every day
once a week
6% once a month
5%
< once a month
frequency of doing laundry 35
Water Consumption
â&#x20AC;&#x153;
Washing machines used to use as much water per wash as a person now uses in an entire day - up to 150 litres!
litres per wash
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Advances in technology over the past 20 years, however, have succeeded in reducing the average water consumption to about
50 litres per wash - still quite a bit of water! -Waterwise UK
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â&#x20AC;?
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•
Water on Earth
97.5%
saltwater
2.5%
70% frozen
30%
freshwater
underground Less than
1%
available
• 783 million don’t have access to safe and clean water
• 1 in 9 people world wide do not have access to safe and clean drinking water •
The water crisis is the #1 global risk based on impact to society (as a measure of devastation), as announced by the World Economic Forum in January 2015
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Energy Consumption
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Washing Machine Usage: 187 washes per year Per use: 0.63 kWh (Energy Rating A) Cost per year: £11.78 CO2 per year: 51 kg
Tumble Dryer Usage: 148 uses per year Per use: 2.5 kWh (Energy Rating A)* Cost per year: £45.59 CO2 per year: 159 kg
*An average tumble dryer has an Energy Rating of B (£50-60/year to run) 41
•
Over-emittance of greenhouse gases and fossil fuels (natural oil, gasoline, coal) are the main cause of
global warming
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•
Greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and causing the planet to warm up
•
Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted, and trees are flowering sooner
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Since 1870, global sea levels have risen by about 8 inches
•
There is more carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere today than at any point in the last 800,000 years!
•
Global warming puts coral reefs in danger as the ocean warms, scientist fear that coral reefs will not be able to adapt quickly enough to the resulting changing conditions, and bleaching incidents and diseases will increase
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Time Consumption
â&#x20AC;&#x153;
The average mother* spends five months of her life doing laundry. On average, it takes her 26 minutes to go through the arduous pre and postwash tasks every time she turns on the machine, which is six times a week. On top of that, she can expect to spend 55 minutes a week doing the ironing. So before her child hits 18, she will have had 137 days or nearly five months of toil. Carrying out tasks like pulling tissues out of pockets, pairing up socks, looking under beds or behind doors for underwear take up a large chunk of their life. -Ecozone
*Study of 4,400 mothers in the UK 44
â&#x20AC;?
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Average Time Per Use Tumble Dryer 1 hour
Ironing 20 minutes
Sorting 26 minutes
Washing Machine 1 hour 30 minutes
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INSIGHT
Water and energy consumption are the priorities for new laundry products. Washing machines are water intensive, tumble dryers are energy intensive and ironing is labour intensive. Individually they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pose a problem but combined they become a chore. 49
6. Future & Concepts
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Body Box Brand: Whirlpool Design: Eckhardt & Kiessler Country: Germany What is it?: Technological piece of furniture Date to Market: Concept (2002) Key Features: • Brings together body and laundry in one discreet unit • Collecting and sorting • Washing and conditioning • Tumble and steam drying • Basin, shower and steam bath • LED chromotherapy lighting
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Laundroid Brand: Panasonic Design: Seven Dreamers & Daiwa House Country: Japan What is it?: Laundry-folding robot Date to Market: 2020 Key Features: • Slot to place crumpled washed and dried clothes • Image recognition software that identifies type of garment • Top-secret mechanism folds clothing in 4 minutes • Folded clothes are sorted and placed in cabinet space
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Styler Brand: LG Design: LG Design Country: Korea What is it?: Water and detergent-free cleaner Date to Market: 2017 (commercial) Key Features: • Near Field Communication • Smart diagnosis • Steamer for creases • Odour removal • Quick refresh • Moving Hanger action to remove wrinkles • Easy Pants Crease Care • Touch screen
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Renew Brand: Electrolux Design: Louis Filosa Country: USA What is it?: Smart steamer Date to Market: Concept Key Features: • Two steam blades blast garments clean • Infared sensors • Radio frequency identification • Smart diagnosis • Odour removal • Quick refresh • OLED touch screen • 25% of the size of current washing machines
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iBasket Brand: Electrolux Design: Guopeng Liang Country: China What is it?: Smart wash basket and washer Date to Market: Concept Key Features: • Wi-Fi connected • Stores dirty clothes • Airs clothes to remove odour • Weight scale • Washes clothes when full
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Orbit Brand: Electrolux Design: Elie Ahovi Country: France What is it?: Waterless washing machine Date to Market: Concept Key Features: • Battery-filled ring levitates metal orb • Supercooled super-conductive metal laundry basket • Chilled with liquid nitrogen • Ceramic-based touchscreen interface • Carbon dioxide breaks down organic material
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INSIGHT
Future products and concepts are mainly focussing on diagnosis, reducing water consumption, making laundry more automated, promoting a refresh clean instead of a deep clean. Refresh cleaning involves minimal water use. Either air or steam is used to remove odours and remove creases. Doing more refresh cleans and less deep cleans will save money on bills, reduce water consumption and energy consumption. 65
7.Why Do We Clean?
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Hygiene & Comfort The main reason why we wash our clothes is to be hygienic and comfortable. Clothes get dirty due to the build up of bacteria which thrives on the proteins from sweat. The apocrine glands are the main source of bacteria as they produce sweat with high levels of salt which makes it easier for the bacteria to break down proteins. These glands are found around the face, armpits, hands, genital area, and feet. Build up of bacteria is the reason for malodour and can lead to fungus growing on the fabric. Build up of bacteria can also lead to clothes feeling less comfortable.
INSIGHT
Hot water is efficient at killing bacteria but there are many other methods that are waterless and use less energy. Freezing is an example of killing bacteria without using water. Denim enthusiasts often put their jeans in the freezer to avoid washing them. Other things that kill bacteria are: UV light, steam, silver, alcohol, baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and grapefruit seed oil. 69
Visual Visual cues are the strongest indicator that a piece of clothing needs to be washed. No one wants to be seen wearing dirty clothing and stains are the most visible representation of dirt, almost everyone will throw an item in the wash if it has a visible mark. Out of 105 people surveyed, 74% said they would put an item back in the wash if they marked it on the same day as washing it. Visual dirt is removed from a fabric by agitation. Detergents and hot water help the agitation process by breaking up dirt and lifting it off the fabric.
When an item of clothing has a visual stain or mark the usual procedure is to put it in the wash. For tough stains, spot cleaning before putting the item of clothing in is recommended. If the stain is isolated and the item of clothing is clean, spot cleaning can be sufficient if done promptly. 70
INSIGHT
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Smell Odour is very effective way of checking if clothes are clean or dirty. If the clothing has no visible marks then the next sense we use is smell. Malodour is a sign of bacteria build up and therefore it is an accurate way of checking if the item of clothing requires washing.
INSIGHT
Airing clothes outdoors is an easy, no-tech and natural way to remove odours from clothes. It is not always convenient to leave clothes outside so aerators provide this refresh clean indoors. Using steam the aerators kill bacteria which in turn removes malodour. The aerators do not provide a deep clean to remove stains or marks but are a great waterless solution for refreshing clothes with malodour. 73
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PRIMARY RESEARCH
Routine
“
I do the family laundry as part of a weekly routine. Often, I wash clothes that have been worn a few times that don’t actually need a wash, just to fill up a load. -Karen Davidson (mother of 3)
INSIGHT
”
Laundry routines are becoming a thing of the past and are generally prevalent with older generations. Young professionals are busier with less time for household tasks like laundry. 86% of people who responded to the anonymous survey said they didn’t have a specific day for laundry and did it as it piled up. The negative of not having a routine is increased wash cycles and loads which aren’t full. 75
Appearance Ironing, steaming and pressing of clothes are primarily done to improve the appearance of washed clothes. New tumble dryers have minimum iron modes which decreases creasing of dried laundry but garments such as shirts will require ironing. Unlike washing and drying, ironing doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t serve a hygiene or cleaning purpose. Its main function to make clothes more presentable and easier to sort and put away.
Aerating clothes with steam removes odour as well as improves appearance. Ironing serves only one main purpose so the refresh clean of airing out with steam could replace ironing. 76
INSIGHT
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8. Deep Clean
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Organic Stains Organic stains are created by organic compounds (have carbon and hydrogen molecules) and are both polar and non-polar, which refers to a positive and negative charge on the molecule. Some organic stains are very long molecules and must be broken into shorter â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;chainsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; before the stain can be removed. Examples of organic compounds are blood and food.
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Inorganic Stains Inorganic stains are created by non-biological compounds, usually man-made substances. Inorganic stains are typically removed, or covered up, through the application of inorganic solvents. This is achieved through a redox reaction, where oxygen is introduced and the composition of the stain agent is chemically altered. Examples of inorganic stains are grease, oil and some inks.
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Pigment & Dye Stains Stains that contain pigment are composed of chromophores, which are molecules that contain double bonds and emit a specific wavelength of light that shows as the colour of the stain. Two typical examples of pigment are wine stains (tanin) and grass stains (cholorophyll), which are both organic chromophores. These are difficult to remove stains because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t readily respond to oxidation.
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Stain Removal: Why Water? Water can be used to remove stains and is generally referred to as a ‘universal solvent’ because of it’s special properties of being a bent polar molecule. This polarity makes water a great stain remover for other polar molecules and ionic compounds. Water is an inorganic substance (no carbon), so it can only be used to dissolve other inorganic substances*. However, water is extremely useful in delivering detergents (surfactants) to the source of the stain, so is widely used in many applications of stain removal.
*The rule of thumb for stain removal is “like dissolves like”. Organic substances can only dissolve other organic substances etc. 86
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Acids and Bases Many soaps are bases (basic) and can be used to remove stains that are made with basic liquids and solids. Generally, bases are polar, so they easily dissolve in water and can be used to remove stains. There are many acids that can be used to remove stains that are created with an acidic liquid. For example, lemon juice is a common stain remover.
Every stain will have a pH number (acidity or alkilinity). If the pH number of the stain is known, then an appropriate acid or base with a similar pH level can be chosen as the stain remover. 88
INSIGHT
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Spot Cleaning Out of 105 people surveyed, 74% said they would put an item back in the wash if they stained it on the same day as washing it. This is a lot of unnecessary washing as spot cleaning can be a very effective way of removing a small stain. If a piece of clothing is clean (no malodour and no stains) and something is spilt on it, if action is taken promptly, the stain can be easily addressed with the right stain remover. Spot cleaning is beneficial as it uses hardly any water, electricity or gas and allows further wear of the item of clothing which in turn, lightens the burden of laundry.
Any water used during spot cleaning will be negligent compared to the 50 litres used in every load of a state-of-the-art washing machine
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INSIGHT
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PRIMARY RESEARCH
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Testing: Acid & Bases On identical pieces of fabric (cotton), I have conducted an experiment to see how effective acids and bases are as stain removers when the pH number of the stain is known*. To show the effectiveness of the acid or base, I have compared the results with: water and water with surfactant. The stains were created with red wine, olive oil and ketchup. The acids used to remove the stains were lemon juice, vinegar and soda water. The bases used were baking soda, milk of magnesia and diluted ammonia. The use of each acid or base varied with the pH of the stain.
*I used a standard pH meter to obtain the pH number of each stain 93
Before
Red Wine
Olive Oil
Ketchup 94
Untreated Stain
Warm Water
Water + Detergent
Acid or Base
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9. Refresh Clean
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Kill Bacteria Refreshing clothes is essentially removing malodour without having to submerge the garment in water, solvent or detergent. This makes it a beneficial practice as it requires hardly any water, little energy and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quick. Malodour is caused by the multiplication of bacteria on the clothes and killing the bacteria is the most effective way to remove the smell. Hot water along with bleaching agents are how bacteria is killed in a deep clean using a washing machine. Bacteria can be killed in other, more eco-friendly ways. Some examples of things that effectively kill bacteria are: UV light, freezer, steam, silver, alcohol, baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and grapefruit seed oil.
INSIGHT
UV light and steam are the two most beneficial ways of killing bacteria out of the examples listed. Both methods of killing bacteria have a additional functions. UV light kills bacteria as well as brightening white fabric
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Steam Cleaning Steam is water vapour and it kills bacteria in the same way that water does. It kills the bacteria through high temperature as the heat denatures enzymes that are required for the bacteria to metabolise. Although a steamer would require power to reach a high temperature, it is still not as energy intensive as a tumble dryer or washing machine. It also will use some water to create the steam but it is a fraction of the 50 litres a washing machine uses each cycle. The steamer also smooths out any creases which improves the appearance of the clothing and removes the need for ironing. Refresh cleaning looks to be very prevalent in the future of laundry as people are becoming more aware of their water consumption and energy consumption habits.
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UV Radiation Ultraviolet light (UV) kills bacteria by damaging the DNA. UV radiation disrupts the chemical bonds that hold the atoms of DNA together in the bacteria. If the damage is severe enough, the bacteria cannot repair the damage and will die. Longer exposure to UV light is necessary to ensure complete kill-off of all bacteria. UV is a natural whitening agent and will bleach light clothing. Using the warmth of the sun is also the best way to dry clothes, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free! Although UV has many benefits for sterilisation and bleaching, it can be harmful so it is something to be cautious of.
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NEW TECHNOLOGY
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10. Second Skin The investigation, led by Lining Yao of MIT, focuses on how we can grow actuators that control the interfaces around us instead of manufacturing them in a factory. In other words: Yao and her team want to use the natural behaviour of certain micro-organisms to power objects and interfaces, the same way a motor might. To power its inventions, BioLogic relies on Bacillus subtilis natto - a bacterium, commonly used in Japanese cooking, that reacts to atmospheric moisture. Like pine cones, these hydromorphic “natto cells” will expand and contract depending on the amount of humidity in the air - the more humidity present, the bigger the bacteria get. -WIRED Magazine
INSIGHT
Fabric that reacts to bacteria can have many benefits to the laundry industry. Bacteria induced movement could be the breakthrough for smart labelling. Clothing that told us when it needed to be cleaned and we wouldn’t have to guess anymore.
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UV Radiation
Steam Cleaning
Acids and Bases
Second Skin
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11. Areas of Interest
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Jahan Jhala