This might be old news, but the class action law suit brought against Whirlpool Corp. and Sears has been settled. Deadline for any affected by this suit is May 7, 2007. Read about the settlement here and about the various problems and complaints at Consumeraffairs.com.

From a service standpoint – Calypso washers are about the worst things that I can think of to service. I don’t mind the technology – in fact the concept of bouncing the clothes up and down through the water/detergent is a good idea. However, the access to components is near impossible and the testing procedures are also complex and more difficult than necessary. I guess the engineers thought that they would never break – hence the service difficulties. It’s hard to believe that the engineers that designed this unit also designed the Whirlpool Direct Drive Washer which is a joy to service.

As we get closer to Will Smith’s ‘I, Robot’ rendition of computers ruling the world we now have home appliances connected to the ‘net. USA Today reports appliances ‘that link wirelessly to Internet-connected home networks are being tested by consumers who are receiving updates on their dirty laundry via cellphones, computers and TV sets. Messages not only indicate when a wash is complete but also can warn that a lint filter is clogged or a load is too large. Users can remotely command the machines to fluff dry clothes or start a load from a distance after being told – oops – they forgot to start the wash.’

Another useless (but kind of neat) gadget or is this the new wave of the future? Who will use this technology and how practical it will actually be is the question I would like to see answered?

Sanyo’s new ‘Air Wash’ appears to be a developement of the ‘Airwash’ ion washer that we reported on yesterday. According to Sanyo, the system injects air combined with Ozone on the articles inside the drum, and is able to disinfect and deodorize in about a 30 minute process. The Ozone that is injected inside the drum decomposes odors and bacteria and then goes back into the air.

It’s nice to see research turning into real world product.

A washer that uses 0 gallons per load? It’s finally here – sort of:

The AirWash, which won the ElectroLux Design Lab 2005 Award, uses negative ions, compressed air and deodorants to clean clothes. The design form was inspired by a waterfall, which sceintifically speaking is nature’s own negative ion factory. The unit was designed by two students from the National University of Singapore’s school of industrial design. The waterless washing machine removes stains from garments within a few minutes, without the use of detergents or water. It can be used for cleaning garments of all kinds, though the judges took special note of AirWash’s potential to make convential dry cleaning obsolete. AirWash should also help save energy costs and water consumption, and has huge potential for places without ready access to clean water. The winners, Gabriel Tan and Wendy Chua won the competition beating out entries from 3,000 other students from over 88 countries.