Skip to content

An innovation from Luna that could make the washer, the dryer, and the Laundromat obsolete

Right now it is just a design concept, but the Luna Wash, created by Juan Camilo Restrepo Villamizar for 2014’s Electrolux Design Challenge may be just the innovation that makes the washer, the dryer, and the laundromat obsolete. The Luna Wash is envisioned as a sphere that one fills with water and

Phil McKinney
Phil McKinney
1 min read
luna washer dryer

Right now it is just a design concept, but the

Luna Wash

, created by Juan Camilo Restrepo Villamizar for 2014’s Electrolux Design Challenge may be just the

innovation 

that makes the washer, the dryer, and the laundromat obsolete.

The Luna Wash is envisioned as a sphere that one fills with water and then drops into a clothes hamper or laundry basket. It will wash and dry the clothes in three stages

  1. First it burrows about the clothes, steaming them in order to cause the fibers to relax and shake loose the dirt.
  2. Next it uses an electrostatic charge to grab the loosened dirt and suck it into itself.
  3. Then it blows hot air to dry the clothes.

The Luna Wash does not sort or fold the clothes. That will still take an actual human being to do.

If the device became an actual item that one can buy, its creative disruption could not be underestimated. Bulky washers and driers would become a thing of the past. Why would one need them if one’s clothes hamper becomes the washer and dryer with the addition of the Luna Wash.

Laundromats would eventually become rarity. They exist to serve people of modest means and/or modest space such as apartment dwellers. But given the potential popularity and adoption, Luna Wash would eventually become cheaper (adoption drives down price) than a washer/dryer and suitable for apartments that ordinarily would not have washing and dryer connections.

The same would apply to college dorms. The ritual of the college student coming home over the weekends so that mom can wash and dry his or her clothes would become history as well. A Luna Wash in a dorm would become as common as the mini fridge.

BlogCase Studiesdesigncutting edge innovationsElectrolux DesignInnovationlunaluna wash

Phil McKinney Twitter

Phil McKinney is an innovator, podcaster, author, and speaker. He is the retired CTO of HP. Phil's book, Beyond The Obvious, shares his expertise and lessons learned on innovation and creativity.

Comments


Related Posts

Innovation's Underground Economy

Your innovation process is the problem, not the solution. The more you formalize creativity, the faster it disappears into the shadows. The question isn't whether your organization has an innovation underground—it's whether you have the courage to see it, embrace it, and harness its power.

Innovation's Underground Economy

The Courage to Create Nothing

Standing still in a rushing world isn't weakness—it's strategic wisdom. True visionaries master the art of saying no when innovation becomes an end rather than a means.

The Courage to Create Nothing

The Innovation Crisis: How We're Stifling Our Children's Creative Potential—And How to Set It Free

A 12-year-old entrepreneur highlights the gap between education and innovation. What happens when we value answers over inquiry, and how might we unlock our children's natural creative abilities?

The Innovation Crisis: How We're Stifling Our Children's Creative Potential—And How to Set It Free