For anyone who lives in a small apartment with limited space this would be a blessing. The product I am talking about is the plastic, shrunken version of the clunky, expensive, metal, washer / dryer units available in most American Stores.When I walk into a Sears, there are isles of huge, stainless steel, washing machines and dryers. All of them need to be installed in a laundry area with appropriate hookups and the cheapest, no-frills, single cycle models start at around $300 USD.So, whats going on? why is it that in other countries, small, plastic, portable washer / dryers are available with tons of features and cycles for a fraction of the cost of ours here?  

The mini washer available anywhere but the US, I guess since I have never seen one in any store. The mini washer weighs a few pounds and seems perfect for apartment living.

The model on the left is one of 100’s available from many manufacturers in Asia. The mini washer weighs under 20 lbs. and can handle a few lbs. of clothing at a time. For larger loads, there are larger portable washers in a slew of colors and cool designs.

 There are also twin tub models available so you can do your delicates and cottons at the same time… ultra cool!

To dry your clothes, there is the mini dryer below. The dryer is only about 1.5 ft in height and can pretty much sit on your counter top. The product description from the manufacturer is below… remember, this is a made in china product and their english translation is not too hot. Also, I gotta add, the no fire thing… makes me wonder about previous models.

Product Features The dryer is recently developed by our company, it is suitable for all families, no fire, automaticly control temperatures according to different kind clothes, and clothes quality can be protected properly and unfold clothes fibre, after drying the clothes will be soft and level up as original new; It can keep air pollute form clothes and kill bacterium etc., it is the best coachfellow and assistant of your life. 

Here is another cool mini, portable dryer

I want one… sooooo badly.

Now, I am sure there are some energy efficient models sold in every department store around the country, but just walking into a store and buying that shiny showcased appliance certainly isn’t as much fun as building one yourself. Homemade washing machine? sounds like fun.

And, who says it has to be some large techie project? check out this energy efficient clothing washer below. It needs no power, little water and runs on leg power. I’ll call this the  “good for your heart” model. Can’t beat that with a stick.

This one here, a bit more complex than the previous washer model above. A lot more work to build, but, you get a lot more washer. Also, you get more of a health benefit for using it since now you aren’t just walking to do the laundry, but cycling. The cool thing about this one is you no longer have to worry about your clothing shrinking in the laundry and not fitting you. Along with the shrinking clothes, you will also have a shrinking waistline. If you do laundry for a large family, you may have to sneak in a few cheeseburgers between loads to make sure that you don’t out-shrink than your clothing. The environment friendly washer below is also a dryer.

Check it out.

If the above model is too complex, there is a scaled down version that is a washing machine only

It reminds me of a bluetrash can stuck a-top a Nike tennis shoe.