Researchers at the University of Leeds have developed a new way of cleaning clothes using less than two per cent of the water and energy of a conventional washing machine.

The ‘virtually waterless’ washing system is based on the use of plastic granules (or chips) which are tumbled with the clothes to remove stains. A range of tests, carried out according to industry protocols to prove the technology performs to the standards expected in the cleaning industry, show the process can remove virtually all types of everyday stains as effectively as existing processes, whilst leaving clothes as fresh as normal washing. In addition, the clothes emerge from the process almost dry, reducing the need for tumble-dryers.

Xeros, a University of Leeds spin out, is commercialising the technology, which uses as little as a cup of water in each wash cycle and could also bring benefits to other industrial processes such as wastewater treatment and metal degreasing.

Dr Rob Rule, a director of Xeros, said: “This is one of the most surprising and remarkable technologies I’ve encountered in recent years. Xeros has the ability to save billions of litres of water per year, and, we believe, the potential to revolutionise the global laundry market.”

The new technology could be on the UK market as soon as 2009.