The washing machine is easily one of the most important household appliances. Many of us cannot even imagine surviving without one. Important as it is, the washing machine is also an important contributor to energy and water bills. Some models consume more than a fair amount of energy, particularly when you have to heat the water before washing. The Yirego Drumi is a first of its kind environmentally friendly washing machine that consumes little water and works without electricity.
Conserve energy
Though small in size, the manufacturer hopes using the Drumi can help promote a healthy laundry habit while reducing your energy footprint. According to Yirego, regular washing machines consume up to 50 liters of water per cycle. When you factor in the amount of energy it takes to wash and dry, the Drumi could reduce your carbon footprint by about 10 pounds per week.
How it works
The Drumi comes with a foot pedal that serves as its energy source. Once you place your clothes and detergent in the drum and detergent cup respectively, you can pedal away at a recommended rate of 12-20 pedal strokes per minute. Perhaps you wish to use a fabric softener, bleach, or any other washing liquid, the detergent cup has got you covered. The Drumi accommodates warm and cold washing. However, the use of boiling water for washing is discouraged due to the risk of scalding and hot water injury to the skin.
Do your laundry anywhere, anytime
You do not have to stack up your laundry the next time you go on a short trip. Drumi’s compact and sleek design ensures it’s portable and can fit into any living space. And it consumes little water and zero electricity. This is the only washing machine that is capable of keeping you clean wherever you go.
Save time on your laundry
Big washing machines subtly promote bad laundry habits; you pile up your laundry just because you can. Asides the potential health hazards, you tend to spend a lot of time washing when laundry day finally arrives. The Drumi is designed to wash up to 2 kg of laundry in 10 minutes or less. You’ll be saving time on your laundry and having your clothes handy whenever you need them.
Spin dry, then air dry
You can spin dry your clothes using the Drumi but you still have to let mother nature do the rest. Spinning for about 30 seconds drains all the water in the clothes and you can then spread them on your clothing line afterward. Some leg work would be needed for the washing and spinning process and that could be your own form of light exercise.
Practically, the Drumi cannot replace the big washing machines. Its volume is too small for family applications; it cannot handle more than 5 pounds of clothing at once. However, it could reduce your reliance on washing machines and help you save on energy bills. Reports from test runs reveal that the water outlet needs to be improved upon and the manufacturer should consider adding extras for parts such as filters that need to be replaced frequently.
Pricing info
Drumi was successfully crowdfunded in 2015 but there have been hitches in the production stage. The manufacturers assured that production started September 2018 and it is expected that campaign rewards and pre-orders would be delivered soon. The current pre-order price is around $319 and the pre-orders would be delivered in the second quarter of 2019 according to the Yirego website.
Startup
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend to become registered, startups refer to new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential. Some startups become unicorns; that is privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion.
Actions
Startups typically begin by a founder (solo-founder) or co-founders who have a way to solve a problem. The founder of a startup will begin market validation by problem interview, solution interview, and building a minimum viable product (MVP), i.e. a prototype, to develop and validate their business models. The startup process can take a long period of time (by some estimates, three years or longer), and hence sustaining effort is required. Over the long term, sustaining effort is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes. Having a business plan in place outlines what to do and how to plan and achieve an idea in the future. Typically, these plans outline the first 3 to 5 years of your business strategy.
Design principles
Models behind startups presenting as ventures are usually associated with design science. Design science uses design principles considered to be a coherent set of normative ideas and propositions to design and construct the company's backbone. For example, one of the initial design principles is "affordable loss".
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