•  
  •  
 

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

spin cycle, hand powered washing, Peru, washing clothes

College

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology

Department

Chemical Engineering

Abstract

Washing clothes is time consuming and physically difficult for women on the islands of Lake Titicaca. Women fill buckets with water and soap, allow the clothes to soak, rub them together to get the dirt out, and then wring them out. Doing this is physically demanding, especially during the harsh cold of winter. This project develops a human-powered, affordable, and easy to build clothes-washing device that allows women to save time and energy washing clothes. It builds on a similar washing machine project from one year ago, but seeks to reduce the cost of the hand-powered machine from 300 Peruvian Soles (about 120 USD) to between 100 and 200 Soles (40-75 USD) while maintaining the machine’s functionality1. Collaboration with the islanders was a crucial part of the design process. Their frugality and improvisation helped us design a high quality, durable machine that was also cost-effective.

Download

Share

COinS