Scott Keir asks why we haven’t seen a better tumble dryer by now.
I think the tumble dryer is a classic example of the sort of product that shouldn’t be improved but done away with. Not because of its impact on the environment (though that’s bad enough), but because it is the answer to the wrong question.
Instead of asking ‘how can I dry my wet clothes?’ maybe we should ask ‘how can we prevent clothes from getting wet?’ What we really want is clothes you just shake and the dirt and any water falls off, so there’s no need for all this washing and drying business.
I’m reminded of my youthful days back at British Airways when one of my colleagues, Chris Brown, pointed out a similar flaw with an advertising campaign for a shampoo. It said it was so gentle you could use it every day without damaging your hair. Chris pointed out he didn’t want shampoo he could use every day. Washing your hair is a total waste of time. What he wanted was shampoo you used once, then didn’t need to wash your hair again for another year…
I have mixed feelings about synthetic fibres generally, but I have some clothes made from polyester that are not actually wet when removed from the washing machine. Being rather vague about getting washing done sometimes I have put them on straight away and nothing bad has happened.
They are also, incidentally, the clothes that take the most extreme levels of commitment to get dirty in the first place. A quick flick of the wrist or wipe with a cloth seems to be enough to get through another day.
I guess my rambling is saying that perhaps we have found at least partial solutions, but have not incorporated this “fact” into the reasoning we use when buying clothes or into the “routine” of washing-and-wearing.
That’s an excellent idea. I would really like clothes that I never had to iron.
Pah, what is this ‘iron’ of which you speak?
It’s Sydney. Everything is always damp, and hot. Ironing is superfluous.