Design for Convenience: A Clothes Washer that Takes a Full Gallon of Soap

I can think of two ways that a washing machine might take a gallon of detergent for one load:

1) An automatic solenoid sticks open.
2) A drunkard keeps pouring more in.

1) can be cured by measuring in the correct amount manually.
2) can be cured by an automatic system, unless (1) intervenes.

3) Stinky Pete might be able to give first-hand experience, complete with splutters/wheezes.

sorry perhaps the title was not very clear..

to clarify.. I hate washing machine that i have to pour soap everytime.. i would rather have a reservoir in the washing machine.. so that it dispenses appropriately

1) That will cost more money.
2) If the soap delivery system gets clogged, your clothes won't get clean. Minor.
3) If the soap delivery system sticks open, it will waste lots of soap. Major.
4) Count your blessings.

Yeah. And I'd like to add this. It works for the old top-loader I've got; it might not work for the newer front-loaders.

5) Once you've poured most of the soap out of the cup, hold the cup under the stream of water flowing into the tub, swirl it around a bit and dump it into the tub too. No waiting for that last bit of soap to drip out.

I agree. We use a liquid soap sitting on the overhead shelf that has a pour spout.

While the idea of an automatic dispensed detergent is nice, the amount of effort to manually dispense soap is nearly nil.

What would be much more useful is a teenager that doesn't clog every toilet in the US after using it.

The problem is so pervasive that I have been forced to invented the Plunger Condom to make my life easier.

Plunger condom? Ick. I don't even want to think about that.

Try toilets made by Crane. I've use Crane units to replace 2 of the 3 toilets (made by Gerber) that the builder installed when the house was built 9 years ago. I keep a plunger next to the remaining Gerber, which I plan to replace later this year.

BTW, you can check the ratings of these things on the Lowes website.

Interesting. I would presume that in the home washer, you have some signals that open up the door to release the soap because it has pre-rinse cycles etc.

if not, given the multitude of features a typical washer has, I have to guess there is a controller there and adding a signal to a peristaltic pump to dispense the right amount shouldn't be difficult.

Here is the business model:

Provide the pumps and an adaptor for a 'soap cartridge'. Folks will buy this gallon cartridge of soap (or pellets as someone suggested) and hook it up to the washer. The washing machine company gets recurring revenues, the customers save on using less soap + my pet peeve...

and adding a signal to a peristaltic pump to dispense the right amount shouldn't be difficult.

I can only assume you haven't looked inside a domestic washing machine then.
Del

Same reason it don't come with a robot to gather up your clothes and sort them before placing them in the washer. Cost!

Rocks down by the river are still less the 700 dollars.

We are all still waiting for that miracle chute in the bed room wall. That dematerializes our clothes. Cleans them, folds or hangs them back in our closets and dresser drawers.

You wrote, "We are all still waiting for that miracle chute in the bed room wall. That dematerializes our clothes. Cleans them, folds or hangs them back in our closets and dresser drawers."

That would be my girlfriend.

While I think she is my miracle, it is not for her laundry duties. ;-)

Vive la lagniappe!

And you got her stuck in the bed room wall?

No, and I don't even have to stuff the clothes in the wall.

I clean the floors she does the laundry. Both of us are happy.

We are all still waiting for that miracle chute in the bed room wall. That dematerializes our clothes. Cleans them, folds or hangs them back in our closets and dresser drawers.

And replace failed zips and fallen buttons.

Nah, it is the missing socks that everyone worries about. ;-)

It should be programmable to set the priorities depending on household requirements.

RS.

So, let me get this right. You want a washer that has a programmable setting for how many socks you loose per load? ;-)

Should be programmable to search for lost socks, buttons, forgotten and washed money in pocket and so on, But again your machine can have top priority for shocks and mine for lost currency,

RS

Well if we are going to dream the miracle device can use all the dirt it removes and make buttons, zippers and missing socks from them.

If it has some dirt left over provide power for the home.

The dirt could be used as potting soil and then the washer could qualify as a green recycling machine.

"...washer could qualify as a green recycling machine"

Along with the companion dryer which saves uses lint to remake the lost socks.

Now that is genius!

Hey I like the rocks down by the river idea.....

Doesn't half of the world still do this method of rock banging the clothes anyhow? Ganges River is one spot that comes to mind, though very heavily polluted! ACCKKKK!!!!!!!!!

Hells bells, our expensive Euro-made (German) front load washer w/ steam cleaning feature has soap and softener dispensers, though it doesn't hold an entire gallon.....just enough for the wash load only.

Ggggggeeeeessssshhhhhhhh, what laziness (OP)!!!

I think it is a great idea, most consumers use too much soap anyway.

Break them down to 2 liter containers and have the machine tumble them to get a weight, douse them to get idea of dirty, and a button for "I got soup on it".

Forget that, I'm still trying to figure out why we need this!!!

washing machine cleanser

good question. why not devolope a solution?

The answer to your problem is:::: Your wife should be doing the laundry while you do more important things like ....... Drink a Beer!

I thought you were an engineer? We don't drink beer! It's called Beer Analysis Studies.

Don't wait for the last drop to fall.. problem solved