Pimientito -> Mens Washing Machines (May 16 2010 10:30:36)
|
Every now and again I go on a crusade to make the world a better place and write letters to factories, newspapers or phone companies etc....usually complaining about the insane level of beaurocracy involved with peforming a simple task. This time I wrote a letter to the engineers at Bosch to see if they can come up with a mans washing machine. I wonder if they will get the humour[&:][&:] "Dear Bosch I am a single man living in my own home and like many men in my position, have to to put up with the tedious task of washing my own clothes now and again. It occurs to me that as technology improves the washing machines of today get more complicated to use. We are marketed machines that use less energy, less water, don’t leak, and wash difficult or unusual fabrics and many other features that really are not that interesting. Now there is a panel of dials and buttons for every kind of wash and fabric. Cool washes, delicate washes, pre washes, no spin programs, pre spin…. I honestly have no idea what they are all for. I mean I’m sure they all have their uses its just that washing is not very interesting is it? In the all the 20 years or so I have used my washing machine I have only ever used 2 programs Program 1 – Whites Program 5 – Colors Why cant there be washing machines made for men? Single men like me looking to buy a machine don’t need all that choice. We don’t wash lace, silk, chiffon or hand printed Indian table cloths and we know when to take our suits to the dry cleaners. If I were looking to buy a new machine tomorrow I would go for a machine made by a manly name that I have heard of like “Bosch” or “Black and decker” or “Smith and western”. This mans machine would have preferably only 3 buttons, the first that said “WASH WHITES” This would be a serious hot wash with pre wash to get rid of all those unidentifiable stains on the 4 week old bed sheets. The second one that said “WASH COLORS” a cooler program for shirts, socks and jeans and yet another that said “STOP” in case you forgot to add powder etc. I would conceed that it might also be useful to have a “WASH JERSEYS” button to initiate a cool wash for everything made of wool or similar fabrics. Secondly the array of washing powders, capsules, fresheners, softeners all heavily advertised on TV, all different strengths and concentrations is really infuriating. What makes matters worse is the loading tray doesn’t match any of the products. Where do you put in the softener? Why are capsules put in the same tray as powders? Here is an idea….An all in one powder for whites or colours with a built in softener and freshener that comes in capsules that fit neatly into 2 or 3 slots in the loading tray. You could work with a soap company and come up with a product for men which were standard for every machine….wow, wouldn’t that make life easier! Here would be the routine. Put bed sheets and white shirts in the machine and close door. Press “WHITE WASH”. Load tray ejects like a CD player. Machine tells you to put 3 capsules in tray. Tray closes, sensor detects capsules are in place and wash commences. This also means you no longer need a “STOP” button. Same thing occurs with “COLORED WASH” except now the machine asks you for 2 capsules. It would also avoid having left over capsule gunk in the loading tray designed for powder. If the machine were really clever it would be able to detect when you accidently put a red sock in with the whites which would light up the “BOZO” icon on the front of the machine. The other really infuriating thing is that having got the clothes in the machine it gives us time to practise the guitar, play golf, chase women and generally forget about the washing. This is rather anoying when the next time you go to use the machine…its full of clothes that smell worse than before you put them in. A mans washing machine should have an alarm on it that signals when the washing is finished. In fact I would actually have the machine send an SMS text to my mobile phone to tell me that the clothes are ready to remove. This way I can be out and about or in another part of the house and be reminded of the washing during any of my infinately more interesting activities. I washer drier would also immediately start drying the clothes after the wash cycle is complete without the need to start the cycle. I mean it’s pretty obvious that I want the clothes dry if I have them in the machine isnt it. At the end of this program there is no need for an alarm or SMS as I can pick up my clean, fluffy, nice smelling dry shirts straight out of the machine before rushing to be late for my next appointment. So guys at Bosch, I use power tools made by you because they are tough and do what they are supposed to. Get you heads together and come up with a washing machine for single men that even my 72 year old father can use. I shall expect a free one if my idea proves marketable. Yours sincerely"
|
|
|
|