An off-grid, flat-packable washing machine

Modern machines vs hand-crank design

• Several commenters say current “smart” washers are overcomplicated, restrictive, and condescending (locked doors, forced cycles, auto-draining that prevents soaking, lid locks, no true manual mode).
• Some express genuine interest in replacing finicky electronic washers with something simple, reliable, and user-controllable, even in developed countries.
• Others argue serving a family with a hand-crank machine would be a “nightmare” and that people are romanticizing hard manual labor.

Laundry practice debates

• Long subthread on whether separating loads (by fabric, soil level, colors) still matters.
  • Some say they’ve stopped separating and see no real difference, citing improved dyes.
  • Others note fabric wear, cleaning quality, and unbalanced loads as reasons to separate.
• Confusion around “eco” and “auto” programs:
  • Some claim “eco” isn’t actually the most efficient in practice; others cite EU rules saying the default program must be most efficient by test definition.
  • Manuals with detailed water/energy tables are more common in Europe than North America.

Design tradeoffs: cranking, rinsing, spin

• Concerns that this washer lacks proper centrifuging, so clothes will be wetter and drying slower.
• Rinsing is unclear from the article; some assume users will manually refill with clean water and/or hand-rinse.
• Multiple people suggest pedals (bike-style) would be ergonomically superior to arm cranking.

Appropriateness for off-grid and Global South

• Some highlight patchy or unreliable electricity: a device that works by hand but can be motorized when power is available is seen as valuable.
• Others point out very cheap, extremely simple electric washers already exist in many poorer countries and may be cheaper and higher capacity.
• Water access is flagged as a bigger constraint than agitation: often it’s easier to carry clothes to water than water to the home, making a bulky machine less practical.
• Cost and local manufacturability are questioned; metalwork can be surprisingly expensive in some regions. Open-sourcing the design is seen as potentially transformative.

“Just use a tub” vs contraption

• A detailed thread argues that time, chemistry, and soaking (e.g., tubs, plungers, ash/alkali detergents) matter more than mechanical cleverness; the device may be overcomplicating a solvable problem.
• Others counter with examples (e.g., cookstoves) where low-tech “improvements” must consider health tradeoffs and real-world living conditions; there’s tension over armchair theorizing vs lived poverty.

Repairability and anti-consumer design

• Commenters praise the metal, repairable construction compared to sealed-drum, glue-welded commercial machines that are deliberately hard to fix.
• Examples are given of lid safety switches and sealed tubs turning cheap component failures into near–full replacement costs.

Market, impact, and “fairer future” framing

• Some note the project’s slow scale-up (hundreds of units over years) and question its real impact relative to the rhetoric (“fairer future”).
• Others think it’s well-intentioned but misdirected: Westerners designing for “far away” problems instead of enabling local solutions or focusing on their own societies.
• A few see niche uses in rich countries (off-grid cabins, campers, preppers) rather than among the very poorest.