Why the Washing Machine? The revolutions of social change

2025-08-27

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Under your worktop there's an icon quietly sitting there, transforming people's lives.Without it, you would be still taking a weekly trip down to your local river, or washhouse, to get your clothes clean.Adding hours of domestic chores to everyone's week.The washing machine is a silent part of the civilised world (apart from when its on a fast spin), but no one talks about them. They are so integral to our modern lives. We wash our clothes in the 21st century without a second thought, but these clever machines that...

Under your worktop there's an icon quietly sitting there, transforming people's lives.

Without it, you would be still taking a weekly trip down to your local river, or washhouse, to get your clothes clean.

Adding hours of domestic chores to everyone's week.

The washing machine is a silent part of the civilised world (apart from when its on a fast spin), but no one talks about them. They are so integral to our modern lives. We wash our clothes in the 21st century without a second thought, but these clever machines that sit so humbly in our kitchens and utility rooms, have revolutionised our lives over the last 100 years.

Today's design can trace it's roots right back to the 1750s, in fact a lot of the design elements can still be seen in the latest machines.

Host, Ben Diamant; a Creative Innovator and inventor of consumer goods, finds out:

How the first washing machines took over from washing clothes in rivers
The first designs were simple but very effective
Why the idea was so innovative, it spread quickly across the globe
That their features are still visible in washing machines today
Why the washing machine has never had its "big bang" moment
And how the future is focused on sustainability

Ben is, as always, joined by design expert Phil Staunton, founder of D2M, to pick over the wonder of washing machine's design.

This episode's guest, looking at the future of automated clothes washing, is Laura Tuck, R&D Lead at The Washing Machine Project - who provide accessible washing machine solutions for communities without electricity.

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LINKS

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tuck-meng/

https://www.thewashingmachineproject.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bendiamant/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/philstaunton/

https://www.design2market.co.uk/

Concept and Podcast production by: https://www.gingerwizard.co.uk/

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