You’ve heard of greywater for irrigating gardens, greywater for exterior washing, you’ve perhaps even come across the proposition of re-cycling spent sink water for filling the toilet, thus doubling the punch of the flush. But greywater for washing clothes? That’s a new one so far as I’m aware, and the idea’s genesis is owed to the innovative, beyond-the-box thinking of third year METU (Middle East Technical University) Industrial Design Students Ahmet Burak Aktaş, Salih Berk İlhan, Adem Önalan and Burak Söylemez.

Washit. Designed by Ahmet Burak Aktas, Salih Berk Ilhan, Adem Önalan and Burak Söylemez.

Washit Makes Greywater Very Very Green

The concept, cleverly dubbed “Washit,” is a shower/washing machine combo that reclaims the water used up in the average shower, filters it, and re-directs it into an integrated washing unit.  The cadre of students submitted the prototype as an entry in this year’s Hansgrohe Prize. Held in concert with the annual IF Concept Design Award, the contest “focused on the topic of making the act of showering a more pleasurable and ‘greener’ experience.”

To judge by the luxurious aspect of the lovely silhouette in the Washit rendition, this particular shower is indeed superlatively pleasurable, as it provides the requisite bliss in the bath while simultaneously imparting a good dose of good will towards men.

The concept is inherently green. The free-standing shower unit encompasses not only shower stall and washing machine, but also a dedicated water heater, water tank, pumping system, and filter. Easy-access changeout portals enable users to replace spent filters as needed, thus keeping the greywater clean and facilitating maximum functionality: “developed for public use such as at airports, fitness centers, and festival areas, Washit integrates a shower with the activity of washing clothes, and proposes the reuse of shower water after filtering it to wash clothes in small piles.”

Via DesignBoom.

About the Designers: Students Ahmet Burak Aktaş, Salih Berk İlhan, Adem Önalan and Burak Söylemez are each on the verge of completing their studies in Industrial Design at Middle East Technical University. This institution, “Among the 15 most successful design schools in America and Europe,” received a reddot Design Ranking in 2011. But beyond that, it inspired the quartet of forward-thinking student designers to envision Washit, a combo shower/washing machine unit that conserves resources by re-directing and filtering spent shower water to wash clothes.