British inventors design waterless washing machine

A new washing machine invented by researchers in the UK could save billions of litres of water every year.

The Xeros machine, developed at Leeds University, uses just one cup of water per cycle, less than 2 percent of the water used by conventional machines.

Clothes come out of the Xeros almost dry, meaning that energy-intensive tumble dryers are no longer required.

It works by spinning thousands of small reusable plastic chips in with the washing cycle.

These chips, which measure about half a centimetre across, absorb and remove dirt and grime from clothes.

Researchers have found that the chips are as effective as water for removing heavy stains such as coffee and lipstick.

Each washing cycle uses around 20kg of the plastic chips, which can be reused up to 100 times.