Now you needn’t be plagued by your bai’s complaints that there’s no water to wash your clothes. A new environmentally friendly washing machine — that uses only one cup of water and leaves clothes virtually dry — is set to go on sale next year.

The technology, developed at the University of Leeds, aims to save up to 90 per cent of water used by conventional machines and use 30 per cent less energy. The machine works by replacing most of the water with thousands of tiny, reusable nylon polymer beads, which attract and absorb dirt under humid conditions.

Only a small amount of water and detergent is needed to dampen the clothes, loosen stains and create the water vapour that allows the beads to work. After the cycle is finished, the beads fall through a mesh in the machine’s drum and can be re-used up to a hundred times.

Xeros, the company behind the technology, is aiming initially at the commercial washing market, including hotels and dry cleaners.

Sounds very enticing for the harried Indian housewife who is always being lured by ads selling soap and detergent. What next, I wonder. A flush in your toilet which doesn’t need water, I bet!