Samsung's SilverCare Washing Machine
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 01.21.06
Samsung Corporation plans this year to begin selling it's SilverCare Washing Machine, which generates silver ions to disinfect washwater and clothes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided that the machine does not need be registered as an antimicrobial pesticide product under Federal regulations, despite Samsung's intent to sell the product to control microbes by chemical means. Bypassing the opportunity to make puns about silver linings and tarnished images, we'll try to summerize the functions of this new design attribute.
From press materials we learned that: "Samsung has developed and patented a technology, using a 99.9% sterling silver plate located inside the washing machine. Through electrolisation, 400 billion nano-sized silver ions are emitted, directly penetrating into fabrics during the wash and final rinse cycles, creating an amazing anti-bacterial and sterilisation effect on clothes".
'Silver Wash’s sterilisation effect allows you to purify items such as babys’ clothes, extra delicate blouses, shirts or even lingerie that can’t be washed with hot water...The anti-bacterial coating on your clothing inhibits the growth of germs for up to one month...With Silver Nano technology, the silver ions kill the bacteria. Without the bacteria, sweat can’t decompose to emit an unpleasant odour'.
So, is this genuine 'TreeHugger;' or is it just one more useless gimick to help a corporation gain market share? Depends if you do the laundry when your clothing is genuinely dirty or more frequently, out of concern that it may smell. Depends whether you wear deodorant...or not. Depends on whether your tap water is pure or contaminated with microorganisms. Depends on whether owning it convinces you to hang something back in the closet for another wearing rather than tossing it in the hamper. That's lot of "depends-on" behavioral factors to muddy the judgement.
One thing we're certain of is that the mining of silver ore, it's benefaction, and it's smelting to make metallic silver consume significant amounts of energy and water. Adding those into the equation would be the preferred way to make the case, setting human behavior aside: something Samsung seemingly has not not bothered to do.
oh so silver does work! I guess quackwatch will have to go after samsung now.... of course no help from the FDA, then again, even though it works for cows (who can't even pronounce "placebo"), i guess there are reasons to make sure that it's ok for consumer products but NOT IN ANY WAY as a preplacement for pharamceuticlas....
==== author's response follows ====
Thanks for the leads. Comes down to incremental water savings determining the merits. Otherswise the market is limited to obsessive compulsives.
there seems to be a host of other 'sliver ware'. Can't remember the rest. Correct me if I am wrong but isn't sliver a heavy metal and a potential toxin when washed into the environment?
http://omp.gso.uri.edu/doee/policy/heavy1.htm
I think the first alarm bells for me is they kill bacteria.
NOT all bacteria is bad.
when you lose enough beneficial bacteria in your gut u get the runs.
so what happens when all of these sliver ions start to affect the biology of the microbes in the waterways? hmmmm
=== author's reponse folllows ======
Silver has very low intrinsic toxicity in metallic form. (The form used for photography/X-rays is different and more toxic). Inonizing it makes it anti-bacterial only in solution or in contact with moisture: e.g. via hygroscopy. I am far more concerned with the fairly large amounts of endocrine disrupting pharmaceuticals flushed down the toilet and screwing up our watear ways. One scenario of concern would be if every homeowner in a devvelopment had one and the silver ions became concentrated enough to affect the bugs in a low capacty sewerage plant. That would only be a concern however if the ions did not attach to the laundry, which looks like what happens.
Finally, a major company is waking up to the benefits of silver. Years ago when wagons headed west, the pioneers would throw a few silver dollars into their drinking water barrels to keep the water pure. Only after the drug companies saw profits in miracle cure antibiotics was silver abandoned. Silver in very low doses has the ability to kill the superbugs which have grown resistant to man-made antibiotics. Finally, I had a new furnace and humidifier installed and guess what? The filter inside the humidifier has silver embedded to kill bacteria and viruses. Samsung should be commended as a modern day pioneer. I cannot wait to see what other silver devices they'll dream up.
Samsung has cellphones with Silver coating on them.
Air conditioners with silver coating.
And best of all, a whole product line of refrigerators with Silver coating inside them.
They call this technology: "Silver Nano Technology"