

Ask HN: Can I save you 15 minutes a week? - kevin_employder

Rather than build another side project for myself - thought I&#x27;d offer to help build something that you might not have the time to do.
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salemh
You may want to add far more details.

There are a few threads by another HN user (I can't recall off the top of my
head, and I can't think of a way to find him), where its "How can I help you?"
Or something syntactically similar.

~~~
kevin_employder
I could list my skills / knowledge base... but I didn't want to limit this
discussion.

I'll shamefully admit that my knowledge of dishwasher appliances is on par
with the rest of us in this thread.

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IgorPartola
You can save me far more. I hate doing dishes and spend hours on them every
week. Yes I have a dishwasher. Build me a rotating power sponge with
interchangeable heads. Seriously, I would so buy this thing.

~~~
j_d_s
Hmm. Mechanical engineer without a dishwasher here. I might take a crack at
this.

What about your dishwasher doesn't work for you?

~~~
IgorPartola
Three things. First, it's too small so it doesn't fit all the dishes from one
day. It also doesn't fit big pots and pans.

Second, it doesn't scrub. Dishwashers spray and swish soapy water, but don't
physically touch the dishes (since they'd break them). The consequence of this
is that you have to pre-rinse everything by hand with a sponge or risk dried
on food residue which is nearly impossible to remove after it's been through
the high temp trying cycle. Oatmeal stuck to a bowl will not come off in the
dishwasher. Neither will steak or ground beef off a frying pan (even a teflon
coated one).

Third, it takes too long. My dishwasher task 90-120 minutes depending on
settings I choose. Now, there are commercial dishwashers that do a load in
30-90 seconds (15 minutes to load/unload). But they cost about $4k used, and I
don't know if they have the problem with having to pre-rinse.

The solution I picture is basically a power drill with a circular sponge on
the end, but smaller and waterproof. Additionally, something like the car wash
mat cleaning machine could be used for flat plates: [http://www.youtoo-
carcare.com/media/images/category/reinigun...](http://www.youtoo-
carcare.com/media/images/category/reinigung.jpeg). An equivalent of a hair
dryer could be used to dry them right away. Or this could be an enclosed rack
with hot air blowers built in. Throw the dishes in there, press a button, 30
seconds later, it's dry.

With tools like these, I could do the hand-wash which is more labor intensive
but much quicker than 90 minutes. I figure I could spend about 15-20 minutes
on dishes and have them put away right away.

~~~
smeyer
I think you could fix many of these problems with a better dish washer. A big
enough dishwasher should fit whatever you like, and while I grew up rinsing
dishes before washing them, my current dishwasher has no problem washing away
caked-on residues and such. I only wash things by hand if I need them quickly
or they're not dishwasher-safe materials.

~~~
IgorPartola
Probably. A commercial dishwasher able to do a load in 90 seconds would
probably do wonders for me. Then I don't even mind it being too small: I can
just reload it and run it again. Problem is, these are expensive and are
energy hogs. A direct dirt removal power sponge type thing would be much more
efficient.

~~~
smeyer
I guess I just don't have the same experience with food removal. I'm the sort
of lazy guy who loads in dishes with days-old food residue caked on, and my
dishwasher has no trouble getting it all of and such, even in the pretty
egregiously residued cases. I agree that a power sponge would still be cool.

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bbcbasic
Hi Kevin, just to clarify... are you offering 15 minutes of your time a week,
or to build something that would save someone 15 minutes of their time?

~~~
kevin_employder
Either - doesn't have to be an App. Could be a service. Or just my time.

Anything that doesn't require my physical presence.

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tectonic
Hey kevin_employder, send me an email. I have some ideas.

~~~
kevin_employder
Sent you an email.

~~~
coppolaemilio
Send me an email as well :)

