This is another hand-held gadget, an ultrasound cleaner that removes almost any kind of stain from your clothing.

Costing just $30, the Sonic Stain Remover runs on 4 AA batteries or can be used with an AC adapter – but does it really work?

 I know personally that ultrasound is very effective at removing stains from clothes because I had a colleague that developed an ultrasound washing machine for AEG Telefunken.

The ultrasound cleaning effect needs only the minimal amount of water – just enough to transfer the detergent onto your clothing. The detergent molecules do all the cleaning work by mopping up the stains. The problem is removing the spent detergent and usually you have to use a lot of water and agitate the clothes to lift the detergent and get the clothes clean.

With an ultrasound washing machine, the powerful beam of sound waves produces a cavitation effect that rips the detergent off the clothes so they get just as clean as a conventional washing machine but with only a fraction of the water.

When my friend finally finished his project, after many years of hard work, he approached the product- and marketing departments, but it was the marketing department who said “NO WAY!!!” and the project was canned.

Apparently people love to see their washing splashing around in lots of water and wouldn’t trust that this thing worked. That was back in 1988 though; I wonder now that people are becoming more “green” if Erich’s ultrasound machine will make a comeback.

The Sonic Stain Remover, found via the Gadget Blog.