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This is Nathan Housberg’s ROBA Laundry Hamper Invention which is going live on Kickstarter October 1st. After being frustrated using the laundromats as a student at Brown University, he came up with the idea for a laundry hamper that you could zip up and just throw in the washer and it would keep all of your laundry together. You know how it can be in a laundromat sometimes, socks can disappear and things like that. Or they just fall on the dusty floor after you’ve just cleaned them.
Nathan quickly realized he wasn’t the only person getting irritated by all of this, so he came up with a solution and sewed up his first prototypes in his dorm room using his dad’s old sewing machine. He continued to refine it after various tests and the goal was, “I just wanted to pick up a bag and throw the whole thing in the dryer.” So if you’re a tiny houser, apartment dweller, van dweller, sailor, and you happen to use laundromats frequently, you may really like the ROBA… Is this something you think you would like to use?
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He Designed a Laundry Hamper for Laundromats… It Bundles All Of Your Clothes Into A Bag While You Wash And Dry It… Keeping It All in Safe and in Place!
Housberg demonstrates ROBA’s use. Photo credit Connor Corgard.
ROBA Laundry Hamper. Photo credit Connor Corgard.
ROBA Laundry Hamper. Photo credit Connor Corgard.
PR Article From Nathan…
A New Laundry Hamper is Launching on Kickstarter and The Laundromat Will Never be the Same.
Rhode Island – Nathan Housberg designed the ROBA Laundry Hamper in his senior year at Brown University to address the needs of students using shared laundry rooms. Prototypes were so successful that he was inspired to launch a Kickstarter campaign that will launch on October 1st. Kickstarter helps artists, designers, and other creators find the resources and support they need to make their ideas a reality.
Housberg hated dropping his clean clothes on the dirty floor when he transferred them from the washer to the drier. Moreover, he found that he wasn’t alone; other students complained about losing clothing that was left in or eaten by the machines. Students would return to the laundry room only to find their clothes removed and placed on unhygienic surfaces. Most took the inconvenience for granted, but Nathan wanted to find a better way. The laundry hamper that he designed zips shut and holds all one’s clothes through both the washer and the dryer to eliminate most inconveniences of shared laundry spaces. It works in all side loading high-efficiency machines. “I didn’t want to have to waddle with an armful of wet clothes from the washer to the dryer,” said Housberg, “I just wanted to pick up a bag and throw the whole thing in the dryer.”
Housberg sewed his first prototypes in his dorm room with his dad’s old sewing machine. He tested the designs with his own clothes in his dorm laundry room and refined a design that did not compromise cleanliness or drying time. He gave some Brown University students hampers to use and test and they became enthusiastic fans. Praise spread by word of mouth and other students started requesting their own ROBA Laundry Hampers. To learn more visit http://roba.launchrock.com/.
Learn more
ROBA – Launching This Week On Kickstarter – Sign Up To Get Notified | Kickstarter Page (get yours)
Our big thanks to Nathan Housberg for sharing!🙏
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Alex
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I’m sorry, but this is not a hamper. It’s simply a large mesh bag, which you can get anywhere. We’ve been using those things for years. I have one in my laundry that I got many years ago.
I agree with Ann, this is NOTHING new. Heck we have used king size zippered pillow case covers to put dark or light clothes in for washing, so we don’t need a clothes basket when traveling. Makes me smile when some millennial discovered something that isn’t new. Wonder why didn’t Nathan Housberg use Google to see if something like that was already being used.
Beth, yes…well maybe he assumed it didn’t exist because none of the other young people who came into the laundromats never used one either?
There’s a difference between previously used and common use… While mess bags are common, to date no one has succeeded in widely marketing this type of product/use case where you keep the cloths in the bag and just toss the whole thing to be washed and dried without ever taking the cloths out of the bag until they are clean and ready to be ironed and put away.
Mostly you’d see products like this for niche markets like off-grid washing, etc. or something small but nothing mainstream…
People can be overly reliant on technology and not be as open to inventiveness and creative outside the box thinking. But mesh bags aren’t always well made either and many would break down quickly with type of use.
James,
As the creator of the bag, millennial (and someone very familiar with google) I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Thanks James!
I use mesh bags for socks and another for my lingerie. If you don’t layer them neatly inside the bag they will be all bunched up and wrinkled when done (as opposed to ‘stuffing’ them in the bag). I can’t see putting all my clothes in a bag, they’d be very wrinkled and bunched up together inside the bag.
It also affects drying time. Sometimes the inner “bunch” is still damp.
Ho,
A very important question! Also something I tested thoroughly in the design. Although inspired by the small mesh bags for delicates and socks, ROBA goes above and beyond giving room for clothes to circulate and a much looser mesh for airflow. Our testers agree that clothes dry just as well inside the bag! Watch the testimonial videos on Facebook.com/robalaundry
Ilo,
I am very sorry that I misspelled your name there. I was not being careful with my typing, please forgive my mistake.
Nathan