Washing machines to tackle country-specific stains make sense

A “curry” button on washing machines by a Japanese brand destined to be sold only in India — doubtless inspired by the pernicious pervasiveness of stains caused by our love of slurping the stuff — is a brilliant idea.

Indeed, the company’s plans for their washing machines to target country-specific stain issues must be commended. There is no denying that the marks left by oil, masala, chilli powder and turmeric-laden typical Indian gravies are more resistant than their counterparts, say, in Europe or even Japan.

So more muscular machines for such strong Indian stains make sense. Additional options for other common, possibly subcontinent-specific, spattering and smudging agents including hair oil is prescient too. The fact that the company minutely analysed the varied strengths of each staining component in splotches of different curries to properly calibrate their products’ machinations shows that it is truly interested in saving harried Indian householders those precious minutes of pre-wash scrubbing.

However, it must be remembered that consumer durables are often put to unconventional uses in India. Stories of washing machines, in particular, being used as churns for making lassi and butter are not merely rural legends. So the presence of a button proclaiming “curry” or “oil” could inspire some other surprisingly innovative uses for the extra vigorous motions of those cycles.