Kerala: When household chores began taking away precious hours from her studies and family life, a Kerala schoolgirl decided to look at the problem differently.

Remya, then studying in Class 10, did not have a washing machine at home. She was already spending around four hours a day travelling to school, while also helping her twin sister Soumya with the family laundry.

Her mother had fallen ill, and her father was undergoing cancer treatment. With little time left after school and household responsibilities, washing clothes became yet another challenge.

Then Remya had an unusual thought: if an electric washing machine could turn a drum, could a bicycle do the same?

That simple question eventually led to a pedal-powered washing machine.

An idea born from a bicycle

Remya had observed how a conventional washing machine worked. She understood that the motor’s main job was to rotate the drum.

Without formal engineering training, she began thinking about whether the same movement could be created using a bicycle’s pedals, chain and gears.

She sketched a design that combined a bicycle mechanism with a washing container. Her proposed machine used a horizontal iron-mesh cylinder placed inside an aluminium enclosure.

Clothes would go inside the rotating cylinder, while water would remain in the surrounding compartment. A bicycle-style seat and pedals would provide the power needed to turn the drum.

From a school notebook to a workshop

Turning the drawing into a working machine was not easy.

Remya’s father took her design to a nearby automobile workshop and arranged for mechanics to make the required components when they had spare time. Materials were purchased according to her instructions.

At one point, Remya herself had to explain her proposed design to a mechanic.

The workshop was not a specialised research facility. It was simply a local place where metal could be cut, shaped and assembled. Yet it became the setting where the schoolgirl’s unusual idea took physical form.

Just a few minutes of pedalling

The finished machine combined the appearance of an exercise bicycle with a washing tub.

Clothes were placed inside the wire cylinder, followed by water and washing powder. After soaking for around 10 minutes, the washing began.

Remya would pedal for approximately three to four minutes, causing the cylinder to rotate and move the clothes through the soapy water.

The dirty water could then be drained, fresh water added and the clothes rinsed.

But the machine had another trick.

Once the water was removed, continued pedalling made the drum spin rapidly, helping to remove water from the clothes. According to the account, the clothes could emerge around 80 per cent dry.

The machine therefore did two jobs — washing clothes and providing exercise.

A machine that did not need electricity

The invention was particularly suited to households looking for a low-cost alternative to a conventional washing machine.

According to the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), the machine cost around Rs 2,000 to build and could be moved rather than permanently installed.

It did not require a motor, electrical controls or a power connection. The energy came from the person operating the pedals.

The simple mechanical design also meant it relied on familiar bicycle and workshop technology rather than a complicated electrical system.

The problem that pushed her to invent

Behind the invention was a demanding family situation.

According to the NIF account, Remya travelled to school by changing three buses and spent roughly two hours each way on the journey.

While she was appearing for her Class 10 examinations, her mother became ill. Her father was undergoing cancer treatment at the time.

Remya and her twin sister shared the responsibility of washing clothes manually.

The workload eventually became too much to ignore. Instead of simply accepting it, Remya began looking for a way to reduce the effort involved.

Her solution came from something she already understood: the movement of a bicycle.

Her family was not convinced at first

Remya’s father, a high school Hindi teacher, helped her take the idea from paper to reality. However, he initially had doubts about the invention.

According to NIF, he even suggested that learning to wash clothes by hand might be more useful because she could eventually live in a home without a washing machine.

Her mother was also concerned that Remya was spending too much time on inventions when she should have been concentrating on her studies.

But as the machine began to work, attitudes changed.

Her twin sister supported her experiments, while friends became interested in the project. Some were initially sceptical, but the working machine gradually answered their doubts.

The ‘little scientist’ gains recognition

Remya’s creation eventually attracted attention beyond her home.

The National Innovation Foundation documented the invention and recorded it as a “Washing Cum Exercise Machine”, reflecting its dual purpose.

According to NIF, a patent application was filed in 2003 under application number 643/CHE/2003, dated August 7, 2003.

The schoolgirl became known in her community as the “little scientist”. Her invention was featured through interviews and demonstrations in regional newspapers, including Madhyamam and Malayala Manorama.

Her local church also organised a felicitation ceremony, where the Bishop presented her with a trophy.

Interest in the machine continued to grow, with media organisations showing interest in the invention and an engineer from Delhi offering to help refine the design.

What began as a young girl’s attempt to save time on laundry had turned into an example of how everyday problems can sometimes inspire remarkably simple ideas.