I don’t know where to begin with this tale of partners-  starting with the fact that they aren’t really partners.

Ah, yes.  Let’s start when I was about 6 years old.

I think I’ve told you that I come from a completely non-functional family unit.  Where corporal punishment was the norm- even for things done right.  Where universe-splitting arguments were a daily occurrence.

And, when you are little, the one thing you want is a little love and a little peace. Which is when I learned that the Supreme Being makes no promises to us, except to help us try to make the world just a little bit better as we use our energies to accomplish that goal.

After hearing conversations such as this…
Dad:  “What did you do all day?  I come home and still don’t have one pair of clean socks to put on.”

Mom:  “I was busy all day.  You can put a load of wash in yourself.”

And, from there the volume simply increased.

My logical mind determined that if I were to learn how to use the washing machine, I could cut the problems in the household dramatically.  And, maybe remove one of the triggering factors to my being beaten with a belt daily.

So, I did.  Of course, my parents found so many other things to argue about.  All of which were as life-threatening as doing laundry.

Before I turned 14, I applied for and got a job at Arlee Cleaners and Launderers.  Yes, I was still cleaning clothes.  (I also learned marketing, finance, customer service, and human resources.  Thank you I Harry Mazur and Cary Rollner for taking me on.  I remember you often.)

Years later, while developing a water recycling device for the home market, we needed to stop the users from employing conventional toilet and bathroom cleansers.  Since those chemicals would upset the delicate microbial/physiochemical operations of our closed system.  And, since I was a chemical engineer (among other disciplines), no one thought it odd that I was developing a cleanser for our toilets and water systems.  It was a perfect fit- cleaning the fixtures, disinfecting surfaces, and providing a pleasant aroma- without disrupting our treatment cycles.   (The AquaCleanser was also offered to the purchasers of our PortaPotties [sold by Sears, too], holding tanks, ThermaSans, et. al.)

Jump forward a few more years as I conceived of a system to dry clean clothes in the home.  My team (RobStevenson, Sam Crosby, Elisabeth Morefield, Steve Meyers) helped complete the development.    After a great write-up in Inc Magazine and discussions at a bunch of American Association of Small Research Companies (expositions between our membership and the Fortune 500 entities), the product was picked up – and then kept on the shelf to avoid paying us royalties.  (Yes, we learned to write better contracts quickly.)

Jump forward some few decades, about a thousand new product developments (even one or two operating in space) and I burst out laughing reading an article.  It had never dawned on me that NASA didn’t require astronauts to do laundry.  (It just never crossed my mind.)

Nor did I realize that astronauts wore the same clothes over and over again until the stink factor renders their retirement.  The clothes are returned home or ejected into space where they burn up.  (Talk about space junk!)

This sort of system requires space travel to pack a bunch of clothes- using space and weight- that are commodities in short supply for space travel.  (About 6% of the ship’s capacity is devoted to clothing.) Meaning that a trip to Mars (which could take some 1000 days , about 3 y)  could end up using significant real estate just for clean and dirty clothes.

Which led to a most interesting contract between NASA and Proctor and Gamble (hereinafter P&G)  No money will change hands, but NASA will provide guidance (and spend at least $ 100K of its own funds) as P&G develops products to clean clothes in space.  And, NASA promises to test the developed concepts.  (Clearly, the primary goal is to develop a water-less system- because water is bulky and in short supply on rocket ships.  Maybe even use a vacuum-like system to remove dirt and stains.  [Our water recycling system was based upon vacuum toilets- because we used ultra-low flush (1 l) devices and to reduce the treatment cycles.)

It’s obvious P&G hopes to find utility for these products not just in space, but down here on earth.  Choosing low-toxicity cleansers, reducing water demands, etc. to solve earth-bound cleaning issues.

And, NASA is hoping to spruce up space travel with less malodorous attire.

Would you wear the same underwear for a week?