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Published 31 Jul 2012

We’re finally ready to go…

When I moved into my Victorian terraced house, I did two things. I opened up a couple of chimneys, and went about the place blocking draughts. I soon realised that I had created a massive hole through which all my warm air was being sucked out. While stuffing old clothes in to stop the heat escaping, I couldn’t help but think that there had to be an easier way. I searched for “draught excluders for chimneys” online, but there was nothing that could easily be pushed in and taken out again when the fire was needed. I then searched for “draft stoppers for chimneys”, with similar negative results.

In the meantime, I knew farmers who had barns full of wool they couldn’t give away, and an idea was born….I had heard about the insulation properties of wool, and that it was naturally fire retardant. I tried stuffing handfuls of the stuff up my chimney, but it just fell out. After a bit more pondering, I realised I had to learn how to make felt. Pretty soon I had worked out how to make thick felt discs of wool, and to my great satisfaction, they wedged into the chimney flue just as I had envisaged. The next thing was to think about a handle.

This evolved from a piece of bamboo with a threaded bar wedged in the end to kitchen utensil handles with a threaded bar welded on. I finally had a prototype to show the world!

prototype chimney sheep made of hand made felt and a sawn-off fish slice with threaded bar welded on

I showed it to some helpful people at Lancaster University, who set me on the path of plastic handle with clamp mechanism. This went through several stages of evolution to the design that has finally been tried and tested and found to work.

It all sounds easy, but it has taken 2 ½ years to get from idea to product. But, at last, here it is: the Chimney Sheep™ ready willing and able to save heat from being lost across the nation!

Sally Phillips

Inventor of Chimney Sheep

chimney draught excluder
chimney sheep
draught excluder
draught proofing
draughts
eco-living
energy bills
energy savings
flue blocker
home improvements
insulation
stack effect
PlanetCare Microfibre Filter Starter Kit

PlanetCare Microfibre Filter Starter Kit

44.00 GBP

How does it work?

This ingenious washing machine microfibre filter kit uses cartridges to physically catch and retain the fibres that come loose when you wash your laundry. Each cartridge will last around 15-20 loads of laundry and is easily replaceable in just a couple of minutes.

Fibre retention is based solely on physical retention with the help of clever patent-pending technology.

You can also send the used cartridges back to us and we'll forward them on to PlanetCare. They will ensure that they are reused or recycled.  This ‘closed loop’ system ensures that there is minimum wastage throughout the whole process.

Something to think about:

Doing the laundry can have a huge environmental impact, whether that be using tonnes of energy running the washing machine and tumble drier - or the pollutants that are released from the products you use. Using a microfiber filter is just one way of reducing that impact. Why not make a few more changes - we've tonnes of handy tips in our blog.

 

What's in the box?

You'll get everything you need to fit your PlanetCare washing machine filter with these handy starter kits, meaning you can get it in place and start catching microfibers straight away.

The Mini Starter Kit includes:

  • 1 housing top with a cup, 1 holder, 4 screws, 1 tube (1.5m), 1 silicone lubricant, 1 counter, and 3 filter replacement cartridges.
  •  3 cartridges. These can last up to 60 washes.

The XL Starter Kit includes:

  • 1 housing top with a cup, 1 holder, 4 screws, 1 tube (1.5m), 1 silicone lubricant, 1 counter, and 3 filter replacement cartridges.
  • 13 cartridges. These can last up to 260 washes.

    Note: All the filter cartridges are 100% recycled and refurbished for use again and again via a closed-loop service.

       

      Is it easy to install?

      The microfiber filter is very easy to install. In fact, for most washing machines this process takes less than 10 minutes. The filters are compatible with all types of washing machines.

      There's actually a handy how-to video and a useful installation guide  you can take a peek at if you need a little bit more guidance.

      It’s a good idea to position it high enough above the floor/surface so the cover can be removed to change the filter and position the device so that it is easy to screw the cover back after each filter change.

      Please note: you will need 13 cm on the side of the washing machine and approx. 60 cm in height clearance so that you will be able to easily unscrew the housing and change the filter comfortably.

      The filter must be placed outside the washing machine on the drain hose. It should not be raised above the height of the drain hose exiting the washing machine. The hose length should be held to a minimum. Raising the filter and a long drain hose will both reduce the efficiency of pumping and filtering and should be avoided.

       

      What are the dimensions of the filter housing?

      The filter housing alone, without any attachments, measures the following:

      • height 325 mm, width (hose attachment direction) 122 mm, and depth 130 mm.

       

      Is the microfiber filter easy to use?

      For the first load, just make sure the filter cover is replaced correctly and screwed tight before using the washing machine. Try a short wash and make sure all connections and covers are fixed and watertight.

      It’s also a good idea to hold the top of the device when replacing the filter cover to avoid putting pressure on the bracket fixings when unscrewing the cover.

      After that, you do not need to do anything until the cartridge is full.

      >Easy!

       

      How does the closed-loop system work?

      When your cartridge is full you can send it back to us directly, simply go onto the delivery website Parcel2Go and produce a label to send the cartridges to us, don't forget to include your order details as we'll refund you the postage cost. We then send these off to PlanetCare who disassemble the cartridge and remove the fibres and filtering medium.  This is done in a controlled environment, ensuring that caught fibres do not pollute water or the environment.

       

      What does Planetcare do with the fibres?

      >At the moment PlanetCare is safely storing the used filtered materials. Once they have sufficient quantity, they will reuse/recycle it all. At the moment they are planning to reuse the materials by converting them into insulation mats. But, they're always on the lookout for viable solutions and will choose the best available option to reuse/ recycle the fibres.

      The waste will never be burned or sent to a landfill!

      The remainder of the cartridge is cleaned, and fitted with a new filtering medium ready to be used again.

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