This Tiny Dishwasher Sits on your Counter and Doesn't Need Plumbing

Heatworks, in collaboration with frog, introduced a small countertop dishwasher that is environmentally friendly and requires no plumbing. 

Unveiled at CES 2018, the Tetra dishwasher can hold 2 full place settings, or about 10 plates. The dishwasher requires the user to pour in a half gallon (or 1.9 litres) of water. A cycle takes only 10 minutes. The appliance is transparent, so you can watch the entire cycle from start to finish.

The Tetra not only seeks to offer small households a convenient dishwashing solution, it is also intended to help significantly reduce water consumption.

“Our research indicates that although the average household is comprised of 2.58 people, the modern dishwasher holds place settings for 13 or more,” said Jerry Callahan, CEO and founder of Heatworks. “This makes people believe that they either need to handwash their few dirty dishes — which wastes 10 times more water than using a dishwasher — or wait for a full load to run a cycle. With Tetra, we hope to change people's mindset.”

According to Heatworks, a household of two people could save 1,500 gallons (5,678 litres) of water a year using a Tetra dishwasher instead of handwashing.

The dishwasher is powered by Heatworks' patented Ohmic Array Technology, which uses graphite electrodes and electronic controls to excite minerals in the water and heat it directly. Traditional appliances use metal heating elements, which rust and corrode over time and are not as efficient in heating water.

The Tetra dishwasher is set to hit the market in October 2018, with a retail price of $300.