Life as a wine lover can be a bit messy — trust us, we know. One sudden movement can lead to red wine stains all over the couch, carpet, and yes, even that new white shirt. While stain removal can often feel like guesswork, some countries have it all figured out.
We’re referring to the washing machine in Spain that went viral on X (formerly Twitter) for its hyper-specific settings. Writer @JoeBarton posted a photo of the appliance highlighting the unexpected, food-related wash cycles: Rather than “power wash” or “delicates,” this model features modes for wine, tomato, and oil stains.
Though there’s no doubt that this washing machine belongs in the Mediterranean, people across the globe chimed in on X and Reddit, expressing their desire for the easy-to-use machine. (Pesky red wine and tomato sauce stains are universal.) While some comments on the post praised the genius idea, others suggested that U.S. washing machines should follow suit with their own culturally inspired settings. “American washing machines should have settings for ranch dressing and Big Mac grease,” read one comment.
But there is some truth to that statement. A piece from The Wall Street Journal in August 2024 dug deeper into how appliance companies have been tailoring their products to specific communities. GE in particular has been deliberately altering its products so the settings are as relatable as possible to customers — specifically designing each to speak to different cultures.
The article called out several other unexpected washing machine settings, including an appliance in Amsterdam with buttons for chocolate, grass, and sand and a dishwasher from Switzerland with special settings for fondue pots and raclette pans.
For now, the dream of having a washing machine that instinctively knows how to remove wine stains from clothes still lies somewhere in the Mediterranean — it seems the closest the U.S. will get to this special treatment is the “popcorn” button on our microwaves. And while we’re still not entirely sure what the difference is between the wine setting and the tomato sauce setting, we know we’ll be wishing we had a Mediterranean washing machine next time there’s a spill at VinePair HQ.
*Image retrieved from New Africa via stock.adobe.com
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