Anyone hand wash their clothes?

[i_am2bz]

Looks like a toilet plunger! Bet a person could get the same results by using a toilet plunger...hey! Never thought of that but it just might work...

I do use a toilet plunger. I originally got the idea from a post in this forum, possibly in this thread.

I think I posted about that several pages back. I saw the plunger-thingie in the Emergency Essentials catalog last year, thought, "Hmmm...that thing looks like a plunger...", went to the Dollar General & bought a plunger for $1, & used it with a clean 5 gal bucket. I thought it worked fine, not to mention if used faithfully will build up your arm & shoulder muscles.

 

[ChaneyLakegirl]

I found a commercial salad spinner at a thrift store this week. $10! I told hubby I wanted to wash clothes by hand and use that to spin the water out. He just looked at me like I'm off my rocker (again).

 

[Mattemma]

I did it when I lived in Hungary.It is doable but very hard for the big stuff.Main issue was ringing the water out.One year we got a spin machine.I recall some had agitator machines.Lol,eventually someone put the 2 together to make a washer machine!

 

[Leta]

I have been handwashing more and doing indoor line drying a lot more since the last time I posted in this thread. I am not ready to give up my washer and dryer quite yet, but I have come to the conclusion that the fastest way to do laundry, provided that you have a good method of getting the rinse water out of the clothes, is to hand wash and then put in the dryer. You end up with clean dry laundry in less than half an hour.

I have been using a small salad spinner. If I had an industrial salad spinner or a wringer, I could do larger items this way.

The house that we want to move to in the spring has an electric dryer, which I have sworn to myself that I will never have again. Now I'm having a debate with myself on whether or not I should bother with getting the gas hookup installed or just selling the dryer in favor of line drying, and getting a hair dryer for those rare occasions that we have to have clean, dry clothes in half an hour.

 

[Gypsi]

I've been hanging my clothes dry for years. I use the dryer to fluff and remove cat/dog hair from towels, or to preshrink fabric. If I don't replace my broken washing machine I might be hand-washing - but only the light stuff. My blue jeans need a washer, I get VERY dirty at work or in the garden, or under the house where I'm about to be insulating pipes. For now, daughter's house or laundromat. (I have 3 daughters, I can rotate and visit.)

 

[Steveca]

I already have a washer. Just experimenting with different ways to do things. I'll try just about anything once or twice.

You just have to do a case by case basis. By no means do I expect everyone to try this or go "this far" into things. Just thought I'd see what others experiences had been. So thanks everyone for all of your comments and experiences! And please by all means keep em' coming if ya have em'!

I've been hand washing for almost a year and I just invented this on the past weekend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BuqvJEVNqU I love it, and it was just in time too, had a pile of jeans and towels that I hate washing by hand. I even did a winter coat and heavy fleece pullover in one load, last night. Still waiting for my Gamma Seal Lid though. I just prop up the end of the pail to drain it for a few minutes before filling back up to rinse then wring just once after the final rinse. I actually find hand washing to be faster than machine washing, it just takes a little more work, not necessarily time. I don't even bother wringing out jeans, just hang them up wet and they dry almost as fast as a wrung out cotton knit shirt but I hang them over a bar or pipe so that the draining distance is halved.

 

[moolie]

Interesting idea, I notice that you are using a lid that has gaps in the sides of the seal--a regular lid from Lowes or Home Depot that is closed all the way around the seal will stop your leaking problem, but you'll also need a lid opener because they are very difficult to open. If you've already ordered a Gamma seal you should be all set.

I did a little googling around out of interest in the topic of manual washing machines to see what else is out there and found:

the GiraDora

K593 Vickers

Both look like something the average person could put together, depending on availability of parts. The GiraDora might be easier to engineer and build than something like the Vickers, but I really like the look of the Vickers

 

[Steveca]

For large loads there's a pretty slick idea using a 45 gallon barrel. Drill a hole big enough for a 1" pipe through the top and bottom, cut a hatch in the side for access to inside, build a couple of A frames to rest the 1" pipe on after it is slid through barrel, screw a couple of pieces of pvc pipe or hose inside the barrel for agitators, similar to my bucket and bolt a piece of 1" iron pipe to the top for a handle, rock it back and forth, with laundry and water/soap inside it to wash clothes. Not my idea, saw it on youtube.

 

[sdwolfden]

The house we live in has no hope of ever getting a hook up for a modern washer and dryer because it doesn't have the wiring need for them. This may not be considered as hand washing, but I went to a local antique shop and bought an old wringer washer, electric, for $28. I took it home and took it apart and cleaned it. I regreased all the moving parts and reassembled it. I had to improvise a seal from some door weatherstripping which cost me under $5. From work, I slavaged a plastic 55 gallon drum, cut it in half, fixed up drains and hoses to empty the tubs. These parts cost me less than $15. Long story short, I got a wringer washer, 2 washtubes and cleaner clothes than we have ever getting from the local laudramat for under $50. Since we spent an average of $10 every two weeks on laundry, it took about 3 months to have this set up start saving us money. We hang our clothes out on the line to dry and actually save time since we can do anything we want while they dry rather than watching the clothes going around in a circle for 30 to 45 minutes.

 

[Denim Deb]

OK, I don't think you can post pics yet cuz you're too new of a member (it's a spam blocker thing), but when you can, I wanna see pics!