Washing clothes by hand?

[Blaundee]

Does anyone here do this, and can you give me some pointers on how to get the clothes clean enough, how not to waste water/soap/etc, not wear out the clothes too much, and how to get enough water out of the clothes? What is the best soap for hand washing?

 

[moolie]

There have been a couple of past threads on this topic that may help, I'm sure others will chime in as well

http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=11245
http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9252

I only hand wash the items that require hand washing, and we don't do laundry as often as most people--we get a lot of use out of our outer clothing (everything but underwear) before washing it, unless it is stinky or dirty. I have done laundry by hand (or foot!) in sinks, buckets, and the bathtub--but prefer not to. For me, it is all about forcing the soapy and rinse water through the clothing, rather than "scrubbing", which is abrasive and wears your clothes out quicker.

Hanging your clothes to dry goes a long way to making clothes last longer for sure, less abrasion from the tumble dryer (dryer lint is the result of abrasion).

 

[Blaundee]

My shirts, socks, and undies get changed daily, but my jeans get washed once a week or so (and they definately need it by the end of the week LOL- I train horses, and between the mucking, feeding, and regular work, nothing stays clean lol) I try to use the clothesline as much as possible, but this spring/summer I was gone most of the day so it was much easier to just throw it in the dryer- plus, I really dislike towels and socks that have been line dried! I'll use them, but def not my preference However, I love sheets and jeans line dried.

 

[Denim Deb]

I normally go a week on jeans as well-unless I get really dirty! In the summer, I normally wear a clean shirt every day. But in the winter, I might wear a shirt 2 or 3 times B4 washing it.

I've gotten used to drying towels on the line. It's very rare for me to use the dryer now.

 

[DollDoctor]

I don't have a washing machine at the moment so sometimes I do undies, socks and shirts by hand if I don't feel like trekking to the laundromat. Hubby was critical of the idea at first - "will they get clean enough?" but once he saw the results he shut up. I don't think washing machines get clothes particularly clean, especially the front loading ones that are all about using less water - you need a certain amount of water to rinse the dirt and the soap out. Although most people wash clothes that aren't really dirty anyway, so it doesn't matter much.
I agree with Moolie - forcing the water through the fabric, not scrubbing, is the key.

 

[Marianne]

Soaking goes a long way, too. If you let things soak for a couple hours, it doesn't take much to get them clean - even true for washing machines. Use the soak cycle (if your washer has one), then the shortest wash cycle. Less electricity used yet cleaner clothes.

 

[Cindlady2]

The few times when I Had to hand wash, and the things I still do.... I use Fell's Naphtha. My dad was a mechanic and we always pretreated his greasy clothes with it. Borax is great help too! Just soaping the dirty areas should put enough soap in the water to clean the rest of the clothes. Yes, forcing water and air through (agitation) works well. We had a plunger with 3/8 in(or so) holes drilled into the cup that was a great little tool. I made a mini version later for what and washing I do now. And rinse, rinse, Rinse!!! If you can't get hold of a ringer but you have a kid (or someone to help) you can twist jeans and sheets by each grabbing an end and twisting. Sheets you would want to fold over once or twice anyway. Sometimes I would just whip 'em in the air to get a little extra out. Also, your hands will thank you if you use rubber gloves!

That's all I got.... good luck!