I am now in possession of a 5 gallon bucket and a drying rack. I have the wringer I want picked out. My only question mark for doing laundry by hand is the plunger.
On the one hand, Lehmans has a nice plunger (breathing hand washer) that is specifically for doing laundry for $18.95. Not unreasonable. But- do I really need that? Or can I just get a regular old plunger from the hardware store down the street?
I'd love some advice!
I wouldn't think twice about using a regular ordinary standard toilet plunger. Unless you run into problems of some sort, I say keep it as simple and frugal as you can.
I don't have any experience with handwashing using a plunger, but my thoughts related to would be to keep the plunger submerged at all times (while plunging), so it's not cupping air (over and over again) when you lift it out of the bucket/pail.
It's only an idea, but if you find you're fighting with the pressure of the water with an ordinary plunger, you could always drill a few holes through the rubber part of the plunger to help lessen the hydraulic (water-surface/tension) effect.
There was a time a few years back when I did my laundry in the bath tub and hung it dry on racks. I used a CLEAN, BRAND-NEW plunger (you want the type that's not just the shallow cup) to agitate the laundry in the tub, and it worked well.
Tip: place your drying racks IN THE TUB itself so all the massive drips will go down the drain and not all over your floors. The drips would stop by the morning and I could then put the rack in the kitchen so I could take a shower in the morning!
What about a washboard? I think they still sell them in old-fashioned hardware stores, or even antique places, but they seem to do the trick.
Lehman's still sells washboards.
Don't want to come across as though I'm pooh-poohing the washboard idea, but the only negative (I see) to this option/method, is a little added wear and tear on washables, where as the plunger method is more like an extraction method, providing little to no wear.
I recommend a spinner to get out the excess water. I do all my laundry by hand in my hotel suite here in Honduras. I could do the washing as you talk about, but really, with the spinner the drying only takes about 3-4 hours even for jeans. http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Counterto...9850398&sr=8-1 Not an affiliate link, just a search on the site for what I've got. Does require electricity.
When I'm hand washing my clothes, I let them sit a few minutes in the soapy water to soak before sloshing them around, and then again afterwards before rinsing. May or may not do any good, but I feel it does.
Bad spellers of the world, UNTIE!
formerly known as Paula P
One thing to keep in mind related to laundry, specifically dirty laundry, is that most laundry, the kind that people think is soiled and ready for laundering, isn't actually soiled at all, so all that is needed is a quick minute or two of up and down, side to side, and round and round, followed by a thorough rinse.
Another important tidbit to add to this thread, wringing. Care must be taken to ensure washable items are wringer-friendly, particularly hand-wringing, which can ruin certain fabrics/materials. If that be the case, a more gentle approach will be required to press-out/extract wash water.
Thanks for the advice, everyone!
Mrs. M, that's good to know about certain materials and wringing. What materials should I worry about wringing out? I'm just doing it by hand at the moment. And what should I do instead, for those materials?
An industrial salad spinner (which is a five gal bucket) could work to spin out excess water. If you can get one used, all the better!
We use our washing machine's spinner to get out excess water. I'm also using a plunger in the sink, which works well. I have been unable to find an industrial spinner.
So, what do I do?
step 1. plunge clothes in cold water and bit of laundry soap in the laundry sink;
step 2. put clothes into the washer and run on one spin cycle (summer) or two (winter);
or
step 2(a). put clothes in towels and press out extra water (open towel, lay garment flat in towel, fold towel over top, and roll up.
step 3. line or lay flat to dry based on drying instructions.
I'm changing my work schedule again, which means I"ll get back to daily cleaning, as opposed to it all being stuck on thursday mornings right now.
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