Emergency Laundry

[sjj]

Any suggestions for doing laundry with the power out?

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

I have read but have no experience.....Brown water from boiling acorns can be used for detergent as it is tannic acid.

[crashdive123]

Good info. I remember reading a post that Wild Woman wrote about how much work doing laundry off grid really was. Something we probably don't think about too much since the majority of us just stuff it in the washer, add soap and push a button. I believe she said she used a regular plunger for her agitator. Of course there was building the fire and heating the water too. The wringer brings back memories of growing up and visiting my grand parents.

[wildWoman]

I'm green with envy about the wringer....I'm abusing my hands for that.

[Rick]

Visiting your grandparents?! Yeah right. My mom had an electric ringer when I was a kid. You ever get your fingers caught in one those things? All the way to the armpit. There ain't no pullin' out.

[nell67]

Good info. I remember reading a post that Wild Woman wrote about how much work doing laundry off grid really was. Something we probably don't think about too much since the majority of us just stuff it in the washer, add soap and push a button. I believe she said she used a regular plunger for her agitator. Of course there was building the fire and heating the water too. The wringer brings back memories of growing up and visiting my grand parents.
We had one when I was a kid,only thing that could stand up to 11 kids....

[crashdive123]

If you experience a long term power outage they'll stop laughing and be lining up.

[Sourdough]

My mom had an electric ringer when I was a kid.


Electric.....wow the rich people had it made, electric. We had a Hand crank, thingie, with three rollers, and you feed it back through the top roller as it was going through the bottom two rollers. Electric, bet you rich people only had three families on your "Partyline". Just think of the kids going what the hell is a partyline.......?????:)

[crashdive123]

Life WAS simpler when you only had to dial four number to call somebody.

[nell67]

Electric.....wow the rich people had it made, electric. We had a Hand crank, thingie, with three rollers, and you feed it back through the top roller as it was going through the bottom two rollers. Electric, bet you rich people only had three families on your "Partyline". Just think of the kids going what the hell is a partyline.......?????:)
remember partylines,my sister had one when she got married,never could get through to her because of the old ladies sitting on the phone all day,OR they answered,then demanded you get off their phone.

I don't think I would google "partyline" nowadays....

[oldsoldier]

I ordered one of the hand crank washers from beprepared.com supposed to be pretty good I'll let ya know when I get it.

[Rick]

Life WAS simpler when you only had to dial four number to call somebody.

Dial? That didn't come along until the mid 60s. Common battery for us. And yes, Sourdough, we only had three other families on our party line. One long and two shorts if I remember correctly. Been a looooong time.

We were so rich....how rich were you?.....we were so rich dad paid to have the railroad tracks moved so we'd be from the right side of the tracks.

[NCO]

https://www.karkkainen.com/wcsstore/ExtendedSitesCatalogAssetStore/images/catalog/430603/large/100242925.jpg

My transportable washing equipment...

[Rick]

I sure hope you take the pine cones off before using it.:clap:

[Winnie]

Had to giggle at this, took me back to my childhood. I earned my pocket money by turning the handle on the wringer. I think it's a very sensible idea you've posted sjj.

[wildWoman]

wildWomen,

I agonized over the wringer style/cost. Cost more than everything else put together. $200 bucks after shipping. Would I buy it again - absolutely. I got Lehman's best model and I have no experience with their lesser expensive model. I also did a hugh amount of googling trying to find out what is available. Not much compeition on this product. After watching Lehman's for two years - I never once saw it on sale.

I did find a few lesser expensive units $100 - but didn't look as good nor from a retailer I trust like Lehman's. What I did find that was very intresting was the commercial car wash wringers. They are super heavy duty and made to run drying towells through. If a person were only doing underware - that might be the ticket - but they don't have the quick adjustement to go between thin and thick materials. As an example, I have washed my sleeping bags with this system and run them through the wringer.

The Rapid Action Plunger - is the "Cat's Meow" and cheap. It squishes the water up and through special placed holes and it give a much better aggitation than just a normal plunger. They are OLD SCHOOL made and are just galvanized I believe so they will eventually rust if not at least shaken and left to dry.

I would like to thank everyone for not making fun of my laundry endeavors. The folks at work have not been so kind.

Put your sleeping bag through the wringer :ohmy: Does it have any loft left?!

Once I have enough extra cash, I might get a wringer too. But so far there's a string of other things more important that $200.- would buy...

I just use a regular rubber toilet plunger from the Dollar Store, works great and just set me back a couple of bucks. Also I have found that if you leave clothes to soak in cold soapy water for 24 hours, they come out pretty clean with a minimum of sloshing them around. Works best for items with a fairly loose weave like wool and fleece, not much use on dirty jeans.

[Pal334]

Great post. Another reason to be on this forum. Is an elementary thing, but frankly , I never gave it much thought. Thanks again

[NCO]

I sure hope you take the pine cones off before using it.:clap:

Of course not! They do wonders if you are itchy..

[finallyME]

Wow, I was just thinking about this. Thanks for doing some testing for me. :sailor: The other day I saw a commercial for Tide were they drove some big truck around with a bunch of washing machines for people in disaster areas. The service was free. Here is the video I found on the website.
Tide loads of hope (http://www.tide.com/en-US/loads-of-hope/about.jspx)

Well, when I saw the commercial, the first thing I thought was, "It is not THAT hard to wash clothes without electricity". All these people are running around helpless because they can't wash their own dang clothes.

Anyways, before I say something bad, I will just say that I had to wash my clothes by hand in a bucket for at least the first 6 months in Iraq. I am guessing that a washboard makes it easier. :sailor:

[Winnie]

This thread has made me think. A while ago there was a programme on TV called the Victorian Farm, covering the day to day working of said farm and the running of the house. In that a washing "Dolly was used. It looked a small (about 6") 3 legged stool on a handle the "legs" were about 10" long and it was used to agitate the clothes in a bucket.(the bucket is on the floor)

There's a picture of one here
http://pilgrim.ceredigion.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=3195

Might be of use to the handypersons here. It looks pretty straightforward to make.

[Rick]

Unless you live off grid, I'm not certain what the benefits are. The amount of time invested in considerable. Not to mention the wear and tear on yourself. While you are manually washing clothes you could be manually chopping/splitting wood or some other fun activity. Obviously, if you live off grid then the options are limited.

[wildWoman]

All in all, I can tell you that my survival/laundry endeavor was one of the more satisfying things I have done recently done. I had no idea that a few simple tools could produce such a dramatic different in the ease and enjoyment of simply doing laundry. When I put on cloths that have been washed by hand, for whatever reason they smell and feel cleaner and as that T-Shirt goes on there is a personal feeling of accomplishment :)

I don't share the warm feelings about hand-washing laundry but I also find that most things get just as clean as they do in the laundromat.

What kind of soap do you use? I use washing soda, some vinegar and a bar of Sunlight soap.

@Rick: "Obviously, if you live off grid then the options are limited. " So they are in town. Buy washer A or washer B. The options are limited to a point everywhere - just a lot cheaper in the bush :)