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pizzadude
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2015 22:36
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I'm new here, maybe this has been discussed a few times.. forgive me for not checking first
I'm curious how you all take care of your laundries without running water.
Old fashioned washboard maybe?
I personally do not look forward to using a washboard, but realize it could be a possibility.
I hate laundry mats too.. but they are an option as well.
Tossed around the idea of a ventless washer/dryer. I'm just learning about these tho.
Does anyone have experience with one of these machines? I'd love to hear your stories
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 13 Mar 2015 23:08 - Edited by: MtnDon
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For our part time we we just take it home.
If we were full time in the boonies we would just have an energy efficient (electric and water) washer. No dryer or maybe a propane fueled dryer.
Noway we'd use a washboard and tub approach. No need to unless one has an extremely low budget and lots of time.
I know a couple people using a Haier one piece washer/dryer and they are happy. One runs a generator to do laundry and the other has a large enough PV system they can do laundry as an opportunity load when the sun shines brightly.
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 14 Mar 2015 01:27
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i am gonna use a five gallon bucket and a plunger.sit down and do an up and down plunging motion for two minutes.then use my wash board where needed.rinse up and down for a minute and then hang out in the meadow.should be fine.
i am gonna sit in a chair while i plunge up and down on the dirty clothes.this is once we move out there.
which is in two months.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 14 Mar 2015 01:34
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We take it home. If we were up there all summer than I would try to get my Grandma's old wringer washer working.
A modern washer is not going to work if it does not have enough water pressure. I also would not want to use a modern washer because there is no way one can get all the water out of it to winterize it properly.
New winger washers can be purchased at Lehmans. They are quite expensive.
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creeky
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# Posted: 14 Mar 2015 09:41
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I've been using a little Haier HLP23E. there's a review on it somewhere here. for 3 years now. it's top loading so you don't need much water pressure. it fills and then goes. no worries. and it drains itself. so no problems winterizing.
in the summer I use rain water. wow. that makes for soft clothes. i use vinegar for rinse aid/freshness. and i sun dry the clothes.
in the winter it's more problematic as it does use a lot of water. a large load is close to 40 gallons between wash and two rinses.
still. did an extra small load of thermal long underwear yesterday and dried it all in front of the wood stove. sure beat driving into town.
i run it off my solar system. the power it uses is actually pretty small. i should test it. hmmm, I might have. should check my review. plus it's neat to watch the lights flash on the inverter as it cycles.
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creeky
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# Posted: 14 Mar 2015 09:43
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I should add I know it doesn't require winterizing as it's frozen up inside the washroom many times. and the first winter it was stored outside under a tarp. no precautions taken.
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SandyR
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# Posted: 14 Mar 2015 11:34
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Cabingal that's the way that I would do it too. I would scrub anywhere on the clothes that needed it with fels naptha and let it sit for awhile. Add water and plunge with a toilet plunger. Rinse and hang.
We go back and forth though from the cabin as it is only an hour away. I bring my dirty laundry home.
I have clothes hanging right now at home off my beams in front of the fire drying. I scrubbed those before I washed them. The only difference in the way I live between my places is that we haven't any electricity at the cabin for a washing machine.
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2015 02:20
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SandyR.u know exactly what i was thinking.that fels naptha soap is exactly what i will use.
once winter happens.we will have a untility shed up with a better set up.
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ChuckDynasty
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2015 09:53 - Edited by: ChuckDynasty
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This works well for me. Simple, easy and inexpensive to get you started. I can wash a good amount of small items at a time. I followed soap recipe from online but I used Zote soap in this batch. Small amount of detergent used and it's low suds for easy rinsing. All fits in the 5 gallon wash bucket and stored w/lid. I put the hole in lid on side of top for storage purposes but you can put in center and keep lid on as you plunge to avoid splash but I haven't found splash to be a problem. I let it all soak for a hour or more before plunging.
My wash kit
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Soap recipe I used
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self contained
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Stored
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2015 10:35 - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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To those using the bucket method. How do you wring the water out of your clothing,so it does not take days to dry?
I have my Grandma's Maytag wringer washer and her wash tub. When I dig it out of my garage I'll post a photo of it.
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2015 13:33
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i am not wringing mine out.i am gonna wash them.lift them out and lay them on the meadows tall grass in the hot sun.
i would love to see your grannys wringer washer.
u can purchase those wringers for mops that janitors use.
a person could purchase the mop bucket and wringer and just wash their clothes in the mop bucket and use the wringer.
i even thought of washing myself and clothes on at the same time.lol
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Malamute
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2015 13:41
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I've just hand wrung the few things I've hand washed.
Youtube has many ideas to simplify hand washing.
I just take my stuff to the laundromat in town. Throw in washer, go do errands, come back half hr later, throw in dryer on ROAST setting, go do more errands, fold, go on about the rest of the town stuff.
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2015 14:25
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what i want to do is put dirty clothes in a garbage can in back of my pickup.run the water into the plastic garbage can.add soap and put lid on and strap the can to the truck bed and head to town .let it agitate itself as we drive 60 miles to town.then when we get back.toss all the clothes out and pour water out of garbage can and rinse clothes and tos on meadow to dry in the sun.
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Malamute
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2015 15:23 - Edited by: Malamute
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Have heard of making ribs or paddles in 5 gal buckets and rolling them around on their sides with the clothes, water and soap sealed inside with the lid. Several in the back of the truck, free to roll around as you drive may work.
The large trash can may work if you can agitate it some.
All in all, washing machines are pretty awesome inventions.
If I didnt have grid power, I'd make a list of things needing power and run them all together on the generator for an hour or so once a week or whatever.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2015 22:51 - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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Yes,washing machines are a amazing invention. I remember how worn out my Grandmas hands were from doing laundry by hand for the years before she could afford a machine to do the work for her.
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pizzadude
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# Posted: 14 Apr 2015 20:27 - Edited by: pizzadude
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Quoting: cabingal3 i am gonna use a five gallon bucket and a plunger.sit down and do an up and down plunging motion for two minutes.then use my wash board where needed.rinse up and down for a minute and then hang out in the meadow.should be fine. i am gonna sit in a chair while i plunge up and down on the dirty clothes.this is once we move out there. which is in two months.
Cabingal3. I made the commitment to go this route too. Went to Wal-Fart, picked up three new 5gal buckets and one lid for $10.27. Drill out the lid to accommodate my plunger handle. One bucket for washing.
I'll take the other bucket and drill out the bottom third of it with 1" diameter holes(on the bottom as well). Once I'm finished with the wash cycle, I'll ring the clothes out by hand, being careful not to over exert myself, and place the newly washed clothes into the pre-drilled bucket, which sits nicely inside the remaining 3rd bucket. From there I can perform the rinse cycle.
Once the final rinse is complete(not sure yet how many times it will take to remove all the soap from the clothes), I will remove the pre-drilled bucket containing the clothes, dump the rinse water from the other bucket, and now I can place that bucket inside the pre-drilled bucket containing the wet clothes, pressing down to remove as much water from the clothes as possible.
I was lucky enough to find an older 120v portable dryer in our local want ads. Gave $75 for it and took it to the cabin. I believe my days of worrying about off grid laundry are officially over
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 15 Apr 2015 01:59
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