Laundry by hand tips?

[Noah]

<P>Has anyone here been doing laundry by hand for a while and have tips to share?<BR><BR>Specifically I'm wondering how to get by with less water... I can't seem to get by&nbsp;with less than&nbsp;6&nbsp;gallons for a small load. 2 for soap, 2 for rinse, 2 for another rinse and/or a little vinegar to avoid the crisp-factor.<BR><BR>It's only a problem when I need to carry it a block or more from the local park or gas station.<BR><BR>Thanks for your ideas.<BR><BR>-Noah</P>

 

[Guest]

The only way I found to use less water hand washing was not to use detergent, or use very minimal. &nbsp;The big water use was getting the detergent off. &nbsp;So, wet, rinse and then hang in the sun. Get that nice sun dried smell/feeling.&nbsp;

 

[tommy helms]

Here is an article from Bob's cheapgreenrvliving.com site...<br><br>http://cheapgreenrvliving.com/Laundry.html

 

[cleanheart]

I make my own laundry soap and there are no suds and very easy for rinsing. I haven't done the hand washing but I believe it would not require a lot of water. I use Borax, Washing Powder and a bit of Fels Napta.

 

[James AKA Lynx]

use sudsy ammonia, no rinse needed. <br><br>James AKA Lynx

 

[wagoneer]

More important IHO is the clothes you choose to wash. " I got tee shirts older than you" my oldest is 21 years old. Yes vee neck to boot. A bucket a brush per pound soap from the local new age store, yes I use it for a lot more than clothing washing. Even brush my teeth .. My wool I hang in the wind and sun air it out good, I like wool hot or cold. Take a took at exofficio products for undergarments Heavy cottons take forever to dry (here on the coast). I do not use underarm deodorants if need be spot wash. And watch what I eat. I am having my coffee now so I,ll be quiet and listen.

 

[James AKA Lynx]

What type of pound soap are you using? Washboard? Brush size?<br><br>I agree that cotton is hard to dry. After dripping is done one could finish drying inside the front window.<br><br>James AKA Lynx

 

[wrcsixeight]

When I used to frequent Baja, I would handwash clothes after a month or so, and one could not be wasteful with the water.<br><br>I had my own detergent with me, but I found that if I used the local clothes washing soaps that the clothes came out cleaner and rinsed out much easier. &nbsp;I assume they were primarily designed for cold water hand washing. &nbsp;I was rather amazed at how clean one could get a pair of jeans with this soap and a brush on a ribbed washboard. &nbsp;No machine washer could ever come close.<br><br>I also liked the scent of the soaps better, and occasionally, up here, on this side of the border, a Mexican will walk by and I'll smell that same soap, though I never noticed it for sale up here, nor remember what it was called.<br><br>I doubt it would work as well in a machine anyway

 

[wagoneer]

since I have been washing clothes by hand for 30+ years. yes agree

 

[Coffee Tim]

A few months ago we got one of those hand washers from Amazon dot com.&nbsp; It is like a toilet plunger but with a big flat blue head on it.&nbsp; The thing works great to really force the water through the clothes in the 5 gallon buckett.&nbsp; Should have got one of these a long time ago.&nbsp; We also got a hand wringer to get the water out before drying.&nbsp; Clothes come out really clean.

 

[FloridaGuy]

Wouldn't it be easier to go to the laundromat every other week and spend $2 to $3 on a coin washer and dryer?&nbsp;

 

[Guest]

ya, but then you'd have to leave your beautiful wilderness spot, and if you've got nothing but time on your hands I personally wouldn't mind doing a little hand work.&nbsp; <br><br>Having a few 5 gal buckets on hand would be extremely useful for water catchment also... if you happen to see a rain coming do a little rain dance and get your tarps out and ready.&nbsp; <br><br>I consider all of that a part of my childlike imaginative play style... I wanna be an Indian princess again... or Laura Ingalls Wilder.

 

[RJCooper]

Borax, the 20 mule team is your friend.

 

[mobilekev]

I use gojoe on any stains before washing. It works really well. Then can use a minimal amount of detergent which saves on rinse water. To agitate I just plunge up and down with my hands trying to force the water through the clothes.
A good way to wring out the water between cycles is to dump it out of the bucket, put another bucket inside it, turn it upside down and stand on it.

Then a little fabric softener in the rinse water and I'm downy fresh and good to go.

Doing laundry this way is a lot less bother (and cheaper) than packing up and going to a laundromat. My wife used to turn the laundry into an all day project and could drop $30 in the machines. It was nuts. I'd rather just do it in the woods. It takes maybe a half hour a week.

Another thing that's helped a lot is to cut down on the size of my wardrobe. I'm down to about a half dozen shirts, 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shorts, and one pair of swimming trunks. I usually wash my camp clothes once a week and my going to town clothes every other week.

A big space saver is to put all the stuff that comes in boxes(like laundry soap,bisquick,etc.) or jars(coffee,protein powder,etc) in ziplock freezer bags. As their volume varies this'll free up a lot of storage space instead of having a lot of half empty containers.

 

[wagoneer]

I use Rainbow liquid soap about 20 dollars per gallon lasts a long long time. Also use Mexican made bar laundry soap and a brush for stubborn stains. Again you are what you eat so easy on the meat...

 

[TxGypsy]

"<span id="post_message_1278859425">A good way to wring out the water between cycles is to dump it out of the bucket, put another bucket inside it, turn it upside down and stand on it."<br><br>I love this tip!&nbsp; I will be trying it on the next laundry day.<br></span>