plunger style manual clothes washer

[CrazySister]

A friend had the idea to use a janitorial mop bucket coupled with the plunger. Using the part you squeeze the water out to wring out the clothes. Can use the bucket for other uses. I like the idea but haven't tried it yet. Wringing out a pair of jeans is not for the faint of heart or weak of wrist for sure.

 

[highdesertranger]

another thing I forgot to include in my other post. this is why I use a gamma lid. when traveling I put a load in the bucket, and I replace the lid with a hole in it, with a regular lid. then I just drive my cloths clean, this works especially good on washboard roads or any rough road. you can actually put more cloths in there because you don't need the room for the agitation, I wouldn't fill it to the top but I have done about 3/4 full. the only thing I miss are the libations. highdesertranger

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

If you are driving, libations are a good thing to miss 

-- Spiff

 

[highdesertranger]

you got that right spaceman. highdesertranger

 

[cdiggy]

If I am washing clothes by hand I most certainly am not driving. And I most certainly will be drinking a martini. And by martini I mean Manhattan. Gotta have some type of civilized behavior if I am using 100 year old tech.

 

[waldenbound]

I just built me a 5 gallon bucket/manual plunger washing machine. It works great. Imagine, a washing machine for $25.00.
And the toilet only cost $8!

 

[ttpadilla]

My plunger washing machine is due to arrive Tuesday, and my wringer should be here tomorrow. I'm so excited!!

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

You could check ebay for old wringers too, they might be a little rusty and the rollers cracked, but id imagine you could patch them up and save 100 bucks.

 

[kranky]

Honestly, unless you are near a water source it just isn't worth it washing your clothes by hand. I have a homemade plunger thingy that I haven't used in more than a year and will probably trash out.  
A year ago I wintered in SC. One of the FS campgrounds I was at had water spigots around and I was able to hand wash. 


This past winter I was in the Quartzsite area. Consider that you have to drive to get water, pay for the water, and then drive back to where you are camping. You pay anywhere from .75 to 1.50 to fill a 7 gallon jug, drive 20 or 25 miles round trip to get that water along with wear and tear on your vehicle (those desert roads aren't smooth). Not to mention that you just used a bunch of water to wash clothes so you have to go back to town sooner to refill said water. It [size=x-small]becomes [/size]apparent fast that it just makes sense to stop by a laundromat. Especially if they have showers available!

 

[highdesertranger]

where are you that you are not close to water? I am mostly in the high desert and am always close to water, springs are everywhere even in the desert. I never pay for water not even the frozen version. highdesertranger

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I watched a youtube of a person using a tupperware salad spinner to pretty good effect.

 

[K1ngN0thing]

The salad spinner is a neat idea. I've also seen people use a bucket with holes drilled hanging from a tree, twisting the rope so it unwinds and pushes the water out, though that's not exactly always an option.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I run crazy powerful tornado fans all day long, and it doesnt bother my battery, so how about this? Seems like it will work good if you rig up such a fan instead of theirs (i think its a heated unit).

 

[DannyB1954]

I use a 5 gallon bucket with a tight fitting lid. About every 180 degrees I have a 2x3 that goes down the inside of the bucket. "I screwed them in place from the outside).
Put the clothes in, add soap and water, put the lid on , place the bucket on it's side and roll it on the ground. I rap a rope around the bucket, then by pulling on one end of the rope at a time I can make it roll away and then toward me. The wood on the inside acts like an agitator.
I was thinking about making a device with 4 wheels facing up so that 2 wheels would be on each side of the bucket. I could spin the bucket while it stays in one place. It could be made small enough to fit into the bucket when not in use. Something like a 8" of 2x3 with a wheel screwed near each end far enough apart to support the bucket on it's side, (times two). Lay the wood on the ground wheels up about a foot apart, then lay the bucket on top of them.

 

[DannyB1954]

I have also used a waterproof duffel bag sort of thing and then just tossed it around. They are made for white water rafting to keep things dry.

 

[DannyB1954]

Here is a mixing barrel that would work as a washer.
http://www.amazon.com/Scepter-04239...79&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=small+cement+mixer