Washing machines

[LERCA]

Anyone tried those little portable washing machines? Any good? I hate washing by hand and I’m not strong enough to properly wring out my clothes. Plus I waste a lot of water handwashing- hard water.
 I don’t have enough clothes to go to a laundromat which I do anyway but I’d buy one of those little washers if they’re any good.

 

[nature lover]

Bob did a video on that little washer and spin dryer years ago it wasn’t expensive and it seemed to work for the guy that had it. I wish they would catalog by subject Bob‘s videos so that you could go and locate them easier. Me I have two weeks worth of clothes I wear them till they’re almost completely gone and then to the laundromat. The last time I went to the laundromat a wore pajama pants so I could wash all my regulars. God bless the nomads and keep us clean.

 

[MrNoodly]

My thinking is that the machine, or a five gallon bucket and plunger, and the water to wash and rinse with take up room I don't have. And needing to be where I can string a line to dry things is inconvenient. I go to town for supplies anyway, so I go to a laundromat then.

 

[jimindenver]

I have one of the larger wash/spin machines. It works very well. Better in fact than most of the commercial laundry mats I have used. The biggest reason is the water to clothing ratio and being able to have as long of a cycle or number of cycles as I wish. The desert is rough on clothing and the amount of dirt embedded in even what does not look that dirty is amazing.

Now for the downside.

Each load that I do is limited in the amount of clothing I can put in the machine. 5 of my extra large T-shirts is a load. Put too much in and it disrupts the agitating action.

Each cycle takes around 5 gallons of water. So a single wash and double rinse cycle is 15 gallons of both fresh water and dirty water into my waste tank. Because of this I will only use it while in a RV park with hook ups or in the LTVA where I have fresh water and a dump station available.

It is time consuming. The spin side is separate, so everything has to come out of the wash side and moved to the spinner, then back again to rinse, back again to spin and so on. So what can take me a few hours at commercial laundry using multiple washers and dryers can take days in a spin washer.

The spinner can remove most of the water but it still comes out wrinkly damp and needs to be hung. It also does not remove lint

So if you have lots of water, the ability to get rid of the dirty water and lots of free time, it might be for you.

 

[LERCA]

Doesn’t sound great but I don’t dry my clothes. Wears them out and shrinks them (I wear mostly cotton or mostly cotton mix) I always hang dry. I separate by colors light and dark and that gets expensive in the laundromat. I would need more clothes and then more storage. I really struggled in my car I’m wondering if an RV would be much different. LOL I always have these small insurmountable problems. I’m thinking if I were to get a class b and go long term.

 

[RVTravel]

Nature Lover, I sorta tried a semi-catalog but it needs more.
https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=41007

Washing machine video of Bob's

 

[jimindenver]

Did you say car?

I think the greatest hurdles would be size of the machine, powering it and what to do with the waste water. Dumping it on the ground is not a option.

 

[desert_sailing]

Dumping it on the ground is not a option.

Why not? I understand not every location would be "socially" suitable but people dump "waste" water everywhere all the time. People spit, poop and piss on the ground on the regular.

Would this fall into my preferences ARE policy?

ONLY a judge can tell a person what can and can NOT be done regardless of what any person or legislator may say.. forest ranger, politician, or fellow nomad.
ONLY a member of the executive can enforce what a judge says. A judge can make any ruling he likes.. doesn't mean it will be enforced.
Here in Lewiston Idaho the city council decided that their preference was to make the speed limit 20mph going through downtown. They changed the signage and started handing out tickets. However in Idaho changes to speed limits are NOT allowed by cities and must be adjusted in and with the approval of the State in Boise. Lewiston just settled and had to purge DMV records and refund imposed fines.

Just because someone says it is a policy or law doesn't make it so. ONLY the court can determine the validity of any policy/law. There are hordes of individuals and city governments that tell others they can't sleep in a public space if homeless... but those were all LIES and merely preferences being enforced as policy/law. The 9th circuit court ruled that homeless people can indeed sleep on public property provided there is no shelter for them.  Martin vs Boise.

Whether a person wishes to challenge a "policy" is a often a matter of finances and time. Most people waddle with the herd and acquiesce to the whims of others that they perceive to be authority.

Ill dump my water where I want until a judge tells me to stop.

 

[bullfrog]

Care to share your lawyer’s name and rates? Lol!!!

 

[desert_sailing]

Care to share your lawyer’s name and rates? Lol!!!

Its all about time and money when it comes to the law or POLICY. This clearly shows how much reform is badly needed in the American judicial system. Those with time  and money don't have to follow the herd.

People need to follow their own path and choose what battles they engage in.

Don't confuse my previous post as a do what I want as I want where I want. I do follow just laws AND am socially considerate. I expect others to be as well but I don't make my preferences policy and every person must decide their OWN path.

In Wa. State we passed new gun laws... and yet there are many sheriffs that refuse to follow that law.... is my  dumping of 10 gallons of clothes water worse???!!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...te-county-sheriffs-refuse-to-enforce-gun-laws

Just look at the brouhahaha over the wearing of masks... and a few gallons of water is an issue???

Not everything needs an expensive lawyer. FREE resources abound for litigation. Often just making a filing is sufficient to make change... ask the city of Lewiston regarding  their arbitrary policy of 20mph.

I have filed suit on several people... with out paying expensive lawyer fees. Its amazing how quickly people change their tune when served.

Ever challenge a traffic ticket???

Just a quick reminder.. my post was in regards to the extremely vague statement of "Dumping it on the ground is not a option."

 

[MrNoodly]

...So what can take me a few hours at  commercial laundry using multiple washers and dryers...

Man, you must have a mountain of laundry. I can do about 30 pounds and be in and out in less than 90 minutes. And that includes the extra rinse and folding.

 

[Sofisintown]

Whether a person wishes to challenge a "policy" is a often a matter of finances and time. Most people waddle with the herd and acquiesce to the whims of others that they perceive to be authority.

Ill dump my water where I want until a judge tells me to stop.

You have to read this article from 2019, where the city of Los Angeles made it into law that homeless people can not sleep in a vehicle at night. For years it was city council 'policy' before it became law.

In the mean time, the homeless people who don't even own a car, have pitched their tents all over the city, and the hell with ordinances, laws and policies. Go give them tickets, see if they care. They are too numerous to be dealt with shaking the finger at them, arresting, fining, or anything else. So much for the nimby's preferences. I believe they pour a lot more than their laundry water in the streets.
https://laist.com/2019/08/01/los_angeles_homeless_sleeping_car_rv.php

 

[MrNoodly]

Doesn’t sound great but I don’t dry my clothes. Wears them out and shrinks them (I wear mostly cotton or mostly cotton mix) I always hang dry. I separate by colors light and dark and that gets expensive in the laundromat.

I always use dryers and most of my clothing is cotton. I choose sizes with a little shrinkage in mind. I have clothes that are ten years old and haven't worn out. Also, my clothes, bedding and towels are pretty much all mid tones or black, so there's no need to separate colors. I have a few light things, but nothing has bled on them so far. Fabric dyes have gotten very colorfast. Meanwhile, ultraviolet light (sunshine) can fade and weaken fabrics.

 

[Sofisintown]

Washing machine video of Bob's

I do have this little washer/spinner at my house and I use it to wash for the past 4 years. I dry them on a clothesline.
I bought it when I was too broke to get the regular washer-dryer, ($110) but it works so well, that I later decided to forego getting the big machines.
The problem is still the amount of water it uses to clean the clothes. I don't think I can carry that much water in the van, so I see laundromats in my future. It is also a bulky item to fit in the limited real estate of a van.

 

[desert_sailing]

You have to read this article from 2019, where the city of Los Angeles made it into law that homeless people can not sleep in a vehicle at night. For years it was city council 'policy' before it became law.

In the mean time, the homeless people who don't even own a car, have  pitched their tents all over the city, and the hell with ordinances, laws and policies. Go give them tickets, see if they care. They are too numerous to be dealt with shaking the finger at them, arresting, fining, or anything else. So much for the nimby's preferences. I believe they pour a lot more than their laundry water in the streets.
https://laist.com/2019/08/01/los_angeles_homeless_sleeping_car_rv.php

Agreed and even fewer have the capacity to challenge any law or policy..
In Martin vs Boise the 9th circuit ruled that
"that unless there is enough shelter space for the homeless population of a city such as Seattle or San Francisco, city officials can’t enforce anti-vagrancy laws or prohibitions against camping in public parks or sidewalks. The court can’t force cities to build adequate shelter space or homeless housing, but it can make it unconstitutional for them to criminalize homelessness until that burden has been met."

Of course the 9th only has limited jurisdiction and I am glad I live within it. What is legal in the 9th district doesnt make it legal in the 5th.

I think since the age of 3  when someone told me that I can NOT do something I was wanting to know on what authority. I have probably uttered "who says?!" more than any other 2 words in my life.

 

[desert_sailing]

I have wondered how the logistics of washing clothes would work for the van. I am wondering if the plunger and a 5 gal bucket is sufficient.

I am learning exactly how valuable water is in a nomadic situation. Hopefully I can find spots near a nice clean stream.

When I had no regular access to a washer/dryer I would drop my clothes off for wash and fold service. I checked a couple places around here and the current rate is about 2 bux a pound. I think that is a pretty good rate.. considering I don't have to supply detergent and time. It is soo nice to pick up the laundry and it is all nicely folded and smelling fresh. I will probably use a service more often than not while cruising around. Or my buckets if someone decides to let me dump the grey.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Nomads need cheap, disposable clothing.

 

[bagabum]

LERCA... FYI....on a youtubers boon docking channel, this couple place's there clothes in one of those kayaking dry sacks, put some soap in it with 2 or 3 gallons of water. They did this when they were going to be on the road, they let the vehicle movement agitate the clothes . They now rinse  in a bucket , hang out to dry and watered the cactus with the dirt water.   They stated that it works pretty darn good,  I don't know, just sharing.  Also not sure of the amount of "pain in the ass" factor this technique has. This doesn't answer your question but kind of looked like you we're looking for options on going to the L mat.  Good luc
k.

 

[MrNoodly]

Nomads need cheap, disposable clothing.

Or nudity.

 

[desert_sailing]

Or nudity.

and all I can think about is the slingshot thread