Comments on: DIY washing machine and homemade laundry soap

By: Littleone

Littleone — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:54:20 +0000

This is a great thred thanks to everyone….
I am going to try the OTG washing machine I am currently washing by hand in the double sink and wringing out by hand (got the blisters to boot) :( I am going to rig up a ringer from an old washing machine somehow attach a crank to it so as to spin it by hand! Should work! If anyone has any more ideas about how I could do this I invite them :) I have been making my own bar soap for years and absolutely love it.

By: Ivlia Vespasia

Ivlia Vespasia — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:57:26 +0000

Am going to try this as soon as I can get the bucket to use. I use a small electric one at the moment, fill by hand to wash, drain and refil to rinse, no spin, just an electric agitator. Hand wring. Cleans very well, better than an automatic. Sheets are the only problem due to size. I use ecover detergent as it is environmentally friendly and not too expensive to use. It’s also better than most other commercial products. Will look for a larger bucket big enough to take sheets and blankets and try, cheap and easy to use and can be done sitting down (useful for the disabled like me). Can’t wait.

By: johnsuri

johnsuri — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:26:06 +0000

drying is always a problem with handwashing–some people use commercial salad spinners to address the problem.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:15:24 +0000

Very interesting post. I never thought about trying to do laundry without my washing machine. My friend and I started a laundry service from our homes a few years ago. We started looking for ways to save money and came across a simple trick. Tennis balls. If you toss a few into the dryer it cuts down drying time by about 25% while fluffing bulky items at the same time. I know we aren’t off the grid but since we have such a large amount line drying isn’t an option. Just thought I’d share my old school dryer ball tip ;)
http://www.laundrycare.biz/cleveland-ohio-laundry-service/

By: Wretha

Wretha — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:28:19 +0000

Sounds pretty ingenious Jodeum, there are lots of great ideas out there for washing clothes, I prefer doing things in a simple fashion, that works good for me, I also like to touch and check each article of clothing to make sure it’s getting clean enough. :) I do use a larger container for washing now, the 5 gallon bucket just isn’t large enough to do more than a few things at once.

Wretha

By: Jodeum

Jodeum — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 22:58:36 +0000

Okay, a similar but massive upgrade if you’re interested. My brother also started out with a 5 gallon bucket just to see if he could do it. While we were building that we got to talking about how our grandpa had two big square aluminum tubs on a single metal stand with drains in them for laundry in one of his farm buildings.

We decided to build that, but we improved on it. Two tubs on feet but with a vertical board coming up between the two tubs. Then at the top of that bar we attached a long wood horizontal bar centered on the vertical one and is pivotable at that connection. Then on that horizontal bar out a couple feet in either direction from the center we attached another vertical bar that goes down to the center of each tub (each of those also can pivot). We attached plungers at the bottom of each of those bars. The we made it all splash proof by putting a cover over the tubs hinged close to where the bars go down in the tubs. This way we can load and unload clothes without taking the entire cover off.

Basically think of the old railroad hand cars you see in westerns, the ones where two people can pump the handle on either side up and down to move the cart. This way two loads can be done at the same time, so hots and colds or two of the same if there’s a lot.

Makes for a very nice hand powered washing machine.

By: Audrey Rogers

Audrey Rogers — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 07:53:47 +0000

After I microwave the Ivory soap, I clean the microwave by zapping a lemon, lime or orange cut in halves for one minute. That softens anything in the unit and takes away odors, including the soap smell. Rinse the oven with a wet rag, using one of the citrus halves to scrub any stubborn food splatters. This is the only thing I ever use, as my son complains that any soap or detergent taints his food afterward.

By: Wretha

Wretha — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:27:17 +0000

Thanks Will, I enjoy living off grid and I also enjoy sharing my experiences about it. :)

Wretha

By: will

will — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:00:51 +0000

Thank you; Very informative and AWESOME!!!! I hope to get a lot more learning stuff out of this website you have going on here

By: Wretha

Wretha — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:06:19 +0000

bydrered, that is definitely on the list of things I want to/will do… :)

Cool earbuds BTW!

Wretha

By: bydrered

bydrered — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:04:56 +0000

You need to look into rocket stove mass heaters and make yourselves one.

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 04:33:33 +0000

Besides being off the grid, looks like it would do wonder for the fore arms and biceps!!!

By: DIY Washing Machine from a 5 Gallon Bucket and a Toilet Plunger | 5 Gallon Bucket Ideas

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:12:45 +0000

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By: Tanya

Tanya — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 19:50:01 +0000

Wretha,

You need to look into rocket stove mass heaters and make yourselves one. You could heat your home on 1/2 cord of twigs and small branches a year. We cook on a rocket stove now and I rarely turn on our electric stove. We shut the hot water heater off when we moved here on our wedding night and use wood to heat it our water now. BTW you can also hook a water heater to a rocket stove and let it heat the water as well. Grand things they are!

By: Cherry

Cherry — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 15:44:47 +0000

I do make my own bar soap. That’s the only kind we’ve used for years. I used to make my own laundry soap but I had some problems with it. One was that my whites were looking dingy. (I didn’t know about using bluing) The other was when I washed a load of jeans, my washer would get a bad blue residue that was extremely difficult to wash out. I figured the homemade soap was taking the dye out of the jeans. It does seem to get out ANY stain. LOL
Cherry