James Washer for laundry?

I did a search for alternative washing machines here but didn't come up with much. Is anybody using something like the James Washer

http://www.gaiam.com/product/james+washer.do

or the rapid washer

http://www.lehmans.com/store/Home_Goods___Laundry___Washing___Rapid_Laundry_Washer___66RW?Args=&customField1=W9&;

or a bike powered set up?

http://inhabitat.com/cyclean-bike-powered-washing-machine/

I'm thinking the kid's bathwater is clean enough to wash clothes in with that rapid washer right in the tub (they soak in epsom salts and get a teeny little rub down with castile, I figure mostly water is just fine for cleaning little bodies), I'd just have to set up a ringer somewhere. We already hang most things to dry. Only sheets go in the drier because I just don't have that much space to hang them up right now.

I'm open to suggestion though...

I'm on a REALLY limited budget, so when my apt. raised the prices on both the washer and dryer, I took drastic measures. The "Rapid Washer" w/ shipping was out of my budget, so what I did was get a plunger ($2) and drilled 6 holes in it, around the edge. They'll keep the plunger from sticking to the bottom. You'll have to start the holes out small and work your way up with larger drill bits until you use a quarter-inch bit.

Then I got a white 5-gal. plastic bucket (for free at local bakery). I pour maybe a teaspoon of laundry soap, maybe some Borax, fill it with hot water, put in the clothes, and start plunging. I usually go about 10 minutes, maybe 15 (depends on when the commercials are on TV), dump the water, squeeze it out by hand, then fill the bucket again for rinsing. I usually throw in a couple of tablespoons of vinegar into the rinse to act as a softener. 10-15 minutes again, drain, squeeze, then hang them on the line in the spare bedroom.

The only time I pay to use the washer/dryers now is when I do sheets and towels. Those I save up and do once a month. I've REALLY saved on my laundry bills!

This is what the old women in my village use...

What... is that exactly?

Muzhik, good tips. I am thinking if you put the lid back on the bucket with a hole drilled in the top for the plunder handle you'd have not much splashing if you were to do this in front of the tv. It must take forever for them to dry though, I can only squeeze out so much water by hand. I want a ringer at least no matter what else I end up using for washing.

Here's my recipe for homemade soap if you want to save even more money, it's ridiculously easy cheap as anything too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/craftylittlemonkey/sets/72157624058764110/

It's an old font. The little building at the back surrounds a well, with a roof to keep the light out so the water doesn't turn green, and a low wall to stop children falling in. The stone things in front are hollowed out so you can fill them with water and wash your clothes in them. The women walk there with buckets of dirty laundry on their heads and pull water up from the font to wash it in.

I just hop in the tub with my blankets and such and stomp on them with my feet. And the kids help too. Then let them drain a bit. I was thinking about rollerpins and making a ringer out of old ones from the thrift store?

ecopepper wrote:
I just hop in the tub with my blankets and such and stomp on them with my feet.

*grin* Us too! It works. I built our new bathroom and bathtub with this in mind so the bathtub is split level with a deeper area for washing babies and cloths. In the winter we dry them by the wood stove but I like it better when we can hang them outdoors. In the summer we was outdoors in a tub.

I still find that every once in a while I like to take the cloths into the laundrymat and do them there because the machines get the cloths cleaner than I can. Family of five, on a farm.

craftylittlemonkey wrote:
Muzhik, good tips. I am thinking if you put the lid back on the bucket with a hole drilled in the top for the plunder handle you'd have not much splashing if you were to do this in front of the tv. It must take forever for them to dry though, I can only squeeze out so much water by hand. I want a ringer at least no matter what else I end up using for washing.

Here's my recipe for homemade soap if you want to save even more money, it's ridiculously easy cheap as anything too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/craftylittlemonkey/sets/72157624058764110/

I was all set to make my own soap, then the store across the street had a loss-leader where the laundry soap cost less than the stuff I was going to make! Also, last time I was down by the laundry I found "empty" bottles of soap in the trash. Except they weren't empty -- just tilt them upside down to let the rest of the soap drain into the lid. Since I use so little with my system, it will be a long time before I need to buy/make laundry soap!

Thought about the lid and decided against it, because that would have cost $3-4. I don't have a lot of problems with splashing or sloshing, though. Just have to work the plunger right.

It costs about 2 cents per regular load of laundry with that recipe I posted. I've yet to see commercially sold soap at that price!

craftylittlemonkey wrote:
It costs about 2 cents per regular load of laundry with that recipe I posted. I've yet to see commercially sold soap at that price!

Like I say, it was a loss leader, the store brand. ($1/32 oz.) Besides, making the laundry soap takes time that I didn't have at the time.

BTW, as for drying without a wringer, I used to use a towel to help -- wrap the wet stuff in a clean bath towel and sit on it -- but I got tired of dealing with the wet towels. Now I squeeze out what I can and throw the stuff over the line in my spare bedroom. After half an hour, I can squeeze even more out of the part that's lowest on the line. After that, I throw the laundry to pieces at a time into a large bowl and throw them in the microwave -- 4 minutes, pull out and toss, then 4 more minutes. After that they come out steaming. I hang them up and microwave the next set of laundry. I'll let everything hang to dry overnight. 99% of the time everything is dry by the time I get up, except for days like today, where there's close to 100% humidity.

When I get a job, I'm planning on getting one of those stand-alone spin-dryers, that will spin the clothes so they're damp. I figure that will eliminate the microwaving step.

We don't have a microwave (never have) and no spare bedroom either... sounds like a lot of work too. I think I'll keep looking for a ringer, even the kids could manage a manual one so they can help with that part. Or we'll build a bike powered spinner, heh.

craftylittlemonkey wrote:
We don't have a microwave (never have) and no spare bedroom either... sounds like a lot of work too. I think I'll keep looking for a ringer, even the kids could manage a manual one so they can help with that part. Or we'll build a bike powered spinner, heh.

Oh, yeah, it's a lot of work. That's why they called the washing machine "a labor-saving device." Being without income makes it really easy to justify the work.

If you want to go cheap on the wringing, on some other boards I've read people who say to get one of those buckets with the mop wringer attached -- the wringer works fine on most clothes. You have to be careful, though, to use that bucket ONLY with clothes!

How come? I would think just washing it out between different jobs would be fine. Unless you were transporting potty compost with it, which I'm not using a bucket for currently...

These little things get good reviews from the users:

link

I had a friend who had something similar and he liked it plenty.

Yay! Paul has been in here fixing things up! Thank you!

Well I've been researching this all morning and I have to say it's been disappointing! I have read tons and tons of negative reviews on all brands of that Wonderwash machine that looked so hopeful. The whole thing is plastic, the handle breaks off, the plug comes loose (some versions have no plug), it doesn't really seal so there is no magical pressurized thing that forces soap into the clothes and gets them super clean, you have to crank it for way longer than they say, it doesn't actually get any stains out, etc etc etc, and no info on how to rinse clothes with it either. Very few good reviews on that one at all.
Then the wringers, not very many good review on those either. They don't clamp to tubs or buckets well, they are so heavy they tip everything over unless it's mounted to something, the handles are awkward, they don't really get a lot of water out, etc etc etc. Man, I was about to give up!

Then I thought why not just use a bucket thing like this commercial mop bucket and wringer with a modified plunger or rapid washer plunger?
http://compare.ebay.com/like/200449846855?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

In the end that seems like the easiest, most water saving, most economical way to go. Those mop buckets are easy to find so nothing needs to be shipped to me, they are cheap, they are portable, and they are big enough to handle a load of dirty clothes every day. While we live in a place with a washer and drier set up I'll keep using them for sheets and towels but all the daily laundry can be done like this. I have a great folding drying rack already.

ecopepper wrote:
I just hop in the tub with my blankets and such and stomp on them with my feet. And the kids help too. Then let them drain a bit. I was thinking about rollerpins and making a ringer out of old ones from the thrift store?

You can make a great wringer out of some poly netting and a stick.

Take a rectangular piece of netting and make a sling out of it where the netting makes a big loop on both ends but it can open up in the center to make a pocket where you can place wet clothes.

You place one loop over a fixed object like a doorknob or handrail and run a stick through the loop on the other end of the sling.

Then you twist up the sling with the stick and in no time almost all of the water is wrung out.

Poly netting is preferred because it is strong and it will not hold much water on it's own.

I have the wonder wash and can give it a qualified OK.

Yes, it is made cheaply, and has a number of issues. For me, it is a way to cut down on trips to the laundromat, which is 30 miles away. My tips for using it, should you try it

1) don't load as heavily as the instructions say you can
2) use less soap than they say to use (I do this with machines as well, use about half)
3) don't bother with the crank, it is easy enough to turn the tumbler directly

Interestingly, the one I have definitely pressurizes, although I don't think it is a very high pressure. Wonder whether this is a cheap production issue, maybe the assembly process is inconsistent.

When/if it breaks, I will not replace it, but try something else instead.

I think how much you like it depends on what your other options are!

Seeing as how my current option is a bucket and plunger, I think I would like it very much! I believe the pressurization comes from using hot water -- the hotter the water the greater the pressure. As the water cools it releases vapor, which we would see as steam. If there is no way for the water vapor to escape, the pressure inside the unit is going to increase.

I ran into this when I started using small buckets with lids (ice cream pails) to do very small loads. I'd fill the buckets with clothes, a little soap, and very hot tap water; then I'd put the lids on and begin to shake or roll the buckets to agitate them. I could see the lids distend with increased pressure inside the buckets, and I'd have to be careful opening them to avoid being sprayed.

T. Joy wrote:I did a search for alternative washing machines here but didn't come up with much. Is anybody using something like the James Washer

I'm open to suggestion though...

Here's a simple, effective washer machine that's less than $15 brand new used by a Zen Monastery:

here's some other tried and true ideas...