Do you believe it? You can actually buy a hand operated washing machine! Today! For more money than a lot of automatic washing machines cost. (What's up with that?) The wringer is sold separately. If you'd rather not use the ringer and are a handy sort, with lots of spare time and miscellaneous stuff lying around the home, you can do this:Amazing.
Superman is currently washing a load of clothes in the bathtub. I am encouraging him by staying out of his way. Twitch, who washed some of his clothes the same way earlier today, taught Superman an easy way to wring out stuff. Thread the garment through the hole/rack thing on the soap holder until it is half way through. Put the two ends of the garment together and twist. I wouldn't recommend it for delicate knits. If there is a towel rack in the tub enclosure that would work well for larger pieces. I doubt a pair of jeans would fit through the soap holder. Let's hope the tile is stuck on there very well. I've seen those soap holder parts break and come unstuck from the wall.
The replacement part for the washing machine will probably arrive tomorrow. I have no idea what manner of excitement will ensue. Updates as the situation warrants.
Superman frequently reads this blog (hi honey!) but had missed the last post in which I cast aspersions on his mechanical ability. So I read it to him. He took exception to my assertions.
Superman: Give me one example where I have failed to fix what I took apart.
Beloved wife: The air conditioner.
Superman: That's different. I called in a consultant.
Um, yeah.
Today he and I were discussing possible ways to make it easier to hand wash the family laundry. Not that I want to do this often, but as the Boy Scouts say, be prepared. Besides, it was a fun conversation. We have some 30 gallon plastic barrels that seal hermetically. I didn't know the seals were waterproof. Superman is talking about building a frame to hold a barrel, using a treadle or pedal system to rotate/agitate the barrel. We'll put water and detergent in the barrel with the dirty clothes, do some aerobic exercise with it for a while, empty the soapy water and refill with clean water for the rinse. I was looking for a roller wringer online when I found the above picture and video clip. The damned wringer will likely cost almost as much as the rest of the system. We've got scrap wood around here enough to build a frame. A few parts and supplies from the hardware store and we should be good to go. This of course is in the planning stage now, and most likely will remain in the planning stage forever. But sometimes it's fun to invent these things even if they don't get built.
12 comments:
this is the way we wash our clothes.....
I wonder how much hand operated washing machines cost when they were the only option.
Consultants always screw things up and charge you twice as much as is reasonable.
The planning stage is a great place to be. I've got a condo in Planning, FL.
looks like something that would have come out of that very old Sear's Roebuck Catalog from years gone by.
Well, the hand washing is very "green". You're doing your part!
You need one of those little scrub boards and a tub. You could start a band once yer clothes is all clean!
Hey a new "green" business. You can start a green laundry business for the neighborhood and let everyone feel good about helping the environment. Plus easy work (sort of) and revenue. Just a thought.
I don't know. I think there's a reason God gave us electricity and indoor plumbing.
So funny that the hand washer costs more than an electric one. I assume it's because the former is now an antique, or at least a collectible. I'm quite impressed by the ingenuity at work with the potential washer. If I might suggest a modification, maybe you could work out a deal with a local gym, to have this machine hooked up to one of their bikes or treadmills. You could take turns anytime you wanted, but there would be other folks willing to do it too, even paying for the privilege. I guess that would be a bit too much like going to the laundromat though, you'd have to go somewhere to get your laundry done. Unless you let people come to your house to work the laundry bike, as their work-out. Then they'd pay YOU for the privilege. Just thinking outside the box here.
I would love to have a peddled powered tv...I think it would be great. Your Superman is awesome...just sayin..washing clothes in a tub I would marry him.
Hey, I think I saw one of those contraptions in a sex club once! Are you sure that they are meant for washing clothes?
We go to the launderette.
I'd make such a blunder of trying to wash clothes in a tub or sex machine!
love and kisses,
matty
The things you try to come up with! No wonder you get yourself into a pickle every now and then! ;P
The bathtub is how I washed my clothes when I lived in the dorms. The pay-to-use machines were always in use, or broken. And being carless, I wasn't gonna hit the laundromat. It's not so bad washing in the tub. The hardest part was trying to figure out where to put all the wet clothes, so that they would dry fast enough, without getting that mildew 'scent.'
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