Yeah, I had to try this thing out.
The washer assembles easily and looks as though it will disassemble just as easily if you want to. The drum, crank and drain valve are sturdy enough. I’ve got questions about the longevity of the base, but it’s solid enough in use. The drum seals quite well at every angle, so I’m less nervous about using it indoors now.
Carefully ignoring Buck’s warnings about taking it easy on the detergent, I learned that the washer does indeed agitate just fine. I made a big mess.
The drain valve is spring-loaded shut and opens when you install the tube, so make sure the tube’s end is over a sink or something before you install it because the action starts, like, instantly.
And it works quite well,…
That is, it drains completely, but not very fast. Which, when you’ve got a lot of suds, makes rinsing problematic. I ended up laying my clothes on the table and rinsing with a spray nozzle like normal, which is exactly what I was hoping to avoid. The water in the cistern is cold this time of year.
I think it’ll make winter washing better since it’s got a smaller capacity than those ten-gallon tubs and it’ll be easier to warm the water, but I think I’m still stuck with rinsing, at least, in the sink. For general non-freezing use, I don’t plan to throw away my tubs and hand agitator. And getting to your earlier comment, Nosmo, this thing won’t pack nearly as compactly as what you’re currently using and I’m not sure it would travel well at all.
But for what it is, it does work. I did three loads before running out of time, trying to get the detergent thing worked out, and must say it certainly agitates well. Which means it’s just fine for getting things clean if not well-rinsed. The tub is big enough for one pair of my heavy canvas jeans, which is about as bulky as anything I’m likely to want to wash in it.
So all in all it’s not the answer to any particular prayers, but it does work and it will allow me to move the laundry operation indoors for the winter without having to revert to washing in the sink. So we’ll call it a win.
First … I enjoy your blog. You’re in a world that I envy but would not choose.
Second … I imagine it will take you some time to learn to use your new Wash-a-matic most efficiently. Make sure you’re using LAUNDRY soap (detergent, actually) and not dishwasher soap or anything else. Laundry soap SHOULD be less sudsy..
You just want to get your duds clean, right? Decrease the amount of soap you use with each load, until you find a level that will allow the machinery to do it’s job reliably without a lot of soap scum in your shorts.
Assuming you wear shorts. Never mind .. avoid TMI moments, okay?
Anyway, laundry DETERGENT is a very efficient emollient. It grabs the dirt particles and holds them in suspension, which are flushed during the rinse process. You’ve not mentioned the details, so i assume you don’t have a ‘rinse cycle’ .. nor a hook-up to a water source?
It’ll probably be adequate to just have a bucket of clear water to hand-rinse your cleaned clothes, right? Dunk the clothes a few times in the rinse bucket. Dump the rinse after it’s had time to dilute the soap, and hang up the clothes to drip dry.
If your dried clothes are stiff because they haven’t rinsed & drained adequately, you’re probably still using too much soap.
Sorry if I seem to be teaching my grandmother to suck eggs. Just (a) hoping that maybe I reminded you of something you hadn’t thought of yet, and (b) pretty excited for you.
I hate laundry.
Thanks for the consumer testing, Joel. I’ll stick with the R-maids and plungers. (And, ML, we don’t use horses – a 4WD instead, so weight isn’t the issue that space is; the nested 10 gallon R-maids hold not only all the laundry stuff, but the canned food for 5-8 days as well. We’ve found traveling light on clothes works best (more room for lumber, tools, etc.), since “camping vacations” are frequently disguised as hot, sweaty work/construction events, cycling fabrics through a wash/rinse cycle every time weather allows clothesline drying seems to work best).
To add to Jerry’s comment above, “detergent” is really just a surfactant; surfactants affect surface tension of water, allowing it to penetrate fabric fibers. As Jerry pointed out, the trick is finding the smallest amount of surfactant that provides the cleaning perfoamnce one needs (and it will vary between events – more dirt will require slightly more surfactant). Don’t know what you’re using, but I make my own –
1ea 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz)
1ea 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
1ea box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz
3ea bars of Fels-Naptha soap finely shredded or ground (actually, almost any very low-sudsing soap will work)
1ea 3lb Oxy Clean
Makes about 2 1/4 gallons by volume of powdered detergent
1 tbsp/load works in front loaders, 2 tbsp in top loaders
Pro tip: mix the dry contents in approximate thirds – trying to thoroughly mix all of it at once in a 5 gallon bucket is an impossible task.
Random thoughts: Joel, have you heard of Zodi? They make camping water heaters. They do a max temp gain of about 30-35F, with max output at about 105F, and a low volume. Don’t know if that would be a practical solution to your cold water/hot water issue or not. There are adapters to run one from a 20-40 lb tank.
I’m wondering if something like a half-size version of a front loading washer, powered by windmill or a bicycle would work. Maybe something like a small light-duty cement mixer. This seems a bit more complex than necessary for a stationary installation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOR8Q0RIZgk) but the washing concept seems sound.
Sort-kinda related . . .
Having taken over the laundry duties in the last few years, I have discovered something I found interesting.
We have a traditional top-loading washer and “soft” water from a rain-fed cistern. I soon noticed that if I used the “recommended” amount of detergent there would be a HUGE amount of suds pour from the discharge hose into the slop sink at the end of the wash cycle, followed by a quite noticeable amount when the rinse cycle dumped. I ran the “second rinse” cycle and got still more suds out.
Out of curiosity, I ran a load of towels without adding ANY detergent, and was rewarded with a considerable amount of discharged suds from the wash cycle. It took two rinses for the discharge to run clear. It did not make me feel very good knowing we had been “wearing” all that retained detergent residue for many years.
Long story short, I have adjusted the detergent input to a mere fraction of the “recommended” amount and now get clothes that not only wash clean but rinse clear as well.
I am not an expert nor do I play one on the ‘net. JMHO YMMV
🙂
When I first used (an almost new second hand) WonderWash, immediately the (plastic!) axis at the side of the hand crank broke. It could not be repared. Especially for preppers having such a machine in stock for years for an emergency situation, such a lousy quality is absolutely killing! These kind of products should not be made out of plastic, but as my grandmother had out of durable iron or better stainless steel. The WonderWash has a lousy quality and should be named WonderWaste (of money)!