Old-fashioned washing?
Now that I am pregnant, my wardrobe has become more limited. Which means certain parts of it (undergarments, so far) need to be washed more often. But I'd rather not do an entire load just for these things. (and the occasional handkerchief. My nose is also in overdrive!)
Even if I dry them in the bathroom, it still costs $1.25 to run the washer!
So. any idea how I can do these in the sink? after all, our grandmothers (great-grandmothers?) used to wash in the creek, right?
PS and can this method work for diapers after baby makes 3?
In the in-flight magazine today, I saw something like this Cyclone Washing machine -- would this do the job on home washing needs like this?
Looking around the Internet...
Amazon.com Wonder Washer
Wonder Wash Laundry Alternative
Even if I dry them in the bathroom, it still costs $1.25 to run the washer!
So. any idea how I can do these in the sink? after all, our grandmothers (great-grandmothers?) used to wash in the creek, right?
PS and can this method work for diapers after baby makes 3?
In the in-flight magazine today, I saw something like this Cyclone Washing machine -- would this do the job on home washing needs like this?
Looking around the Internet...
Amazon.com Wonder Washer
Wonder Wash Laundry Alternative
posted by MommyLydia | 12/31/2006 10:18:00 PM
9 Comments:
Ruth!
Its really quite easy. fill the sink with some water and some detergent, preferably a small amount of liquid or some dish soap (powdered detergent is really harsh on the hands). toss in the knickers, and give them a good scrub. Fabric scrubs well against itself, so you can rub out the dirty bits that way.
Then, empty the sink and rinse them very well. If you don't like the stiffness of drip-dry laundry, add a bit of fabric softener to the rinse water.
I used to do this all the time, particularly while traveling, with anything from undies to jeans!
Happy Washing!
p.s. I hear diapers are best washed on very high heats to remove the myriad bacteria that live on them. I might consider machine-washing those.
Just fill up the sink with some water and Woolite. (If you have a double kitchen sink, it will be easier, as you can have a sink of clean water to rinse in.) If I hand wash things, I just let them soak for a little while in the soapy water, then take each item and rub the cloth against itself. Rinse them in the clean water, and maybe even once more under running water to remove any soap residue.
I guess that cyclone would work, but if you're not doing a ton of handwashing, I'd just do it in the sink!
Good luck!
Oh, hey, check this site out!
http://www.ehow.com/how_1881_hand-wash-clothes.html
When needed, I keep a bucket in the bathroom closet and let *unmentionables* soak in a soapy solution overnight, then rinse in the sink and hang in the bath to dry.
I will say that pregnancy and nursing produce lots of fluids. If you can, invest in an extra package of stretchy maternity underwear so you can change with greater frequency.
What is it about pregnancy that brings out all the frank talk??? : )
So far I have not bought maternity underwear at all. i've heard that it is cheaper to just keep buying larger and larger sizes of regular underwear so that was what I was planning... We will see how things go.
I'll have to figure out how to hang things in my bath to dry. There isn't a shower rod there, just a door. But yes, I was doing the calculations and at $1.25/load, it would take 32 loads to equal the $40 price of the cheapest of these "washers" (And I think it is more than that) We already wash every other week so that would be 64 weeks! Over a year. At which point we will not even BE in washington anymore. So they just won't prove out even if I end up needing to put quarters in machines. But I think for now I'm going to try the old fashioned wash by hand method (though not for diapers. Our babies just may need to use disposable diapers until I'm in a better situation for washing cloth. It may make more sense as newborns anyway since most of my family never fit into "newborn" size anyway -- sizes ranging from 8 to 11 pounds over 3 generations!)
We don't have a double sink. But I think I can spring for a bucket for much less than one of these washers.
When we were first married I washed all underwear, socks, and t-shirts in the kitchen sink or the bathtub. Ran a line across the kitchen or draped the laundry across the backs of chairs. A few years ago I bought some folding drying racks from Walmart and dried the same type of clothing on those - worked really well when they were placed above a floor vent!
For diapers, I did use the washing machine, but a friend of mine who was from Mexico had a copper pot she boiled her babies' diapers in. (Yes, she had two babies less that a year apart and lived in a tiny apartment with no washer or dryer.) I always marvelled at how white her babies' diapers were - even with the washer my cloth diapers sometimes had stains - and she said it was the boiling that did it.
Congratulations Sarah!!! I rejoice with you in your pregnancy!
In reference to maternity vs. regular undies in larger sizes I preferred the latter. More comfortable too me.
Blessings :)
I have washed things in the bathtub and kitchen sink before. Sometimes I have run a bit of rope between two dining room chairs (tied on to their backs) to hand some things to dry.
They do take a little longer to dry because what the washer does that I can't is spin things dry better. But it doesn't get them any cleaner- just does more at one time and requires less wrist action.=)
And CONGRATS!!!
I came here curious about your 'name'. My husband and I have been appreciating a series by Mark Driscol on Ruth recently - but the reason I write is that while I was pregnant, I still had other laundry to do but I had this handwashing tio get done. So, as soon as I turned the water on for the washer I grabbed my handwashing and did it in the empty washing machine, rinsing it as it filled (with the fresh non soapy water - you can start and stop this as you please to allow for the time you need to scrub). Thus I didn't use extra water or detergent and they weren't so dirty as to make the water dirty for the load I was about to do. (I have a friend who used to do her laundry while in the shower when she was in Mexico)
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