Doing Laundry PAW

[alaska]

Not sure where this should go as I dont remember ever discussing it.

So this morning I am at the laundry mat at 7 am. Our one here at home does not accommodate our big ass comforter, so it gets taken to "big mama" down at the "mat"

So I gets to thinking WTF is wifey and me gonna do if we do not have electricity???

SO I will ask.......

Planning on using a generator?

Planning on using a scrub board?

Planning on using your teenager?

To be honest I dont have a damn plan.


Ready set rinse & repeat............

[RedJohn]

There are many ways do to laundry without any electricity.

Not this long ago, my mother was still doing laundry in boiling pots. I thinks that it would be interesting to remember these ways and post them here. I'll find info on my mom and grand-mom ways to do it. It certainly will require some muscles on most of it, but we can manage, can we?

[bacpacker]

Wow this never crossed my mind. My grand ma has passed, I'm sure she would have had ideas. Hopefully my mom will remember some. I bet the foxfire series has something in it that will apply. I gotta try and find my link for that. Hopefully it wasn't on the puter that has crapped out.
I'm sure interested in hearing everyon'e ideas.

[alaska]

I am thinking if there is a creek nearby you could use its flowing motion to help rinse and wring dry by hand after they have been washed

[bacpacker]

I am thinking if there is a creek nearby you could use its flowing motion to help rinse and wring dry by hand after they have been washed

Only bad thing about that is possible contamination to the water downstream. That will be a major critical issue if SHTF. Clean water is a problem now in many places.

[alaska]

yes and no. would depend on a few things. dumping into salt water or lake. I would think lake bad , sea no biggie. Also depends on what your using for detergent possibly
anyways lol it was a thought

[bacpacker]

Agreed. I was thinking more of rinsing in a creek. I'm 8 hours min. from the ocean. Around here I would go more along the lines of a pit toliet or a drainfield. Let the ground filter out the residue.
I'm not sure what soap would be best. The wife uses liquid detergent, it goes a lot further, but I'm not sure how rinsing comapres to powder detergent.
BTW No offence meant!

[alaska]

wonder if you could use simple green which is relatively safe
no offense taken, Like I said never ever gave it some thought. As I have said in the past , creeks and rivers are everywhere around here

[bacpacker]

We don't have near the water you do around here, but it's still pretty wet. We average about 60" or precip per year. I just fear what we do have gettin crapped up. There is enough folks around here to trash a river if they don't pay attention.
Hadn't considered simple Green. Need to look further into that. You may be on to something there.

[RedJohn]

One person doing laundry in a stream is ok. One million is a problem. Also, I will post a soap making process today.

[cwconnertx]

You mean the dry cleaners will be closed?

Man, I had never considered this one. I stock a fair bit of soaps, etc, but had never really thought about it. It won't be a problem in the next house, the solar system will be large enough to power a washing machine (until it breaks), but I don't plan on moving for another 12 months and then it might take a few months to get the solar up and running. Lets hope shtf doesn't happen before then.

I had seriously never considered this one. Now I wonder what else I am missing.

[The Stig]

I had seriously never considered this one. Now I wonder what else I am missing.

Some days it seems the more I prep, the more scenarios I envision and the less prepared I feel.

[bacpacker]

Some days it seems the more I prep, the more scenarios I envision and the less prepared I feel.

+1000000

[alaska]

Im still trying to think of a not so ordinary solution. like using a gas powered auger in some fashion or a good ol fashion bike set up static with a belt running off of it like they did with old tractors. kinda like a crude PTO
yes I am lazy lol

[vesper]

first post here...
The trick to the most basic easy hand laundry is in the soaking. Get yourself one of those big professional yellow mop buckets with the detachable mop wringer, about $30. Set in tub, stuff a load of clothes in, add small amount of detergent or soap and washing or baking soda. Agitate with a dedicated plunger for a little while, then leave to soak at least and hour.
Agitate again, Scrubb each article a couple of times against itself in your hands,, wring out with the wringer and set in another bucket.
On lightly soiled loads, the soapy water can be used for several loads, as its main job is to loosens grease and dirt.

Dump the suds, and rinse the clothes in 2 or 3 rinses of clear water (which can be used on the garden). Wring out well, hang up on plastic coat hangers and let drip from a pole under the eaves, or hang on a clothesline.

Hand wash and air dry is much easier on your clothes, and they will last longer too!

We live in a second floor apartment with the laundry area downstairs and around the building. Except for heavier towels and sheets, I handwash most of our laundry
Easy peasy!
vesper

[alaska]

dude a mop bucket and wringer are you serious? THATS PERFECT and fairly easy
Takes notes

[bacpacker]

After reading vesper's post earlier today and later this evening at Home depot I found the exact mop bucket and squeezer I think that will work very well. Great post Vesper!

[vesper]

You're welcome. We were fortunate to find a brand new bucket at a yard sale for $10 . That's less than what 3 loads of laundry cost to wash and dry.

[CheriG22]

If you use a bucket and plunger for clothes, why not a 55 gal barrel or bathtub and plunger? Big enough, and the toil of cleaning something that big and heavy would make you want to not get it dirty, lol.

Cheri

[Grumpy Old Man]

Folks Lehman's is your friend here. They cater to the Amish and have a variety of non-electric goodies. I can remember my Grandmother having one of the old plungers for use in the #5 wash tubs.

Home Goods | Laundry | Washing - Lehmans.com (http://www.lehmans.com/store/Home_Goods___Laundry___Washing?Args=&view_all=&sort_by=)


Additionally they have a lot of traditional hand tools, but they can be pricey. as for detergent Fels Naptha soap, Washing soda and 20 Mule Team Borax are you're friends. I may try and post a tutorial on making your own laundry soap from these items, if I can get one of the youngsters that work for me to take pictures and help me post them.

[JustAPrepper]

I've been using the Fels Naptha type soap for almost two years now. For us, it doesn't get our whites "bright" like something like Tide might but it does get our clothes clean so for the whites I still use bleach and occassionally Oxy-Clean. I can have a batch whipped up and have everything cleaned up and put away in less than 30 minutes. I average about five loads a week and a single batch lasts me about three months. Here's a copy/paste of the recipe I use (no idea who/where to give credit to) and storage calculations I came up with:

Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

***Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.


The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.

The soap is a low sudsing soap. So if you don’t see suds, that is ok. Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.


If you want your soap to have some sort of scent you can scent this with ½ to 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice.

My Storage Calculations:

Washing Soda - 55 ounce box
1/2 Cup = 5 ounces
Each box has 11 "servings"

Borax - 76 ounce box
1/2 Cup = 3 ounces
Each box has 25 "servings"

Fels Naptha
Each bar has 3 "servings"

You'll need:
2 boxes of Washing Soda (22 full recipes)
1 box of Borax (22 full recipes + 3 extra servings)
8 bars of Fels Naptha (22 full recipes +2 extra servings)

Also, I keep a spare whisk on top of my bucket because it does get "clumpy". Every time I refill my small/handy jug I give it a good whisk to make sure everything is evenly combined. And, as I do laundry I give my little jug a quick shake just to combine again.

***I also grate the soap in my food processor to save time but if you do this make sure to wash it immediately. The Fels Naptha has a "scent" and it will permeate the plastic bowl. Don't ask how I know.;)

[JustAPrepper]

It took me a while to remember the name of this thing before I could find it again on YouTube but I thought this was a cool alternative to some of the things already posted for washing laundry...if you watch, you can see how effective this thing is by the amount of dirt that comes out of her rugs...:eek:

My Dasher Washer.wmv - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyRMuQ_8oj0)

[dragon5126]

Emergency Essentials sells a plunger setup for washing clothes that is very efficent in a five gal pail that forces the water through the clothes very efficently. It works like a butter churn.

[Sniper-T]

I have an uncle who used to own a fishing lodge up in remote northern Manitoba (Canada). for many years, he used one of these things (run off a generator) to do all the laundry for his family and the entire lodge (bedding, towels, dish cloths, etc):

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k213/sipreks/2006%20Buena%20Visa%20Reunion/2006%20Good%20Times/momspics050.jpg

Nearby, he had a couple of 45 gallon barrels up on stands, that collected rainwater, or could be filled from the lake. He'd put a propane tiger torch underneath, and have hot water.

At one point the electric motor crapped out, and the time to get a new one brought up wasn't going to work, so he welded a bracket on the side, and hung an old viking outboard motor. He took the prop off, and and welded an old shieve to the shaft. a few wraps of binder twine for a belt and he was back in business.

He had dug a hole in the sand near the machine, and filled it up with rocks, he'd dump the water in there, and by the time it filtered down to the lake, you couldn't tell it was wash water

last I saw that machine it was something like this:

http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu23/larlau/IMG_0949.jpg

[Grumpy Old Man]

They still sell those at Lehmans, a great non-electric appliance store that caters to the Amish. They are a bit spendy though and they are run off of a gasoline engine.

Honeyville farms sells a complete plunger washing set up for ~ $70 that has Fels Naptha, Borax and washing soda, a plunger and a 6 gallon bucket with a special lid. I made the same thing for about $31 with a plunger from Emergency Essentials, a couple of Homer buckets and lids (I drilled my own holes with a circle drill bit) and got the soap,borax and soda from the grocery store.

[Stormfeather]

My grandma used a old wash bucket, scrub board, and clothesline, Ive got clothes out on the clothesline now, but used an electric washer to do them. Other than that, a big wash tub, scrub board, and a rinse tub, pretty much all you need!

[DisasterGuy]

My grandma used a old wash bucket, scrub board, and clothesline, Ive got clothes out on the clothesline now, but used an electric washer to do them. Other than that, a big wash tub, scrub board, and a rinse tub, pretty much all you need!

When I built the shop, I got a laundry sink. You can tell it's a laundry sink because it has washboard ripples on the front surface. When you stand by the sink with your hands inside it, your hands naturally fall where these ripples are. So what's a laundry sink? Basically a 10-gallon wash tub with a built-in scrub board, which when emptied and refilled, becomes a rinse tub. It works, though not as well as my grandmother's scrub board. It's a prepper's dream -- something you already have, out in plain sight, and no one knows!

[Dropy]

Hmmmm... Some interesting ideas here. When SHTF who can i send my laundry to so they can get plenty of practice with all this? :cool:

[Sniper-T]

Hmmmm... Some interesting ideas here. When SHTF who can i send my laundry to so they can get plenty of practice with all this? :cool:

Send all the hunting and army surp stuff to me, I'll wash it for ya. plus plate carriers, they get smelly... boots (size 10) and any and all camping gear. including wall tents. I do an amazing job washing and resealing them!

It just might take a while to get them back to you... quality work takes time!:rolleyes:

:cool:

[Dropy]

Send all the hunting and army surp stuff to me, I'll wash it for ya. plus plate carriers, they get smelly... boots (size 10) and any and all camping gear. including wall tents. I do an amazing job washing and resealing them!

It just might take a while to get them back to you... quality work takes time!:rolleyes:

:cool:


:p

[Sparrow]

In one post SHTF book I read, people were looking for the old fashioned washboards ... and found them in a music shop of all places.

Scrub some clothes - then scrub out some tunes - very versatile piece of equipment! :)

[mollypup]

I saw some scrub boards for sale at an old fashioned hardware store near here, but they were asking too much for them. And they didn't have any wringers!!! I think having wringers is the most important piece of equipment in a post SHTF situation. Anyone can wash clothes out by hand in a sink, bucket or bathtub or something, but wringing them out is where the real work comes in. I'm saving up to buy a big mop bucket with a built-in wringer. It costs somewhere between 60 - 70 dollars, but sure will be useful if needed. And, I think most of us will be wearing our clothes longer than we do now. I can see a pair of blue jeans being worn for 2 or more weeks before getting washed post SHTF. Undies can get washed much more often since they are smaller and can easily be hand wrung out, but the big items like blue jeans are just going to have to get really dirty before I wash them. And that will depend on how often it rains. I plan on using rainwater to wash and rinse the family's laundry.