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Doing laundry by hand - have you tried it |
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flick
Valued Member Joined: February 18 2006 Status: Offline Points: 52 |
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Roxy,
You are right about the Duvet covers!!(spelled right too ;) ) I love them. I have two, one for summer in light cotton and German Flannel for winter. I make duvets for my son's room using two flat sheets in whatever charactor he's in love with at the time. You sew them up just like a bag and add buttons. Very easy. Saves a ton of money, instead of buying a whole new comforter set. I use " filler comforters " for the insides. You can pick these up fairly cheap, Mine was 29 bucks for queen size . I"ve had it for three years now and it is as good as new.If any of you live near a TJ MAXX or Big Lots you can find them there.It has synthetic down inside, it is white so it can be bleached also. Old ones that have been mended or faded work good too. Old wool Blankets for extra warmth are good, but too hot for down here.
I wash my handmade quilts in the bathtub and spread them on a clean white sheet to dry outside . Drycleaning and washers just tear them up.
Just a note on trying to wash a real down or feather comforter: They stink like all hell when they are wet. I mean like road kill.That's why I always buy synthetic. If you are cooped up inside the last thing you'll want to smell is wet bird. Yikes.
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roxy
Valued Member Joined: February 27 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 534 |
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hi to all , if we have no power or little power, instead of trying to wash the big bath towels by hand and the time to dry them. I thought why not use hand towels, easier to wash by hand and dry. before terry cloth, towels were made of cotton, and they are easier to wash and dry. roxy
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I have had to do laundry for 3 regular (myself & 2 kids) people & one welder (extremely dirty clothes) because weekly money ran short & kids gotta eat. I sterilized my bathroom plunger (hot soapy bleach water for 10 minutes) ran hot water into the tub, added small amont of detergent to laundry and stomp, stomp, stomp.BTW, younger kids love to help do this. Then pull clothes to back of tub, open drain and wait a few minutes. Run water to rinse and stomp. Drain again, wing lighter clothing like tee shirts, leave heavy clothes like jeans and jackets saturated. When you hang them the water weight pulls them straight and they actually dry faster than if you wring. I might add that your hands don't have blisters at this point too. LOL! It's not rocket science, been there, done that aaand have the tee shirt! Jo
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Hi All,
I've done many an old fashioned hand laundry in poorer days. First of all I agree with the three tub method. I used to use the kitchen sinks and then over to a final rinse in a tub. I disagree with doing dark clothes first however - since the color can run into the water.
You want to do whites/lights that are delicate first.
Then the colors,
Then the darks (since color run off won't matter to most of your dark laundry.
Drying clothes -- if you are doing it indoors - set up your drying racks and turn on fans in the room to circulate the air. Takes a long time to dry indoors.
I just purchased clothespins and clothes line at Walmart.
Lastly -- skip the wonder washer. I tried it when it was on infomercial a few years back. It was sent back for a refund.
Now -- does anyone know whose selling an old-fashioned wash board? That's next on my list.
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Rocky
V.I.P. Member Joined: January 07 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 219 |
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I have two questions and then a suggestion:
1. can I get a wringer without a mop, or do they come separately 2. I have heard there was a combination of baking soda, chlorox and hydrogen peroxide that was good for washing clothes when you really want to disinfect them. Any comments or measurements? I bought an older model of Wonder Clean. It cleans by pressure created by the warm water and the vacuum lid. I bought it from a neighbor who had gotten it for Y2K (great source of unused or nearly new stuff if the people are unloading or moving), so the price was right. But if I were to buy it new now i would be sure to get the newer model that has a bottom drain and more sturdy screw lid mechanism. But reports I read are quite glowing about the job it does. Of course, it is non electric and must be hand cranked from half a minute to 2 minutes, depending upon the load. Very little soap is needed (there are specific directions re. that) and it can be emptied of soapy water and new water put in to rinse, then use the same technique as the wash cycle. What I really need now is a wringer (arthritic hands). Have clothes line and clothes pins and tubs. I do have a new toilet plunger and a tub, and that might work best for jeans, blankets, etc (altho you can do 2 pairs of jeans at a time in the Wonder Clean). What about birds pooping on the clothes drying outside? I guess you could just do an eye inspection and rewash anything that looks suspicious. It is probably a paranoid view, since so far we do plan limited outdoor activities, but (pardon the expression) sick bird drool on clean laundry? Or am I getting way beyond the fringe. Thanks for your comments. Rocky
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Rocky |
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Rocky
V.I.P. Member Joined: January 07 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 219 |
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I got a new washboard online at:
http://housewares.hardwarestore.com/37-186-washboards.aspx Hope this helps. Rocky |
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Rocky |
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Lehmans has hand operated washing machines, ringers, wash boards, wash tubs etc.
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honeybee
V.I.P. Member Joined: May 20 2006 Status: Offline Points: 188 |
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In days past, we used to hand wash our jeans, then wrap the legs around a small tree or porch beam. Then proceed to twist the legs. Didn't help much for the top, but got a lot of the water out of the legs.
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Honeybee
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This and a washboard with some ivory soap would work nice for people like me that cant afford the expensive stuff.
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roxy:
hi to all , if we have no power or little power, instead of trying to wash the big bath towels by hand and the time to dry them. I thought why not use hand towels, easier to wash by hand and dry. before terry cloth, towels were made of cotton, and they are easier to wash and dry. roxy
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Hi,
Another idea on drying: I've never used a wringer. What I'd do is put wet clothes on top of a towel and then roll up the towel. It's amazing how much water the towel gets out of clothes. You can do this several times.
When the towel is wet, just roll it up by itself and push down to squeeze the water out of it. Then pop it on the line too.
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roxy
Valued Member Joined: February 27 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 534 |
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hi to all, if you are looking for a wringer for you clothes , try a industrial supply store/bussiness. try looking in the phone book for you area. why pay shipping,and you could choose, after inspection what would work best. you can buy low sudsing detergent , i believe tide makes one , saw it in wally world, or it should say on label, i believe people with septic tanks use this kind. further down on this thread, someone posted not to do delicates with the wringer , it shreds them. as far as disinfecting them, if you use bleach , the clothes will come out spotted. but if you have some one sick, i would, and then soak them in boiling water and bleach. roxy
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roxy
Valued Member Joined: February 27 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 534 |
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ROCKY. i never heard of #2, but you would have to store alot of it to wash laundry, but then again were in new territory here, maybe some body else knows . roxy
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Scotty
Adviser Group Joined: March 06 2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 846 |
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If you handwash with ordinary washing machine stuff then you will never get the soap out. The standard hand wash liquids work fine but some degree of compromise is advisable. Slightly less soap, slightly less clean, a lot less itchy.
A wringer is good but the advantages are not as great as they are perceived to be. I just hang most stuff dripping wet and lay the woolen stuff flat. It takes longer but requires zero effort. If you live in the U.K. try Stergene. Anything mild enough to double as a shampoo has got to be better than that corrosive stuff we all use in washing machines. |
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I've bought a few packets of cheap pants and socks for everyone, in the hope that we shall outlast the power cut and be able to wash them by machine again. Tescos /Asda are probably cheaper than disposable. Assda does socks for £2 for 5 pack - at that price they're disposable. Beth
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starfire
Valued Member Joined: May 16 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 36 |
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I bought some of those microfiber towels to use for bathing or kitchen lots of uses.They come in various sizes.Swimmers and divers use them.They are great.Get them in houseware dept or automotive.Walmart,Dollar general,etc.sells them.Hand made soap is great less suds wash off easy,do bodies,hair,clothes.
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starfire
Valued Member Joined: May 16 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 36 |
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I'm a crafter who has lots of fabric so I'm making flat sheet to fit up to a queen bed if we get sick they can go to the trash.Also been getting some sheets at garage sales.And I'm saving the softest in case I run out of tpaper.Old flannel shirts or any cotton clothes can be used for many things.Think recycle.
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Scotty
Adviser Group Joined: March 06 2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 846 |
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Maybe I'm just in one of those moods but I'm finding this little thread quite inspiring and hopeful. Collective memories go back a long way and there always seems to be somebody somewhere who can dig out a workable solution to almost any problem. I hope that this board can stay open when we need it most.
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sweetpea
V.I.P. Member Joined: March 27 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 299 |
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Okay, how about Fels Naptha (sp?) soap ... how does that clean up, pretty good. I just kinda figured that alittle bit of vinegar to the rinse water helped to take out the soap. IMHO, cool/cold vinegar water rinse helps the suds to rinse out better as opposed to warm/hot water that suds' up the soap alittle bit more ... my $.02 worth ...
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"When an emergency arises, the time for preparation is past."
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sweetpea,
You are right about the vinegar,it's great to cut soap residue. As a child, my mother would put a teaspoon in a glass of water to rinse my hair after washing. The real old days before creme rinse, LOL!
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I think you can you can also add concentrated lysol to laundry. It kills germs. You can double check this by checking their web site. it is a great site. Thanks for the tub ideas! Great idea ... |
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For all you newbies...Hope this helps
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