We live in the country and do not have "city" water but we do have wells. The problem with our wells (and we have 3) are that they tend to dry up rather quickly. Because of this, we cannot use a washing machine. Besides that, we have not owned a "conventional" washer or dryer in over 5 years. (This was written many years ago. It has now been over 10 years and we still do laundry this way.) I got really tired of going to the Laundromat so I began doing some internet searching for ways to wash at home. We kind of combined ideas from many different places online and this is what works for us.
My husband Ron can bust out a load of laundry (gather, wash, rinse, and hang up) in about 30 minutes. We combined several other people's designs and came up with our "washer". It is a red plunger attached to a mop handle and he just uses it in a 5 gallon bucket. My husband cut 3 quarter sized holes with an exacto knife on the plunger. He then adds a 1/2 bucket of clean water, 2-3 Tablespoons of laundry detergent (that I make myself), and then begins to move the plunger up and down and in circular motions. He gets into a rhythm and plunges the clothes about as good as any agitator in an electric machine.
He double rinses the clothes in 2 wash tubs (with vinegar added to soften the clothes) and then hangs them out to dry. We let them dry in the sun.
Our clothes are clean and they smell wonderful. We have been doing this for about a year now and it works for us. I will NOT go to a Laundromat again! :-)
Here is the link to the homemade fabric softener!
Be sure to check out my post about line drying in the winter time!
If you have any questions or comments, we would gladly answer your questions and appreciate your comments.
Here is the link to the homemade fabric softener!
Be sure to check out my post about line drying in the winter time!
If you have any questions or comments, we would gladly answer your questions and appreciate your comments.
