# How to Wash Clothes without a Washer?



## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

I know this seems like a silly question. I've washed a few clothes here and there by hand, you know the delicate ones that can't go in the washer. But I'm asking about full loads now. My washer has decided that it doesn't want to spin and it costs $200 just to get the part that *might* fix it. I found a low cost washer in a local store for $320 so I told my DH it makes more sense to me to spend the extra and know that I'll have a washer. I'm afraid the part we think it needs won't be the problem and then we are going to be out more money. He seemed undecided this morning when he left for work so I'm not sure what we will be doing. I do know that I need to wash some clothes though so I'm needing help.

Back to my question, can someone explain in steps how to wash regular loads of clothes without me needing to buy anything. I had to wash the load that was in the washer last night and I just put some detergent in a tote with water and swished them around with my hands. Then I let them soak awhile and swished some more before I rinsed them. When should I add the softener, when I'm rinsing? And what's the best way to wring them out? I found my small mop bucket with a ringer on it and I think it will work but wanted to get some advice from others that already know what they are doing.

Thank you


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

We always washed in the bathtub. PUt in detergent, fill 1/4 way with water, put in clothes. Swish around with a broomstick, get on knees and lift clothes up and down forcing suds through them. Drain tub and wring out some by hand. Fill tub 1/4 full with cool water. Repeat above agitation. Wring out clothes into drain water. For second load, add boiling water to tub and wash as above. It took Mum and I all day to wash the family's clothes. We wrung out the sheets by each taking an end and twisting. 
NOT FUN, especially in the winter.

I'd look for a used washer. The last I purchased cost me $75.00 and it lasted 4 - 5 years.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

It takes a lot of work to get dirty clothes anywhere near as clean as a machine will. Do it for a week or two and you will realize that a cloths washing machine is one if the greatest things ever invented.  and, you'll find some way of getting one.


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

I catch rain water which is naturally soft. By using that I eliminate the need for softener.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

why is a _laundromat_ out of the question?


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## airwolftruker (Jul 15, 2011)

The bathtub swishing sounds good, but if i could add. LEHMANS sells a clothes washing agitator that looks like a toilet plunger.
They claim it forces water thru the garments, hence moving dirt.
I dont own one so i cant speak from experience.
Also ive seen on the net small plastic barrel as a rocker washer.
Again i dont own one.
i do own a good old fashioned wash board though. Works great. Just take a little elbow grease. Lol


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

The plunger thing works very well, best in a five gallon bucket. I would use it with the bathtub, giving a few item at a time a turn in the bucket v


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## doozie (May 21, 2005)

While camping I decided I didn't want to bring the dirties back and hand washed all our stuff. 2 wash tubs,baby washing detergent to save my skin, and the swish and lift method. I learned that I would take towels and jeans to a laundromat in the future. Wringing those items out was the hardest thing for me, and then they took forever to air dry.


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## katheh (Jul 21, 2012)

I too have used a plunger in a bucket in a pinch (that lasted 4 months LOL).

My tub will fit 3 5-gallon buckets, one had soap, one rinse, another rinse. I used a laundry bar (I think it's called Zote) to spot treat stains then shaved a bit into the wash water. 

Plunge plunge plunge. Fold items in half over the plunger handle and twist to wring. Then hang dry.

I did the towels at the laundromat, thankfully we have a lot of them and we are not germophobes about it, we used them a good week or so at a time.

Was glad to get my washer back! If I had no $ at all, I would sell my dryer to get a washer, much easier to live without a dryer than a washer. 

That said my washer needed only a new magnet for the lid so it would spin again (it wasn't getting a good enough lock). My 16yo son diagnosed and fixed it for me


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## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks everyone. I just needed to make sure I was getting the clothes clean. I will be getting a new washer soon, but for right now I've managed to get mine working again. I have no clue what the thing is doing, it just refuses to spin sometimes. It's happened during the wash, rinse and spin cycle. All I did to it was take the drain clean out thingy out to make sure it wasn't clogged and put it back in. I threw some clothes in there just to see what cycle it was going to stop at and it worked. Next time I'm getting a regular top load washer.

The laundromat was never an option because it would take too much time to get to town, wait around with 2 kids and then the drive back home. My parents live closer than the laundromat and I know they wouldn't care for me to do laundry at their house. But I had to wash the one load by hand because they had been stuck sitting in the washer all night because the stupid door locked and wouldn't let me get them out. I also think it's a good thing to know because you never know when the electric might be out for more than a few days. 

I plan on ordering one of those plungers after Christmas, seems like a good thing to have around just in case. And I might start saving for a clothes wringer too. That is definitely the hardest part with washing by hand, in my opinion.

katheh - Totally agree about giving up the dryer. I would string up a few clotheslines in the basement and not even think twice about it. 

Thanks again.


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

Wait you have kids --Time for and I love Lucy. 

Tub, water, soap, clothes, camera--note camera very important. Now, add kids --bathing suit or birth suits. Under your watchful eyes (and thru the lens of the camera) teach the kids to stomp the clothes like grapes --this works for the cleaning and rinsing. --The hard part is wringing the jean and such twist and twist and twist some more. Sorry for you I was there last year. make memories when and where you can.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

> The laundromat was never an option because it would take too much time to get to town, wait around with 2 kids and then the drive back home


A wash cycle is 25 minutes. 
I load the washers and run to Alco/post office/library/etc. 

Come back, move everything to the dryers for half an hour and head to the grocery store. 
Come back, and fold. 

In less than 2 hours I get an entire week's worth of laundry done in between my usual errands. :shrug:


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

ErinP said:


> A wash cycle is 25 minutes.
> I load the washers and run to Alco/post office/library/etc.
> 
> Come back, move everything to the dryers for half an hour and head to the grocery store.
> ...


Try that around here, and you'll come back to find your clothes gone!


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

In which case, if I sit and babysit my laundry, I get a week's worth (for a family of four) done in about an hour and fifteen minutes. 
Seriously. 

You will not convince me that doing it by hand is somehow preferable.


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## Peacock (Apr 12, 2006)

But it's so expensive! I know it'd cost me about $8 per load to do it in a laundromat around here. No kidding. $3 for the washer and $5 for the dryer. I went recently to price it out, just out of curiosity, when we had septic tank issues. I do at least 8 loads a week. No way could I handle that!

I've been worrying about the same thing recently. Last week my washer wouldn't spin either. I unloaded the wet laundry and wrung it out as best as I could, then tried spinning it again - it worked again for some reason and has been okay since, though it isn't getting my clothes as spin-dried as usual. My w/d set is 14 years old so yeah, maybe it's just that time.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Holy smokes!! 

Here it's $1.75 for a washer and $.25 for every 10 minutes in the dryer.


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## Peacock (Apr 12, 2006)

I know, I know. My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw it! No idea how anybody could afford that.

I used to use a laundromat a long, long time ago when I lived in an apt. and for a little while after DH and I were in a trailer. It was expensive to us then, but this was just incredible. No idea how we wrangled a used w/d into that tiny 10x60 trailer, but I'm glad we did!

Not so hard to find a used washer for a good price, definitely less than $200. Go to auctionzip.com and see if there are any auctions near you - they usually post a lot of the things they're auctioning and appliances show up often. I've seen nearly brand new ones go as low as $50.


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

sweet heavens! no wonder you dont want to use the laundromat. sure that's highway robbery! prices here are about the same as where Erin is. it's hard to wash clothes without the machine. especially with kids where there's so much. did you ask your mom if you could or you know she wont. you never know. wish you were close. i have a big laundry room. a couple of my friends use it whenever they need it. you should be able to get one at the used store . i saw several for 50 dollars and our prices are much higher for everything . hope you found something by now. ~Georgia.


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## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

ErinP - I have to agree with backwoods about the clothes being gone if I left them alone. And in no way was I suggesting I wanted to wash clothes by hand long term. I was mainly wanting to make sure that the load I rewashed by hand was clean enough for my DH to wear to work. 

Peacock - Wow! For those prices you could go to one of the rent-to-own places and get a brand new washer and dryer delivered to your house. Which I don't recommend because of the high price.  

I think my washer might have some sort of clog in the drain line. But the dryer is stacked on top so I can't get them moved enough to see. Hopefully now that the Christmas season is over DH will have the time to help me take the dryer off the washer and then I can check the line. My set is only 6 years old so I expect it to last a few more years.

And my parents have no problem with me bringing laundry over to their house, my mom even said I could drop off the clothes and she would wash them. Thankfully the thing is working again so I don't have to burden them with my laundry.


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

Wash the clothes at the laundromat and bring them home wet, then drying them on the line or the dryer. That shouldn't take much time at all and if kids can't sit around with a couple of toys for 45 minutes, there's a bigger problem there!


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

Put your clothes on to soak the night before. Soaking will take the place of a lot of elbow grease. Use less soap than you think you need. Lift and plunge. Take a stiff bristle brush to stains. Using the brush will really save your knuckles. Use 2 rinses if water isn't scarce. Forget the fabric softener and add some vinegar to your rinse water.

The hardest part of hand washing is the wringing. It kills my wrists, so I learned not to wring. I squeeze most of the water out and then hang it up to drip dry. After a couple of hours I go out to the line and kind of shake and straighten the clothes so that they will dry more wrinkle free.

When buying cloth items I keep in mind the laundering of that item. I buy smaller, thinner towels. Easier to wash and they dry faster. I get just as dry and actually prefer the texture to that of the super thick towels. When I'm using a dryer instead of line drying, I'm able to run it for a shorter cycle since they don't take as long to dry.


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## sugarspinner (May 12, 2002)

I just can't let an opportunity to share this slip away from me. Think this actually came from the really old Homesteading site. 
This woman wrote in that she put two 55-gallon barrels in the back of her pick-up truck, filling one with hot, soapy water and the other with cold water; each about half full. Then she threw her dirty clothes in the soapy one and took off for town, which happened to be around curves, up and down hills and over numerous prodigious bumps. Once she was in town and finished with her shopping, she took the clothes from the soapy barrel, wrung them gently and placed them in the cold barrel. Back home she went, up and down hills, over bumps and around curves. At home she wrung out the clothes and hung them up. 
We've laughed for years, now, about that. Actually, that's more-or-less the way my husband cleans our sap collection tank each spring when syrup season is over.


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## Olpoop (Jul 8, 2012)

KyMama said:


> .... it just refuses to spin sometimes. It's happened during the wash, rinse and spin cycle. ....I threw some clothes in there just to see what cycle it was going to stop at and it worked. Next time I'm getting a regular top load washer.


Iâm not familiar with a front load machine if that's what yours is, but our top load washer has a safety switch on the door that wonât let the machine spin when the lid is open. It will fill and agitate with the lid open, but it wonât spin. The switch on our washer is getting to where it doesnât make contact good every time (probably corrosion in the contacts), and wonât let it spin after the wash cycle sometimes until we push down on the lid. We can hear the timer click and start ticking again to complete the âset & soakâ portion of the cycle, then it spins out.

You might see if you have a door switch acting up on yours. When you threw some more clothes in and it worked, maybe it pressed the safety switch better that time.

CD in Oklahoma


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## Mallard Farm (Feb 17, 2013)

When we decided that we were going to buy a Farm and Homestead we started looking at how we did things and how we could save money. I wash our clothes in 2 rubbermade totes in the bath tub and use a plunger with the homemade soap. I plunge a while then let them soak, hand wring then let them sit in the rinse water for a while then lift them up and down. I use the towel bar in the bath tub to wring them out. Then they go outside on the line. Within a couple of hours I have the laundry done. We are in the process of getting plans for an old washing machine tub that can be hooked up to the bike so I can exercise and do the laundry.


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## Wolfy-hound (May 5, 2013)

If you're wringing out typical clothing, instead of grasping either end and twisting with both hands, wrap the item over a stick(like short piece of broom handle) and twist the stick while holding the other "end" of the clothing. I don't know about most, but the reason my hands would hurt is that I was having to grab hard and twist and my fingers were worn out in short time. With a stick it was easier.

Also, I've used a five gallon bucket with a screw tip lid. Once it's screwed on, just slosh it back and forth.


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

Wolfy-hound said:


> Also, I've used a five gallon bucket with a screw tip lid. Once it's screwed on, just slosh it back and forth.


When sailing in Florida with an infant and cloth diapers, I put the diapers in a Rubbermaid bin in the morning with water and detergent then popped on the lid and strapped it on the side at the rail near the bow. By the time we got into port, it was sufficiently agitated and the diapers were clean! I just had to rinse and hang.


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

Another way to remove water from clothes, is put wet clothes into a bucket that you've drilled holes in all around sides an bottom, resembling the inside of your washer tub. Place a smaller *bucket with a lid* on it, inside of the bucket with holes, then sit on small bucket. The water is "pressed" out of the clothes, and drains through the holes in the first bucket. Obviously, you'd want to do this in the bath tub or outside, unless you use a third bucket to catch the water. Which is a good idea btw, as you could reuse the clean rinse water as "wash water" then.


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