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Rapid Washer
YourTube ^ | 7/22/11 | Kartographer

Posted on 07/22/2011 8:44:55 PM PDT by Kartographer

I just ran across this handy little device and wanted to share with my fellow Preppers:

This washer uses a technique of pushing and pulling the water through the clothes, without excess friction (which also reduces the wear on your clothes). This washer uses minimal water and because of the agitation motion, less soap. Use in a bucket, sink or tub. It also rinses your clothes using fresh water. A great item to have with your emergency and outdoor supplies.

(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...


TOPICS: Reference; Society
KEYWORDS: bhoeconomy; buyitwhileyoucan; emergencypreps; getreadyhereitcomes; laundry; preparedness; prepperping; preppers; prepping; preps; selfreliance; shtf; survival; survivalping; survivaltools; teotwawki; tshtf; washer
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To: jespasinthru

Far easier on buttons too, also as someone else pointed out more importantly far easier on your hands!


41 posted on 07/23/2011 6:01:55 AM PDT by Kartographer (".. we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.")
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To: familyop; Kartographer
Well, when I was a young bachelor I washed clothes by putting them in a five gallon bucket with water and soap, put it in the trunk of the car and then driving around country roads for 30 minutes or so. Hang on line and rinse with garden hose. Worked well and didn't need much ironing.
42 posted on 07/23/2011 6:05:12 AM PDT by mad_as_he$$
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To: ApplegateRanch

You are correct I saw a video on YouTube were a guy had a old one. I think it was made from galvanized steel. He said he had replaced the handle and cleaned the rust and then coated the head with something to protect it from rusting.


43 posted on 07/23/2011 6:05:32 AM PDT by Kartographer (".. we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.")
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To: bboop

I just watched a you tube of someone doing the laundry in a 5 gallon bucket and a clean, never used toilet plunger. And there are several you tubes of people doing laundry with a salad spinner.


44 posted on 07/23/2011 7:28:21 AM PDT by passionfruit (When illegals become legal, even they won't do the work Americans won't do)
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To: Kartographer

Thanks! On my shopping list!


45 posted on 07/23/2011 7:28:47 AM PDT by meowmeow (In Loving Memory of Our Dear Viking Kitty (1987-2006))
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To: ApplegateRanch
"it seems that back in Grandma’s day, these were common, and made of sheetmetal (Tinned? Galvanized?) or copper and and sized to (fittingly) fit a washtub."

Yep.

46 posted on 07/23/2011 7:47:47 AM PDT by Dust in the Wind (U S Troops Rock)
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To: passionfruit

Dishwasher an the microwave works great in a pinch....pasta roller sort of fails as a wringer .....

(don’t worry...just bookmarking an bumpin the thread)

When deployed to far off places in the military dug three holes an lined em with our ponchos. Filled with water an used Dr Bonners liquid no scent soap. Just about 4 drops in first puddle would wash my fire teams spare set of clothing an use other two puddles to rinse.

Hand wrung dry as possible.

Then double a line of para cord or rope etc an twist it tight a. String it up tight an the tight twists acted like clothes pins. Pull em apart a bit an push edge of clothing in an it would spring back to keep yer clean clothes off the ground in even a strong wind.

Combat Laundy 101...


47 posted on 07/23/2011 8:36:57 AM PDT by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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To: passionfruit
And there are several you tubes of people doing laundry with a salad spinner.

A salad spinner would hold just one pair of undies and who'd want to spin their salad in the afterward?!?

48 posted on 07/23/2011 8:56:57 AM PDT by bgill
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To: passionfruit

I know! I loved the salad spinner one too. Oh haha.


49 posted on 07/23/2011 9:39:44 AM PDT by bboop (Stealth Tutor)
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To: little jeremiah
"I’ve washed clothes by hand many ways and over periods of time. It’s not the washing that’s so hard, it’s the wringing out."

I have, too....well, for a man, you know. Women tend to take over after initial washings in new ways.

The following works very well. We've used it for over two years (close to three, IIRC). The one that we have uses about 300 watts for 2-3 minutes--4-5 minutes for jeans or towels. ...not much power used because of the short length of time and runs plugged in to our tiny inverter. It'll work fine from a generator, too, without using much fuel at all. And it gets clothes more nearly dry than a regular washing machine spin cycle can.

Spin Dryer
http://www.laundry-alternative.com/products/Spin_Dryer.html

Our spin dryer is much tougher than the Wonder Washer was.

But yeah, sometimes it's so windy and dry, we just wring 'em a little by hand and hang 'em up. Later on, when we've built the larger power plant and had it inspected, we'll get a front-loading washing machine and hook it up to the water system and septic system. ...uses a lot power but not for long (watt-hours, amp-hours) and requires proper big battery cables and other wiring.

What can I say? We're nerds. We studied for years and years, then tech. office cities went into maintenance mode. But at the same time, we'll sometimes move many yards of rock and sand by hand instead of hiring a backhoe, for example. Or I'll pull an AC well pump (temporary pending solar plant, larger cistern and slow pump) on 200 feet of 1" line by hand (winch on tripod or something for hoisting or hiring of pump installer recommended for most). ...depends on situations and time constraints. No matter how poor or old we will be, there will also be plans for improvements.


50 posted on 07/23/2011 12:14:53 PM PDT by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in a noisy avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the earth.)
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To: little jeremiah
For a squeezer he has the drum from a laundrymat washing machine - steel with all those holes in it. His idea is to make a sort of flat plate that fits right inside the drum and a lever to push down on the clothes, and just press the water out of them.

When I was a wee little tyke our laundry room was in the basement (wringer washer, twin concrete laundry tubs, and a rainwater cistern). The "dryer" was clothes line in the backyard (& basement for inclement weather). My folks "modernized" the kitchen in the early 50's and moved the laundry into a side nook in the renovated kitchen.

The washer they bought was semi-automatic with a rectangular stainless steel washing tub with the agitator in the side of the tub. Washing and rinsing were done in that tub. Wringing the excess water was done in another round tub next to the washing tub (after rinsing, you manually fished out the clean wet laundry and dumped it in the round tub and closed a lid that resembled the top of a pressure cooker). The tub was lined with a rubber bag and when the lid was latched water was introduced between the tub and bag liner, squeezing the bag (& clothes) to remove excess water.

I remember the machine didn't last very long before it was replaced with one with a design as common today. If I recall correctly, the early machine had a rather small capacity. The side mounted agitator did not work very well. Moving the wet clothes to a separate squeezer was messy and difficult as the tub was near the back of the machine. The finished clothes were mostly damp but were thoroughly wrinkled and almost everything needed to be ironed. The "hydraulic" wringer would leak when the rubber bag developed cracks and have to be replaced.

I suspect that a hydraulic squeezer could be made to work today because we've had sixty years of improvements in the chemistry of elastomers and chances of finding more durable material for the liner bag is almost a certainty.

Regards,
GtG

51 posted on 07/23/2011 12:20:02 PM PDT by Gandalf_The_Gray (I live in my own little world, I like it 'cuz they know me here.)
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To: Gandalf_The_Gray

Thanks for the memories of clothes washing! I remember as a kid those Maytags that ran on wheels and rolled up to the kitchen sink for water intake, with the attached wringer. I happen to have one now, picked it up at a garage sale. Not using it though, it has tiny capacity. I’d like to sell it.

Nice wringer, though.

Not sure how hub planned the squeezer; I think a frame to hold it, and doing the whole process outside. We live where it doesn’t freeze much (up til now, that is).


52 posted on 07/23/2011 12:29:16 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: familyop
Thanks, will check your link. The below could be hub's motto:

No matter how poor or old we will be, there will also be plans for improvements.

Our projects and plans are less high tech due to training/knowledge constraints as well as $. Our current hot water plans are in the links above - to make a couple, one using wood, one utilizing the wood stove pipe in the winter. Maybe a solar one too. We have a couple on demand propane hot water heaters, used one for a while but it needs some fixing which he could do, just hasn't gotten around to it. We're going to sell them. I'd rather have means to heat water that is independent of any petroleum products. We have tons of wood and can gather more if ever needed from nearby BLM land; for the type of hot water heater he plans to make, small sticks work fine.

53 posted on 07/23/2011 12:37:13 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: familyop

Very interesting spinner. Squeezing/spinning/wringing well is absolutely key in getting them not just drier but clean. I use a clothesline all year or wooden racks inside unless it’s really cold and rainy/snowy. Actually for some years we had no drier, so inside the house we had nails on the crossbeams as well as racks and the house was a forest of hanging long johns...


54 posted on 07/23/2011 12:39:10 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: little jeremiah
"Our projects and plans are less high tech due to training/knowledge constraints as well as $."

Some people do more, and others think more. I often tend to think too much. ;-) Money's tough for us, too. Our next project is planned to save the most from income each month thereafter. ...same with the project after that, and so on.

"Our current hot water plans are in the links above - to make a couple, one using wood, one utilizing the wood stove pipe in the winter."

I didn't find the links, but it sounds interesting. Many people lack the number of sun days that we have here for solar radiant (drainback: collectors, tank, etc.) and would do better with wood for heat.


55 posted on 07/23/2011 2:43:33 PM PDT by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in a noisy avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the earth.)
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To: familyop

Oops, the water heater links were on a previous recent thread. I started off looking for links for a portable on demand propane hot water heater and branched into other kinds.

We’re not young any more and kids are well grown and live far away. I have expected that some friends may wind up here so have collected things to support or provide some necessities for more than just us two. We will see.


56 posted on 07/23/2011 2:57:08 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: mad_as_he$$
"Well, when I was a young bachelor I washed clothes by putting them in a five gallon bucket with water and soap, put it in the trunk of the car and then driving around country roads for 30 minutes or so. Hang on line and rinse with garden hose. Worked well and didn't need much ironing."

You were a smarter young bachelor than I was.

That's a good idea. Earlier, I was hinting for the do-it-your-self-ers, that a crankshaft of sorts (maybe from an offset hole in a sprocket or something) could be made to agitate a load a little instead of turning a whole load (with bicycle power or whatever). ...or maybe using a crankshaft from a vehicle engine mounted with bearings on a homemade, welded frame.

Washing by hand is good, but automating such chores can free up a lot of time for other work. I'm looking forward to running a front loader from a PV solar plant. The drying can be done here with clotheslines in a greenhouse-like structure (open ends during summer, less ventilation in winter).

It's kinda like my perception of the shallow water systems with manual pumps and disinfecting additives/filters. ...lotta continuing hassles there. I've installed an off-grid pump system in a deep well and cistern with gravity feed (downhill) to the home site and tested the water. Generator-powered for now and small PV solar plant with slow pump for that later on. Water storage in cistern instead of battery storage for electricity--no batteries. The pump will be voltage and current-tolerant and made for that sort of thing.

When we're self-sufficient enough, I won't need any stinkin' jobs in any faraway town over iced passes. ...will pay taxes and liability insurance (wonderful, ruthless insurance broker) with what little we'll make from right here. ;-)


57 posted on 07/23/2011 2:59:37 PM PDT by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in a noisy avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the earth.)
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To: familyop
Wow you are well down the road!! Congrats!
58 posted on 07/23/2011 3:03:29 PM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (De Oppresso libre!)
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To: mad_as_he$$

Thanks. We have a long way to go, though. There’s no hookup for electricity for about three miles, and the climate is brutal (over 9,000 ft. elev., cold, most often windy, etc.). Overnight temps are now in the 30s—most comfortable time of year for a couple more weeks or so.


59 posted on 07/23/2011 4:37:28 PM PDT by familyop ("Plan? There ain't no plan!" --Pigkiller, "Beyond Thunderdome")
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To: ChocChipCookie
I was think about one of these for rinsing and winging. Again I think it would be easier on your clothes than even a wringer.
60 posted on 07/23/2011 8:04:26 PM PDT by Kartographer (".. we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.")
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