What's the best manual or off grid washer you've used?

I bought a manual washer about 20 years ago that was ok. I am in the market for one again and curious what other people use.

I have one of these, but with just a wooden handle (not metal like they're selling now).  I've used it a couple times on really dirty items, or things I just didn't want to run through the washing machine.  It does a good job, but it's a workout.  The "breathing" effect is pronounced and is helpful for pulling out the dirt.  I use it in a 5 gallon bucket, I guess if you had a larger container you could wash more items at once.  I suspect that it would really only work for a few items at a time.

https://www.lehmans.com/product/breathing-hand-washer/

I have more of an idea than experience with off grid washers.  If one were to gut a standard washer and remove the electric components, but leave the mechanical and set up a rowing machine type thing that connects to the drum, it would be possible to use the whole body to power through a load of laundry.  No doubt it would be easiest to use a high efficiency washer for this application because there would be less water and therefore weight to move.  Has anyone done this?  Am I in the wrong thread?  Just think of how strong and fast a person would become from just doing their laundry! haha

Do you have one of those above, S.Bengi?  I've looked for these online and don't see anywhere still selling them.  They seem quite interesting.

My husband and I did laundry by hand for two+ years, just using a big plastic tote.  Totes. You can just throw stuff in the tote with hose water, and Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds, or sodium percarbonate (dry H2O2) depending on how dirty they are. Then agitate with your hands or feet, and let soak.  Soaking seems to do more than agitating in most cases- exceptions being clothing with major stains. For, say, major dirt, blood or grease stains, spot cleaning by hand works best.  Then pull the clothes/towels/bedding out and put them into the second tote to rinse. Repeat if needed.

It's like a washing "assembly" line...  Good to set it up next to a planting bed(s).  Sodium percarbonate shouldn't be dumped in one spot too many times on account of building up salinity - but if you do it a few times a year in an organic gardening bed the plants will explode in growth.  Most love hydrogen peroxide.

The real hassle, in my experience, is wringing them out. If I ever have to do this again I will get some sort of wringer.  That would be the real time and energy saver. Not having a wringer we did it all by hand, including bedding, during that time.  It's a real pain in the arms!  I've had friends use manual wringers, and other friends who were traveling and camping and relied on small electric spinners that they said did wonders for getting the water out.

Then, in case it's not obvious, we hung clothes on a line.  The most effective, strongest outdoor clothesline setup is the old fashioned "T" metal post.  Those are the only ones I've found that can hold up in 30-70 mph winds with clothes or bedding (i.e. that you didn't have a chance to pull off the line before the sandstorm hit) on them.  

The types with a single pole are not able to withstand high wind.  When we first moved to the desert it was quite a clue that we saw T-post clotheslines set in concrete at most of the homes for sale that were built prior to 1960...

Like this type:

Kim Goodwin wrote: I've had friends use manual wringers, and other friends who were traveling and camping and relied on small electric spinners that they said did wonders for getting the water out.

We collect ideas for our farm (we have a few more years to go before we can leave our "city" lifestyle) and one is a non-electrical laundry spinner. I plan to have a laundry machine that spins (and spinning makes all the difference when washing and drying by hand), but there are some times like when I'm dying fabric I don't want to mess up the machine, or don't want to run the full spin cycle, etc. The husband is the mechanic so he'll be in charge of actual development but I can see some sort of sideways ratchet that gets a cylinder flying up to speed and then spinning on something with some bearings, maybe with a bike chain.

The non-electric washer the S Bengi posted can be found here:



https://www.amazon.com/Yirego-Portable-Washer-Electric-Saving/dp/B08WR9QVZC/ref=sr_1_8

It is rather pricey.

Within my price range if I were looking for one:



https://www.amazon.com/Laundry-Alternative-Wonderwash-Retro-Colors/dp/B07FTVRV6P/ref=sr_1_2