Doing Laundry in a Survival Setting

How would you do laundry during a long-term power outage?

When I found the forum in 2016 I knew this was my kind of place.  Over the years I have enjoyed several threads that are very entertaining.  I like to see what other members are doing through their posts with pictures.

.Recently I was reading a thread about doing laundry by hand.  This thread reminded me of when I was a newlywed and our first house had no hookup for a washer.  I had done laundry by hand at the college dorm and at my first apartment.

We only had one car so dear hubby dropped me off at the laundromat.  I was not really impressed with my experience.  When I mentioned this to a friend, she said "and you don't know whose clothes were in the washer before yours."  I decided I would just wash clothes by hand.

Over the years, when the washer went out I did laundry by hand.

Here are some ideas that I got from reading threads on the forum:

This person is stomping their laundry like you would stomp grapes:


HERE

And this is a great idea for a clothes line from the above source:


These look like curtain rods:

HERE

I like this washing station:


HERE

I actually would love to have one of these:


HERE


I hope everyone has gotten some ideas on how to do laundry in a survival setting.

Anne Miller wrote:.Recently I was reading a thread about doing laundry by hand. .....  I had done laundry by hand at the college dorm and at my first apartment.

We may be on the same wavelength, Anne, I think I was reading the same thread and thinking about how I always washed my clothes by hand in college- laundry cost money, and I never had enough! I always did it in the tub [stomp stomp] and hung it out on my fire escape to dry. Now I have a machine, but on my recent travels with just a backpack I often found myself washing small quantities of clothes as I took a shower (stand on it, use the same soap). I wouldn't want to have to wash the whole family's clothes by hand, but in a pinch I could (and I have, when the machine has broken). We already hang all the clothes outside, so we've got structure for that.
A tip for wringing out clothes, if you're like me and not fortunate enough to have a wringer.... get another pair of hands. Wringing clothes yourself can be hard on the wrists, but with two people you can easily twist up jeans, blankets, etc.

Back in the day when we were poorly tgan dirt, we always stomped out clothes in the tub and hung them over the railing.  Drying via sweater rack and clothesline is easy, would love a wringer!  I did purchase one of these for the eventuality.

Tereza said, "A tip for wringing out clothes, if you're like me and not fortunate enough to have a wringer.... get another pair of hands. Wringing clothes yourself can be hard on the wrists, but with two people you can easily twist up jeans, blankets, etc.

That is a great tip.  Wringing heavy item is next to impossible without help.  I usually end up doing the best I can and hanging them where they can drip dry.

I forgot this one:


source

I think my biggest concern with hand washing is the wringing. I have terribly sensitive skin on my hands and they're already ruined from handwashing dishes. The old fashioned wringers are so nice, but quite expensive. I was thinking of maybe buying a marble rolling pin...

In the Off Grid Laundry Alternative - Drying Solution, Tamara Dutch posted this:

tamara dutch wrote:Pre-wringer wringing aid is a smooth post set well into the ground.
Here in an episode of the tudor monastery farm at 39m 38 seconds :

I can attest that this helps a LOT! For 3+ weeks, we were without an electric washing machine. We have a WonderWash, which worked pretty well for washing clothes. But, it doesn't spin dry anything. I really, really, REALLY wish there was a giant Salad Spinner that would spin clothes dry manually, but I couldn't find one (and, no, sticking clothes in a normal salad spinner doesn't spin out their water...I tried ).

But, I did have a trellis next to my laundry line, and I would wrap shirts/pants/sheets/towels and other large clothing around it and twist. This got out a lot of water! I would suggest a non-rusting metal pole, though. I was always a bit worried that my clothes would get splinters from the wooden post!

This is from the link that Nicole posted and I really like this idea:




(Thanks, Nicole I had not seen that thread!)

The day after we moved here, we discovered the washing machine didn’t work, either got damaged in the move or wouldn’t work on our electrical system. We’ve been washing clothes by hand ever since, just in a normal laundry trough which I think is 40 litres/10 gallons. I sometimes actually prefer it because it means I don’t have to separate wool and delicates from regular washing.

It can take some getting used to, but once you’re in the habit of washing by hand, it’s not too bad. I wrote a bit in an ebook about off-grid living about the process we use, that can be found over here: https://permies.com/t/190046/ebooks/Create-Resilient-Grid-Home-Kate

I have sensitive skin, and the method I use works for me. I’ve never used toxic laundry products, but started with a natural/eco powder designed for machines, and eventually started making my own from soap, borax, and washing soda. We do 2 rinses after the first soak, squashing the clothes down to wring them out as much as possible each time and it seems to get all the soap out,

What i did was just fill 5-10 gallons of water into a tub with some soap and get after it. Rub those clothes together best you can and pile em up on the side (yes in the dirt...) then, dump the filthy water and refill with clean, rinse as well as possible. Wring and hang to dry.

Crispy socks will soften up with wear.

We used to wash by hand in the dorm. Really heavy and still wet items we'd wrap in a bath towel and 2 of us would twist it really hard. In fact even lighter items were done like that because ee only had hot water pipes to dry things on lol

I washed our clothes by hand for several years when we were first married as couldn't afford a washing machine.  I still have a posser and often wash smalls in a bucket.  Always hang out on the washing line to dry as don't want a drier.

Hi Jane,

Welcome to Permies. It’s great to have you here.

Hi Zilly,

Welcome to Permies.  You have just found the best spot on the net.

Jane Sutherland wrote:We used to wash by hand in the dorm. Really heavy and still wet items we'd wrap in a bath towel and 2 of us would twist it really hard. In fact even lighter items were done like that because ee only had hot water pipes to dry things on lol

I use a bath towel also, but I lay the item flat on the towel and then roll it up. The towel is layered with the item in the roll, and I can squish it hard on the floor with my knees and arms. Works well.

I want to move to line-drying.  Does anyone have tips for line-drying clothes in humid weather?
Thanks

Susan, I've lived in a few really humid places and never had a dryer, never really had a problem with things not drying (unless they're getting rained on or being hung out at night).
When we hang stuff during the (cold) rainy season we hang it under a roof so it doesn't get rained on, eventually it dries. Airflow helps: occasionally I'll put a fan out among the clothes to get things moving if I'm really concerned they won't dry. It might take two days instead of the usual half-day.

Ann Zotter wrote:I think my biggest concern with hand washing is the wringing. I have terribly sensitive skin on my hands and they're already ruined from handwashing dishes. The old fashioned wringers are so nice, but quite expensive. I was thinking of maybe buying a marble rolling pin...

Slightly off-topic, but I too struggle with that, and a pair of nice rubber or silicone gloves works wonders! I like the fancy lined Clorox ones. Yes, they’re disposable, but they last me at least four months, and my hands need the protection.

Tereza Okava wrote:Susan, I've lived in a few really humid places and never had a dryer, never really had a problem with things not drying (unless they're getting rained on or being hung out at night).
When we hang stuff during the (cold) rainy season we hang it under a roof so it doesn't get rained on, eventually it dries. Airflow helps: occasionally I'll put a fan out among the clothes to get things moving if I'm really concerned they won't dry. It might take two days instead of the usual half-day.

Thank you!

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:I use a bath towel also, but I lay the item flat on the towel and then roll it up. The towel is layered with the item in the roll, and I can squish it hard on the floor with my knees and arms. Works well.

Thanks, Douglas!

I had forgotten about the bath towel trick.  That makes wringing out items really easy.

I had been taking the items outside in a laundry basket and hanging the items to just drip dry.

Oh my! Reading this tread gives me shivers. Would I do it? No! Could I? Yes.  But that would depend  on a time of a year. Maybe in Summer.
I remember all too well (starting from childhood) doing laundry and... helping with bedding doing it all by hands. In Winter, everything had to be hanged outside, then everything was stiff and frozen, my hands including.  Because the space was limited for hanging,  it seemed that laundry day was "everyday"!
I have aversion to washing dishes and laundry by hand.
So, if the power ever went out... I think I'd find a way to exchange this service for something I wouldn't mind doing

Anne Miller wrote:
I hope everyone has gotten some ideas on how to do laundry in a survival setting.

More than you know.  So, so appreciated!  It's one concern completely crossed off my list as something not to fret about anymore.  Now... if you have a similar post about air-conditioning, you'd be my new best friend.  

Nicole Alderman wrote:

tamara dutch wrote:Pre-wringer wringing aid is a smooth post set well into the ground.
Here in an episode of the tudor monastery farm at 39m 38 seconds :
https://youtu.be/gnFi96PLlFY?t=2378

Ruth Goodman is an absolute treasure, isn't she?