posted 21 hours ago
I spent several months using a modified toilet plunger to clean clothing in my bathtub, upgrading to a pail with the plunger, which workes better since there was more water depth, before upgrading to a used portable washing machine that connected to my sink, because laundromats can be so incredibly pricey to use(for me, it was $40 in cab rides, and $40 in fees, every time I used one!).
It's doable to wash without a washing machine, but drying items is the tricky part since wringing by hand is so difficult. The portable washer was a huge improvement. I think I paid $150 for it, and it paid for itself after 2 missed trips to the laundromat. I ended up only needing the laundromat a few times a year, to wash things like duvets.
There are many stages to washing clothing:
1) wetting clothing
2) agitation with soap
3) Draining, and partially wringing out soapy water
4) Refill water
5) Agitation in plain water
6) Drain, and partially wring out soapy water
7) Repeat steps 4-6 another 2-4x, until soap goes away.
8) Wring out clothing well (lifting, twisting, and squeezing each piece repeatedly)
9) Hang to dry.
10) Check and move clothing around repeatedly to ensure all bits dry
11) Put away dry clothing.
12) If required, repeat steps 1-11, because you discover that things didn't dry soon enough (especially if drying indoors) and things became musty smelling, so you need to rewash!
This gets almost exponentially more difficult as items get larger - a sock is trivial to hand wash. A large bath sheet is a chore.
Stomping on the laundry while you shower is unlikely to do much good, as it would only cover the beginnings of agitating with soap - I was shocked at how difficult rinsing and wringing clothing was.
I won't say not to handwash clothing - but I would never dream of asking someone to handwash clothing (and it would be a relationship -ending request if someone suggested I start).
As for homemade detergent - I wouldnt try it in a high efficiency washer but for a portable washer or handwashing, it should be fine. Bar soap is unlikely to be strong enough to act as laundry soap, as it's usually formulate to NOT strip all the oil from your skin. You can buy bar laundry soap for handwashing.
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