Green Cleaning

Non electric washers

My family used a non-electric washer growing up. My mom took an old-style electric washer from the 50s and converted it by putting a handle on the agitator and attaching a wringer from a mop bucket to squeeze out the water after the washer crashed. It looked a little crazy, but made washing a lot easier than doing it with a washboard. She did laundry for our family of seven using it and a clothesline. I have it in my basement now and it still works! And, the best part was that it was free! If you are concerned about the aesthetics of it, this method might not work for you. It was definitely functional and low cost. I think the older washers from the 40s and 50s would work best because there is no resistance to the agitator to keep it from being used manually. You can find them for around 200 bucks in good shape.

Non-Electric Washing

Carol C. has the right idea! Years ago, Stanley Home Products had a product very much like that, except the rubber cup was harder rubber than the regular plunger, it was shaped like a flower, and it had small holes punched in the rubber part, so that the water flowed through. I used it for my delicates and sweaters, but used the regular washing machine for heavier and larger stuff.

There have been a few times in my life where I did experiment with washing all the laundry in the bathtub, and got pretty good results. If you don't mind the time and having to use a bit of elbow grease, you should get decent results. I can't see my way clear to spending all that money for a JJ Washer!

Non-electric washing machines

I recently "invented" a method for doing laundry without using electricity. Originally, after my 25-year-old electric washer conked out, I was seeking to get my hands on a used wringer washer, but meantime I needed to do the wash.

Got an idea, went to a hardware store and got two 5-gallon buckets, then grabbed one of those hollow, soft plastic toilet plungers while I was at it. I went home and filled up the buckets with cold water, added Seventh Generation liquid detergent, and put in the hardest laundry I could find--whites (including socks).

I put in the plunger and plunged away for three minutes. Let the wash sit for another 3-5 minutes, then plunged again for three minutes. Rinsed in the other bucket, then just gently squeezed the water out, shook out the clothes, and hung everything on hangers outside to drip awhile. Took everything into the garage and hung them up. Next morning the only things still damp were the socks. They were dry by 10 am.

Of course, I'm proud of myself. It was a challenge, and contrary to finding it a lot of work and a chore that I will avoid until I have no choice, I am actually eager to do jeans and other goodies, just to see what I (and my "washer") are capable of.

However, when I read that there were non-electric washers, I got excited to find out about them.

Looking forward to hearing more about this great way to get the laundry done without having to haul it around to the neighborhood laundromat.

non electric washing machines

Wow, $450 to $650 sounds really expensive. When y2k was about to happen, I remember seeing non electric washers for $50, but I dont remember any brand names or companies. I think this was a very small unit, would do underwear, or maybe a couple of pairs of pants or something, at one time. Hopefully if youre spending several hundred bucks you'd be getting one that would do a regular sized load.

Does anyone know anything about the smaller ones for $50? I've been wanting to get one of these, but like I said, cant remember any of the details...

James Washer

WOW, Expensive. I have to have one.......sigh

what I've heard

Greetings Kay

I've never used a non-electric washing machine. (Just learned of them, actually.) The fellow who told me about them thought they worked well. He used one for many years (and may still, due to environmental sensitivity). Relative to hand-washing, he felt it was much less tiring on the hands. He used/uses it to wash everything.

Hope that is a little bit helpful.

Joanne