Motivated more by penury than environmentalism, I recently decided to start washing all my clothes by hand. Towels, sheets, and blankets still go to the laundromat, since they’re too unwieldy to rinse and dry in the confined space of my little NYC apartment. Otherwise, I’ve kicked the washer and dryer habit, which is good, since both machines eat electricity like candy.
Feel like giving handwashing a try?
You will need:
- a large plastic or — better yet — metal bucket
- a bathtub
- laundry detergent (I like Seventh Generation)
- a laundry line, either in the bathtub itself, or anywhere else that’s convenient for you
1) Fill the bucket about halfway with your dirty clothes, packed loosely. Dump in the appropriate amount of detergent, fill the bucket with warm water. Allow the clothes to soak for at least ten minutes.
2) Take a shower. Wash, scrub, exfoliate, condition — do whatever you normally do in the shower. While you’re doing all this, stomp on your laundry to agitate it and force the soap through the fabric. You can also use a washboard during this stage, though I don’t think it’s really necessary.
3) When you’ve finished your shower, empty the laundry bucket and wring out the clothes. Fill the bucket about halfway with cold water, and then pound the hell out your clothes so as to remove as much soap as possible. Rinse, refill, repeat. Unless you’ve used way too much detergent, the rinsing process shouldn’t take more than a bucket or two of cold water.
4) Wring out your laundry, hang it up to dry. My laundry line suction-cups itself to the tiles of my bathroom wall, so that I can let my clothes drip-dry right over the tub.
Addendum: To shrink denim back to its proper size, soak it for five to ten minutes in very hot water. No tumble-drying necessary!
by laurawolfram
16 responses so far ↓
Kake // December 17, 2006 at 11:42 pm
I really like the idea of stamping on the clothes to clean them! It sounds much more efficient and effective than using your hands/arms.
laurawolfram // December 18, 2006 at 12:39 am
It’s also much more fun.
The First Piece of Advice for Design Students « 微物之神 // September 5, 2007 at 8:24 pm
[...] seems more sad than ingenious (although pretty darn ingenious), but if you want the recipe, look here. And if you want a video on a variation—this one wearing your dirty clothes—click above. [...]
Green Jello Hotdish » Blog Archive » No money and being eco-friendly // September 28, 2007 at 4:02 pm
[...] Motivated by a lack of quarters at the moment and a dwindling supply of clean clothing, I figured I should be able to wash my clothes in the bathtub of my apartment. Not knowing how to accomplish this, and having Google at my fingertips, I came across this blog post. [...]
prometheous // October 29, 2008 at 3:17 am
ingenious!
I too, am half past broke this time of the month, and can’t wait to have clean clothes again…patchouli only goes so far
Annah // November 17, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I started this with blouses I wear to work, similar to above with variations. Live in a small city apt and dread the laundromat. benefits: soak longer in shower. I clean my shirts until the hot water runs out. scrub parts of the shirts: collars, cuffs under arms with a small plastic laundry brush. Let drip dry. iron press later. I don’t have to drive to the laundromat. Save $ on overpriced coin operated machines. save energy. Back/ shoulders/ hands/ wrists get a workout. Control how your stuff is cleaned. clothes aren’t get ruined: bleached or baked in public machines. I don’t need an electrical humidifier. drip drying humidifies the apartment air. good for my plants and my breathing in the winter.
Avinish // April 5, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I didn’t know how dirty clothes got until I began washing them in the bathtub. Even after one day’s wear, the color of the bathwater is gross, and the sediment left behind surprising, considering that I am a student and dont do much other than study and go to class.
As for drying methods, I have purchased a $20 clothes rack from Target, which is placed in the tub. Be sure to drape each clothes over more than one rung of the rack, otherwise the rack-even the better-constructed ones-will come apart. I have found it essential to have a fan aimed at the rack in order for the clothes to dry without mildrewing, which dry in about 6-8 hours.
I do this because I was paying $30 in order to wash my clothes at the laundrymat, plus $10 for a taxi, which was just frustrating, and expensive.
Avinish // April 5, 2009 at 4:46 pm
The only downside to this is that when socks dry their texture is unpleasant. Also, be sure to wash thoroughly otherwise you are essentially only perfuming your clothes with detergent, and not washing them!
Avinish // April 5, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Also, if you have a clothesrack placed in the tub, you should make sure that the rack is standing perpendicular with respect to the floor (that is, place something underneath the legs of the rack) since most bathtubs are slanted downward, otherwise your rack will lean slightly, and with all the weight on it, it will eventually become deformed
Avinish // April 5, 2009 at 5:12 pm
As a last word, I have found that washing clothes this way is a viable alternative to the laundry mat for a student, and if you don’t have a car it’s clearly better than the laundry mat. I wonder how many people do this in the united states/europe?
Mr. Matt // April 5, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Started doing this in the ’80s, also for economic reasons, and it really saves a bundle. I even bought an album of Italian grape stomping songs at one point, just to add to the festive feel of it. We are brainwashed to think we need machines to do these things and we really don’t. Showering during the whole thing increases the efficiency of the operation. I like the collapsible stand-up drying racks that you can store under or beside a piece of furniture when not in use; I have two large racks next to a chair in my living room. I lived in Europe for years and although they do use washing machines (usually more efficient than ours) they tend to eschew the dryers and go for drying racks. One kind I really want to buy and install in the near future is the Leifheit over-the-shower model that you can lower to hang the clothes on and then raise up to let them dry. It’d be great for sheets, which I currently drape on two hangers and rearrange frequently to get them to dry. Glad to know others are doing it. My brother thinks I’m crazy!
Avinish // April 5, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Question about drying: how long does it take to dry with a shower rack? Is a fan used?
passt schon oder? :p http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya1Ev1g9hKo very fitting!
Kelly // August 9, 2009 at 1:45 am
LOVE this method. My 6 year old now loves “helping” with the laundry. We also use the grape stomping method in the tub though didnt think of putting it to music. I believe we will do this in the future. It started also when I didnt have enough change for the laundromat but now it’s just easier. I dont have to worry about my delicates getting burned if I’m not paying attention. I’ll have to try the in-the-shower method as well, as right now I’m not sure our “rinse” cycle is as effective as it could be. But hey, somewhat clean is better than ewwwwwwww…what’s that smell any day!! I’ve also traveled around Europe – mostly the former Soviet block and I’ve not once seen a dryer…washers yes but no dryers. I think partly it has to do with not having a way to ventilate out of those Soviet constructed buildings, partly for money reasons, but mostly because they’re just not as lazy as us machine dependent people…LOL nor do they have nearly as much laundry. Their wardrobe is drastically less bulky than ours. Everything generally goes with everything (even if it doesnt really go together) and it gets worn more than once before getting washed.
Napolean // August 13, 2009 at 5:58 pm
The defiinitely beats the laundry mat. I usually pay at least 30$ each time I go.
TIP: I wash usually most things in the tub and hang to dry. Usually my shirts and jeans are a little stiff – I go to the laundry mat and just do a quick tumble in the dryer to make my clothes soft. It’s an extra $1.00 if you prefer snuggle soft clothes!!
sandrar // September 10, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
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