Remember how i put together my Lehman's Hand Washer a few months ago? Alot of people wanted to know how it worked - or even IF it worked, because the washer itself costs about as much $ money$ as buying an electric clothes washer, which means for most of us eco livin' folks it's a big investment! Up until recently I had been washing my clothes in the tub, and I used to also use the wonder wash hand spun washer (2 pound load ideal for a single person who never needs to wash blankets or sheets)......Using this larger wash load Lehman's Hand Washer is seriously easy, and I am now using less arm strength then the 2 pound load hand spinner ---> I can fit a shit ton of clothes in there, and even my neglected blankies ( which were really hard for me to wash the last few years!)
The way I have it hooked up for the summer is I set up the washer on my porch, I have a hose running from my Gravity Fed Spring Pump, to the washer to fill it up with water...
I fill up the basin with water, and put either lemon & baking soda or just nothing with the clothes to give them a better wash. I don't use soaps or detergents at all- so when the water drains out it isn't going to do any harm to the dirt, plants, trees and insects it touches.
Once you fill it up, you simply push the handle back and forth and the washer starts making a swooshing, cleaning noise I reallllllly like.....
LOOK how nasty dirty that water got, that swooshing thingy pushed all that junk out of my clothes! Isn't that super grody-fied?!! Cat hair, Leslie Hair, pieces of the forest I picked up like crushed leaves and twigs.....
Even if you use some kind of clothes dryer, the wringer helps - I hang mine on a line to dry though since it's free, good for the earth and smells so good when the sun bakes the water out the fabric. :)
Xoxox
The way I have it hooked up for the summer is I set up the washer on my porch, I have a hose running from my Gravity Fed Spring Pump, to the washer to fill it up with water...
I fill up the basin with water, and put either lemon & baking soda or just nothing with the clothes to give them a better wash. I don't use soaps or detergents at all- so when the water drains out it isn't going to do any harm to the dirt, plants, trees and insects it touches.
Once you fill it up, you simply push the handle back and forth and the washer starts making a swooshing, cleaning noise I reallllllly like.....Oh and ya' have to pose like a happy super model and sit your ass on top the washer for photo ops, and realize only after tha' pic is taken that ya got your butt all wet.
LOOK how nasty dirty that water got, that swooshing thingy pushed all that junk out of my clothes! Isn't that super grody-fied?!! Cat hair, Leslie Hair, pieces of the forest I picked up like crushed leaves and twigs.....I let the water out the bottom drain by twisting the black nob open (it's underneath the washer), I have the drain hooked to a long hose.
I then fill the water up for a second rinse...
Once I am finished with the final rinse, I let the water out and then I get to the really awesome part------>
SQUEEZin' the clothes through the wringer!!! The wringer is completely worth every penny it costs because it makes it so clothes hanging on a line dry way faster, and more evenly. Wringing my clothes by hand had stretched stuff out and left them much more wet then this cool invention.
You can even put sheets and blankies through this thing, and jeans too! All you do is spin the hand crank round and round...
Even if you use some kind of clothes dryer, the wringer helps - I hang mine on a line to dry though since it's free, good for the earth and smells so good when the sun bakes the water out the fabric. :)
Xoxox 
28 comments:
Clothes can wrap around the wringer and be torn ?
Hey Anonymous -
I have not had any clothes wrap around the wringer and be torn - I am not sure how it would tear the clothes, have you had this happen to you?
When I am using the wringer I start to push it through one side, and as soon as it comes out the other side I make sure to grab it --- even with a thick blanket I didn't have it get cuaght in the sides.
You also can tighten and loosen the wringer if need be, nothing can be forever stuck. :)
June 21, 2010 10:11 AM
Okay, you sold me on this thing. My husband & I are getting ready to build one of those crazy tiny houses (cabin on wheels basically) to live in for a few years while we save up for land & build our own cob house, so we're slowly easing ourselves into the lifestyle you already live. I was dreading the whole clothes washing thing, but this looks easy!
Hey Stephanie -
Way cool, you are building a house on Wheels!!! do you have pics somewhere to look at yet? SO exciting! :)
This washer is the Lehman's Hand Washer, there is also the James Hand Washer in the Real Goods catalog --- the lehman's set up is actually a little bit cheaper, maybe even by $100 - also the Lehman's has a clear top so you can watch the clothes wash - the James Washer has a stainless steal one ----
other then that they seem the same to me. Tell me which one you end up getting! I think you'll like it alot- and I know you live in the area, so if you ever want to come over and check this one out (cause i know it's alot of $$$) let me know in an email!
xoxox
No pictures yet - what we're in the midst of right now is selling a huge chunk of our possessions and looking for a nearby piece of land where we can build, maybe with a little rental house on it we can live in in the meantime (our current place is pricey, too big, in a cramped & loud suburban area).
It's frustrating because I'm ready to DO THIS, but we have all these things that must be done first. 1/2 of our stuff is already gone and damn, does it feel good! Can't wait to whittle everything down to the basics.
I would actually love to come up there sometime and see your place, you are living the life of my dreams! :)
This blog is pure awesomeness!! :D
Umm, er... okay I'll just ask... is that a bra? Just askin'. For no particular reason.
Stephanie!
You are invited anytime (send me your email) - and i know exactly how you feel about the waiting part sucking! That part is hard- and at one time i unloaded all my posessions too - i literally started from scratch - it felt good not to feel attached to, or have to lug around so much stuff. It also put a halt to my serious hording, collecting, stacking up of shit i didn't really need.
If you need any help with looking for land let me know - email me the areas you are looking- I am also running across good stuff!
Hjorland!
Thank you so much!!! I love it too ;) xoxo
Gratu -
dude. I don't know WTF you are looking at, but I went back and looked at the pics and saw that there is one bra floating in tha' water..... now can you tell me what color it is, and i will tell you IF ya get it right.
I thought it was obvious, and it's the gray thing, but judging from your comment I might be wrong. But if that isn't the one, then the one I noticed is... something else. And if it's what I think it could be, then, well, that's just sensory overload for my poor little eyes. I'm no fetishist, and this wouldn't be the first time the off-topic underthings of yours have come under scrutiny, but jeez you ain't so shy girlie!
But my original point might have been lost. Tell me, Leslie, wear underwire bras much?
Gratu -
the gray thingy is my "stop wars" wife beater - organic cotton :)
and I don't know WTF you are seeing now, but all ihad in the thing was jeans, shirts, one striped bra, and purple sheets.
I swear it's not like the time my undies made it into the porch picture.
And although the topic of my bra preference is weeeeiiirrrdddd ....
no way do i wear shit with underwire.... people my size generally don't need it.
Gratuitous has me stumped as to what undergarments could be so unbelievably racy, considering it's a "gray thing" and not, for example, a "strappy leather thing with spikes" lol...
ha- Me too stephanie --->
if the gray thing had turned out to be something of interest & fetish.... basically it would have to be a sports bra fetish (best guess to what it resembled) - cause my laundry is looking pretty much in the "dirty hippy" genre!
It's not like there's clown cotume, sexy krispy creme server uniform - or like 80's lingerie in there??!
Okay, okay, geez I was just trying to be funny! Men dig female underwear, and I thought the thing was either a bra, which in my opinion (and yours) you clearly don't need, or a thongy thing, which you have to admit most people wouldn't display so prominently online for the world to see!
So let's drop this thread (no pun intended). Besides, there's nothing so intimidating to a fella as when two women gang up on a dude... Leslie and Stephanie!
Gratu -
It's ok,I know that men are caught in a biological trap and just like the tootsie roll commercial "everything I think I see becomes a pair of panties to me" ....
:)
yer intimidated when 2 chicks double up on you?
mmmmmmmmmm panties!
Hey, just wanted to mention that if somebody doesnt have the money to spend and still needs/wants to wash clothes they can get a bucket and a new plunger. Put a hole in the lid for the handle. Not sure how well it works though..
Hey Jason!
Thanks for bringing that up - I have a friend who got the wash tub and wash plunger and said it worked really good- he liked it better then the hand washer (for reasons due to chem sensitivities to the metal/manufacturing of the hand washer).
Are you talking about just a regular toilet plunger? If so, that is really awesome!
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Hi and thanks for all the brilliant info on the washer. I really enjoyed reading it and it got me thinking that I could make my own. Is there any chance you could post pics of the pendulum agitator with a description of how it works? I have spent days searching the web for pics of the agitator but all I can see is pics of people's washing. Thanks for that and please keep up the good work. Cheers Gavin
Hey I know you don't use soap anymore, but just wondering is you've ever heard of these things (weird washy berries...) - http://wildsoapnuts.com.au/
I'm thinking of giving them a try...
Awesome washer btw, I'm looking into different ideas for non-electric washers at the moment, I'm wondering about using a bike...
Thank you for your insight. Myself living in a urban apt using public wash mach is a hastle and costsly 4 - 6 bucks a week. have used bucket and plunger it works awesome but need a ringer. diy kinda guy and have been thinking of fabing a spinner but you have led me to the dark side of ringers. hand twisting an entire load gets old quick. might try to make a hinged squeezer and see if it works. Love yalls attitude! every body should strip down to basics once a year. throw every thing (donate) away.keep only one fry pan and a dozen eggs. starting from scratch is fun, in weird way i suppose. Keep warm and peace 2u
Hey there... wondering if you were still using the wringer washer three years out. And if so, how has it held up?
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