Today I decided to put together the Lehman's Hand Washer i got! This is a clothes washer that is powered by your own arm & some water - but it is much larger then the Wonder Wash that spins a 2 pound load- this big boy hold 15 gallons of water, so that bigger things like sheets and blankets can actually be cleaned by hand too.I have to say, I am not good with directions (aka, putting shtuff like dis' together kinda throws me off)... and even though it was fairly simply to figure out the directions were way too vague without any pictures. I basically went on intuition...
There is a hose attachment at the bottom, so that drainage of the water can be turned off and on - what makes this feature cool is you can move the washer to anywhere, since it's not plumbed into the house. You could wash clothes on the porch, in the bathroom, or anywhere ya want.
I bolted in the first set of wooden legs, and soon found out that plyers are needed to tighten the bolts and nuts together.
I ran into a problem on the second set of legs- the layers of metal holes were not matching up right, no matter how hard i pulled, tugged, pushed, and cursed at it - once i struggled to get one bolt in, it was impossible for the second series of holes to line up. I took my drill, put oil on the metal and drilled some of the metal out to make the hole more even... then got the leg on.
Once both sets of legs were secured, there is a support bar and rod to put through the bottom holes. It definitely made the washer solid and sturdy.
I popped on the handle and the clear plastic top! All done and ready to try it out!
XoXo
I am always so ridiculously excited about low tech solutions like this. I have the Wonder Wash too, and while I use it for small clothing items, big stuff still goes in the electric washer. But I'd love to ditch the electricity, so I'll be interested to hear how well this works.
ReplyDeleteI got one of these about 5 years ago, the patina of grease on the stainless steel was really really bad and was impossible to scrub off.
ReplyDeleteI finally used it last year, I still prefer the Lehman's metal 'plunger' and a 5-gallon stock pot for clotheswashing.
You look wicked happy !!
ReplyDeleteHey, how many of the pics with you in them do you take yourself, if any? If so, you must be using a timer; and if so could you get a fancy wireless remote or somesuch? Just saying 'twould change the dynamic in a perhaps interesting way.
ReplyDeleteDigital cameras in the forest. High tech 'puters, washers, and composters, and then there's DIY bamboo ladders, macrame, gardens and clothes. Lacy underthings combined with boxies on clothes-wires. Holy crap there's a lotta yin/yang happening here, but which is which?
Hey Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteI am the same way, i geek out over non electric anything, and i feel like it's a good way to keep me exercising too. I will definitely let ya'll know. I love my wonder wash, but the plastic spinning handle broke on it and i have to spin in by grabbing the whole tub part.
Erik - What is the grease for? I didn't find any grease on mine - it did come smelling just like wedding cake though. Possibly they stopped the grease thing since then!?!
How does the tub with plunger work?
Blair --->
The wicked part is cause i had a rough few days recently- the happy part is because honestly I have never been very good at putting things together and generally ask for help - so the excitement of doing a project like this entirely on my own makes me really proud. Everytime i go to wash my clothes now, i will have the good feeling of having accomplished things i had at one time thought i was too stupid to do.
Gratuitous -
Both. When I lived in Big Sandy Mush I only used a timer if Bort wasnt home (he is a very good photographer), before Big Sandy Mush i used a timer mostly and randomly friends.
For this post I used my timer - usually i set it off and it gives a good amount of time - so i just go right back to what I was doing.
I like all your techy suggestions. I still want the video camera the most though.
PS --- Gratu...
ReplyDeleteI don't know, but maybe it's a yin yin situation for everyone.
Grease is a byproduct of steelworking; it's part of the process.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lehmans.com/store/Home_Goods___Laundry___Washing___Rapid_Washer___66RW?Args=
Using this inside of a circular 5-gallon stock pot is really effective.
http://www.amazon.com/Gallon-Stainless-Steel-Stock-Pot/dp/B000FRJJSM/
"wicked" happy means "really" happy ... FYI ... guess I've lived in Boston for too long ... :-)
ReplyDelete