Anyone hand wash their clothes?

[Kala]

Yea it's just hubby and I. And honestly we hardly go through many clothes at all. His work provides and washes all his uniforms. And since I'm now part time I only go through 3 uniforms a week. Plus we reuse our outside clothes several days before rotating to the next pair. I'm not sure that its something we'll keep up but just something we wanted to try. We plan on doing the agitation and also letting them soak. Then scrubbing any stains. We'll line dry when possible but we have an area set up in the house for inside drying. And even if it takes them several days to dry for some reason in the house we've got plenty of clothes/uniforms to fall back on that will be kept clean and put away. We'll probably still have our family members wash any big ticket items such as big blankets etc and just reimburse them for their effort as we are doing now.

We actually already have a washer and dryer just no vents etc to set them up yet in the basement. We are just the weird type of people I guess that actually enjoys these type of things. For us we intentionally do some things a little different that cause us to slow down and just enjoy each others company. Plus we only have a load max a week so it'd be fine for us right now.

Plus washers use so much water and dryers use so much energy. Iknow that I could buy energy efficient units but I really don't have the desire to drop that much $ on something like that right now.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Personally, there's no way I'd handwash our clothes! We do several loads per week...it seems like there is never-ending laundry! It would be a full time job for me to keep up with it!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

We did for the longest time. Our washer died (unfixable) so we had the choice of using the laundrymat or doing it by hand. Being cheap, by-hand won out.
If you have kids, kid's feet get the clothes about as clean as your hands would.

Just put them in the tub with soapy water & let the kids squash them over & over with their feet. My kids loved "dancing" on the clothes. Then we'd pile them up at the back of the tub & the kids would step on them to squish the soapy water out. Shower head to rinse, then out to the line to dry.
Now we have a new (to us) washing machine and I am so very glad for it. Hand washing will for sure make you grateful if you ever do get a machine.

 

[abifae]

Just put them in the tub with soapy water & let the kids squash them over & over with their feet. My kids loved "dancing" on the clothes. Then we'd pile them up at the back of the tub & the kids would step on them to squish the soapy water out. Shower head to rinse, then out to the line to dry.

That's how I wash my SCA dresses. They're too big to do by hand.

 

[dragonlaurel]

We did for the longest time. Our washer died (unfixable) so we had the choice of using the laundrymat or doing it by hand. Being cheap, by-hand won out.
If you have kids, kid's feet get the clothes about as clean as your hands would.

Just put them in the tub with soapy water & let the kids squash them over & over with their feet. My kids loved "dancing" on the clothes. Then we'd pile them up at the back of the tub & the kids would step on them to squish the soapy water out. Shower head to rinse, then out to the line to dry.
Now we have a new (to us) washing machine and I am so very glad for it. Hand washing will for sure make you grateful if you ever do get a machine.

I used the same method plenty of times. You don't have to be a kid, to just have a little fun. I liked hanging them on the line still soapy and securing them well then used the garden hose to rinse them. It watered the side yard at the same time.

 

[FarmerJamie]

There's been a couple of times, I've had to wash clothes by hand because the wife said "you're not putting those clothes in MY washer". Those instances usually involved camping, rain, mud, and fun!

I think if the kids had to help wash things by hand, they'd be a little more cognizant of the effort it takes to keep the clothes clean.

 

[savingdogs]

My hands hurt whenever I try to wring clothes out by hand. I do wash by hand sometimes, but never enjoy it. Perhaps if you had just the right sink and wash up area it could be do-able, but I would probably splurge and go to the laundromat and have a lot of changes of clothes.

 

[Kala]

I already have a washer. Just experimenting with different ways to do things. I'll try just about anything once or twice.

You just have to do a case by case basis. By no means do I expect everyone to try this or go "this far" into things. Just thought I'd see what others experiences had been. So thanks everyone for all of your comments and experiences! And please by all means keep em' coming if ya have em'!

 

[Kala]

We did for the longest time. Our washer died (unfixable) so we had the choice of using the laundrymat or doing it by hand. Being cheap, by-hand won out.
If you have kids, kid's feet get the clothes about as clean as your hands would.Just put them in the tub with soapy water & let the kids squash them over & over with their feet. My kids loved "dancing" on the clothes. Then we'd pile them up at the back of the tub & the kids would step on them to squish the soapy water out. Shower head to rinse, then out to the line to dry.
Now we have a new (to us) washing machine and I am so very glad for it. Hand washing will for sure make you grateful if you ever do get a machine.

Hmmmm...sounds good. Now where to find the kids...I'm sure I could get some on loan from somewhere! Do I hear any offers?

 

[FarmerJamie]

Kala, I think you hit the nail on the head, basically, it's "your mileage may vary".

I raise my own meat chickens, but I pay someone to process them. Not because I can't, it's because we only do one or two large batches per year, and I don't have the time to do it all myself. Would I feel more self-sufficient if I did, absolutely! Could I, if I had to, yeppers. It's a trade-off I have the luxury to make right now.

I remember my mom's first washing machine - she still had to run the clothes through a ringer to get the water out of the clothes before hanging them on the line to dry....and unless we got the jeans filthy, we would wear one pair all week.

Yes, let's continue the conversation and idea exchange!