handwashing clothes!!

emilyt

Can't really add anything else to what has already been said.
Just wanted to say what an amazing woman your mum was to have done all the washing by hand. Not an easy task. I had to do mine by hand just for a week last year when my washing machine broke. Never again. Definately try and get your self a washing machine if possible.

meanmarie

My late mother was a wonderful woman too and refused to have a washing machine until she became unable to handwash following a car accident...she then wondered why she had waited so long!

Almost 40 years ago I had no choice except to hand wash with 4 children as I had not got a water supply...never again.

Nx74201...what I am trying to say without offending is....buy the most energy efficient washing machine you can afford...your dear mother had her own reasons for doing things as she did and that is fine, but not a reason for you to do the same.

Please bear in mind that my opinion is just that and that it is swayed by the fact that I found all that hand washing torture, so perhaps I am not the best person from whom to take advice.

Marie

nx74201

Thanks everyone for all your kind replies.

I've considered getting a washing machine but at the moment there's literally nowhere to fit one in. We were all hoarders (I'm the worst with all my electronic and computer paraphernalia and books!) and the ground floor is choc-a-bloc but being slowly sorted hopefully for eBay in the Spring.

My budget is tight too - my income currently consists of savings interest, daily clicks, Premium Bond winnings and occasional proceeds from fixing things for friends. Anything above that income comes out of my savings, which I'm trying to preserve for as long as possible.

I guess we had always been an OS family - coal central heating (no gas), cooker, vacuum and some other fixtures as old as me (but still going), never eating out, no holidays (being at home with the family and not at work felt like a holiday) etc etc.
Once I'd started working, as well as contributing to the 'housekeeping costs' I started to pay for things to make our lives a bit easier or give us financial security, including buying the house from the council.
The only technological advance to the washing was getting a dehumidifier to speed up the drying of the washing hanging over the bath.

On balance, I feel I owe it to Mum to at least try to carry on 'the tradition' of doing the washing by hand, at least it will only cost me a bit of time and energy. I regard my current unemployed status as an opportunity to learn lots of 'new' OS and MoneySaving skills.

whatatwit

Hi nx, sorry to hear of your loss.

If you do want to wash by hand, then split your colours...I'm always amazed how much colour comes out of a black sock when it is poddled about in the sink.
Washing for yourself, you may find it easier to do a bit each day, maybe when you have bathed/showered, throw your smalls and a t-shirt in there as well. This way, you won't end up with too much soggy stuff to hang around.

Have a look on freecycle and see if anyone has an old spinner they don't want.....this could be a godsend, especially for jeans/sweatshirts/towels in the winter and even in summer, they will dry in no time.

When it comes to things like towels, I use a flannel to dry myself....wrap up my hair in a small towel and then a brisk rub over with a flannel. Then on with my dressing gown.
The flannel is then easily washed through and dries a lot quicker than a towel....the hair towel is aired off and only needs washing every few times.
If you haven't many flannels, then maybe cut up a towel into smaller pieces.

Good luck with the OS way of life....it really is quite rewarding.

Have you considered growing your own veg etc?

justruth

I have just moved into uni halls from private rented and one of the issues here is the laundry. They have really big washing machnes that cost £1.20 a time. I have a clothes horse already so I'm not overly concernad about the dryers. I work 4 nights a week on top of uni and my uniform is a little expensive as it is a lot of protective/performance clothing, so I need to wash it at least 2 times a week, sometimes more. I have half consdered buying more uniform items but I don't really have room and this is probably going to be an issue for my other clothes as well.

My proposed solution is to hand wash in the main with the odd machine wash if really needed. Thing is while I have hand washed delicates before I wonderd if any of the OSers would have any tips on how to hand wash full loads on a regular basis on a tight budget and still get a nice clean and smell.

I want to get really efficient as fast as possible!

Olliebeak

Hope this lot doesn't sound too basic/condescending - but I've no idea of how old you are or what your experience of doing the laundry is - so apologies in advance if I've got it wrong .

Using the bath is quite a good idea if you have more than a few items. If it's only a few things then the kitchen sink should be fine.

1. If you can get your hand on a bar of 'household soap or 'vanish type' of soap, it really helps. Also useful is a 'nailbrush' for having a go at stubborn stains.

2. Check temperatures on labels and make sure that you don't try to soak anything in really hot water when it can only be done at 40degrees.

3. Tackle any stains as soon as possible before they get 'dried-in' - as soon as you notice that it's happened if you can. Sometimes just rubbing with a bit of water will help, otherwise give it a rub with a bar of soap and attack it with your knuckles.

4. Make sure that whatever you're doing the laundry in is completely free from grease/dirt - don't want to make things worse before they get better .

5. When starting your laundry, use the soap and nailbrush on anything that hasn't responded to the water/knuckle/soap treatment - also useful for collar areas that hold sweaty discolouration. For anything big, use the kitchen sink draining board (I used to do that to get grease/blood stains out of my ex-OH's chef's whites when we were first married!).

6. Make sure that any washing liquid/powder is properly mixed/dissolved in the water before you start.

7. Anything big being done in the bath (duvet covers/towels etc) you can get in there and 'stomp' on them like a wine-crusher'!

8. Check the stains have been sorted before rinsing everything. You'll need a few rinses to make sure that all the soapiness has gone. Soap left in clothes seems to attract dirt very quickly and the clothes don't feel as nice.

9. If you're using fabric conditioner, use it well dissolved and try to leave the rinsed clothes sitting in this for around 5mins if possble - go and have a coffee.

10. When getting stuff out of the water, take the plug out first and allow as much as possible to drain out naturally. Don't give knitteds a harsh wringing - be gentle with them. Cottons/polyesters can stand a stronger hand-wringing, but just be a little careful not to put too much strain on seams as the stitching can get damaged. Things like jeans, may be easier with another pair of hands to help - fold them in half lengthways and take one end each and turn! This also works with bath towels, sheets, duvet covers.

11. When drying stuff, try to get it as flat as possible to minimise ironing and also to get them to dry as quick as possible. If things are 'bunched up/crumpled' they will take longer and anything that is damp for more than 2 days will begin to smell unpleasant and will need re-washing. Put blouses/tops straight onto coat-hangers and other stuff onto airers/maidens. I've also hung sheets/duvet covers over the edge of an open door/bannister over night.

Hope some of that's useful!

justruth

Thank you so much, that is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for!

Olliebeak

justruth wrote: »

Thank you so much, that is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for!

Ooooops should have also included - don't mix strong colours with whites when washing. Start with the whites first, then pales, then colours and finally darks.

And keep damp darks completely away from damp whites - I learned by my mistakes :eek:!

Pleased to help .

Penelope_Penguin

Olliebeak, that's a fab list :A

I'll add this to the existing thread on washing by hand to keep ideas together.

Penny. x

justruth

I appologise, I did search first but got lots of random threads that were totally unrelated!