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Does anyone manage without a washing machine?
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Taadaa
Posts: 2,113 Forumite
I came across a website selling washboards, and this got me thinking - does anyone manage without a washing machine, and use the old fashioned board and mangle method instead?
It's not something that I would do all the time, but I think I would give it a go once a week to save money. Eepecially for more delicate things.
It's not something that I would do all the time, but I think I would give it a go once a week to save money. Eepecially for more delicate things.
I have had many Light Bulb Moments. The trouble is someone keeps turning the bulb off 
1% over payments on cc 3.5/100 (March 2014)

1% over payments on cc 3.5/100 (March 2014)
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Comments
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Hi Taadaa,
This thread has some advice that may help:
No washing machine - advice needed
I'll add your thread to it later to keep the replies together.
Pink0 -
I came across a website selling washboards, and this got me thinking - does anyone manage without a washing machine, and use the old fashioned board and mangle method instead?
It's not something that I would do all the time, but I think I would give it a go once a week to save money. Eepecially for more delicate things.
Delicate things should always be handwashed anyway.:footie:Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S)
Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money.
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I've gone without a washing machine temporarily for a couple of weeks and the novelty soon wears off!
I don't mind the actual washing but I hate doing the rinsing and wringing things out is difficult. I've got a washing machine now but I do have an old fashioned spin dryer that I bought for a few pounds on Ebay, it's kept in a cupboard for back-up if my washer ever dies and I have to wait for a replacement. It also comes in handy in the winter to give things like sheets and towels an extra spin, it's spin speed is so much faster than a washing machine and the stuff comes out almost dry so it's much easier to dry on airers (I don't have a tumbler).
Even though I've got a washing machine I do still hand wash a few bits when it's good drying weather and I'm able to get them straight on the line. But I don't think I'd ever want to go back to the days of wash-boards and mangles! :eek:Dum Spiro Spero0 -
I haven't, for any significant length of time, done my washing by hand, although for the eight years between marrying and having our first child we managed very happily just using a launderette once a week. But the cost of launderettes now is absolutely appalling, as I've discovered when my machine has broken down, although a single male friend with a water meter has calculated that doing his washing in the launderette and bringing it home wet is cheaper for him. I can't bear bringing it all home wet though, and would have to do so on foot as I don't drive, which isn't practical.
My mother, however, managed for about 18 years washing everything by hand when we came back to live in the UK after living abroad - although I often offered to buy her a washing machine. She had been used to a much bigger kitchen and said that she would rather have the task of washing by hand than give up the space she would need for a machine. I did find this strange, especially as it's very difficult to wring things out as thoroughly as a machine would spin them (she didn't even have a mangle) but she did a pretty good job of it!Life is mainly froth and bubble
Two things stand like stone —
Kindness in another’s trouble,
Courage in your own.Adam Lindsay Gordon0 -
I have managed without a washing machine all my life: launderettes and hand washing have been my choice for decades.
However, I am seriously considering getting a machine now, just for convenience and because launderettes keep closing down and putting their prices up.Who having known the diamond will concern himself with glass?
Rudyard Kipling0 -
My Brother lives in a towerblock - there is no room or facilities in the kitchen for a washing machine. Although the tower does have a launderette, it closes at 3pm, long before he gets home from work.
Washing clothes in the bath and hanging them from the balcony windows is quite a common sight at the block.:A:dance:1+1+1=1:dance::A
"Marleyboy you are a legend!"
MarleyBoy "You are the Greatest"
Marleyboy You Are A Legend!
Marleyboy speaks sense
marleyboy (total legend)
Marleyboy - You are, indeed, a legend.0 -
Thank you for all the replies so far!
It's not just about saving money, I was also thinking of the environment ie not using electricity. But on that front I think I would need to do more investigating before deciding whether it saves money, bearing in mind our machine is 9 years old so is less efficient, and taking into account wear and tear on parts etc. I wouldn't be able to use water that is the same temperature as the washing machine gets it safely, so there is a potential saving there.
In terms of spinning, I think the faster you spin the more your clothes wrinkle. This would be an issue for a gal that doesn't iron anything. Ever.
We are planning on installing a wood burner before the winter comes around again, and might get one with a back boiler to heat water. We'll see!I have had many Light Bulb Moments. The trouble is someone keeps turning the bulb off
1% over payments on cc 3.5/100 (March 2014)0 -
I remember my nan washing sheets in the bath. She had a pair of enormous wooden tongs! Well, they seemed enormous to a 5 year old anyway!I have had many Light Bulb Moments. The trouble is someone keeps turning the bulb off
1% over payments on cc 3.5/100 (March 2014)0 -
You don't need washing machines, that's what mothers are for.
Put everything in a binbag until you pay her a visit.Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
What it may grow to in time, I know not what.
Daniel Defoe: 1725.
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Good Lord no.
Whilst there are a lot of things in society that that are not an improvement,a washing machine is most definitely not one of them.
And as for saving money/electricity etc, what about your time?
I remember turning the handle of the wringer at my Nan's house when I was a kid, I remember lugging baskets full of heavy washing from the bath to the kitchen where the wringer was. I remember stiff clothes.
*shudder*Herman - MP for all!0
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