Life without a washing machine

suki1964

I never had a washing machine till I was in my mid 30s, not that far back either

I used to have a wash board

After my bath I'd save the water, add soap powder and leave to soak over night. Following morning was a back breaking affair bent over the bath scrubbing the clothes on the board, using a nail brush where needed

Once a week, the sheets and towels I loaded into a shopping trolley and walked the couple of miles to the launderette to get done

Read a lot of books back then

I would advise washing more often. Take it off, wash it that night. Less chance of the clothes being dirty, so less scrubbing, less wear

Towels and sheets, do one or two at a time. Soak in the bather over night in soap powder, and then get in and tread them, hold on to the edge of the bath, it's slippery

Really rinse well.

Check out the charity shops. I don't know about where you are, but here we have a lot of second chance places. Also when I lived in a housing association flat, they also ran a scheme where they took unwanted furniture and appliances , made sure they we're fit for purpose, and sold on to those in need at very little cost

Hope your finances take an upturn soon xx

zaxdog

I hand-wash in the winter as the back boiler provides free hot water and it makes no difference to us how much water we use :-) Clothes are then hung out for an extra rinse if raining or to dry if sunny and any damp ones are stuck in front of the fire on the clothes horse at night to finish drying.

Only exception is sheets/towels etc once a fortnight which go into the machine.

Ilona

There is a young woman in my village who lives in a 1939 house. Everything in it is 1939, she dresses 1939, goes to work on a bike, and grows her own veg. She washes on a Monday in a dolly tub, heats the water in an old copper with a fire underneath, and uses a hand wringer. I have been in the house and seen it all. Amazing.

Best advice I can give is only wash your clothes when they smell or are visibly dirty. Wear lightweight clothing now the weather is warming up. Save up and buy a second hand machine. Good luck.
Ilona

DisreputableDog

I've been handwashing since December as there's no washing machine where I rent, no place to put one and no laundrette near by. One thing I'd definitely advise is be careful of damp when you're washing and drying everything inside (hopefully less of a problem now the washing lines are coming back into use ). Be sure to air out the bathroom/house regularly or you'll be scrubbing black mold off the walls. I learnt this lesson the hard way sadly! My bathroom has a fan in it but it was still a problem, although living in such a small studio might have contributed as well.

Other than that my main tip would be to keep on top of it. It was odd at first getting out of the mindset of letting a load build up so it was "worth" putting the machine on. Large loads are a bad thing when you're the machine!

Oh, and towels duvet cases are evil. Evil. I hadn't realised before, but my eyes have been opened. Evil.

PlutoinCapricorn, I had no idea you could get a portable washing machine like that. I'm going to have a read up and might have to start saving my pennies. Thanks for the link :T

ljonski

There is a young woman in my village who lives in a 1939 house. Everything in it is 1939, she dresses 1939, goes to work on a bike, and grows her own veg. She washes on a Monday in a dolly tub, heats the water in an old copper with a fire underneath, and uses a hand wringer. I have been in the house and seen it all. Amazing.

Who supplies her with her stockings?

Northern_Lassy

I think this will be tough, I was without a washer for a few weeks when we moved here, it was May so late spring, but I could not wring enough water out of things like jeans and towels, so even when they eventually dried, they always smelt musty xx

dandy-candy

I have been through a phase of handwashing and one thing I found was the water and wringing made my hands really coarse and sore. Keep plenty of hand cream nearby!
Ilona that woman sounds fab! Does she do an online blog or anything?

Also check this out if you are handy with DIY
http://youtu.be/ZyRMuQ_8oj0

carefullycautious

DisreputableDog wrote: »

I've been handwashing since December as there's no washing machine where I rent, no place to put one and no laundrette near by. One thing I'd definitely advise is be careful of damp when you're washing and drying everything inside (hopefully less of a problem now the washing lines are coming back into use ). Be sure to air out the bathroom/house regularly or you'll be scrubbing black mold off the walls. I learnt this lesson the hard way sadly! My bathroom has a fan in it but it was still a problem, although living in such a small studio might have contributed as well.

Other than that my main tip would be to keep on top of it. It was odd at first getting out of the mindset of letting a load build up so it was "worth" putting the machine on. Large loads are a bad thing when you're the machine!





Oh, and towels duvet cases are evil. Evil. I hadn't realised before, but my eyes have been opened. Evil.

PlutoinCapricorn, I had no idea you could get a portable washing machine like that. I'm going to have a read up and might have to start saving my pennies. Thanks for the link :T

If you use a sheet under your duvet you will not need to keep taking it off to wash. As I have got older I have started to do this as I am finding changing king size quilt covers a nightmare. So use a sheet under and it is so much easier to wash this and leave quilt cover on longer. Hope this helps, you would also benefit from a spin dryer and an over bath washing line that fixes to wall. It has about 5 lines on it. Keep bathroom window open to allow evaporation of water to prevent condensation. There are ways to avoid the dreaded mould problem. Good luck

DisreputableDog

Thanks for the sheet tip I've been considering a better line for over the bath, but as I haven't any money to spare at the moment I'll probably have to keep using the shower curtain rail extended across the bath diagonally 'til next winter.

Sadly the bathroom doesn't have a window here. In fact the whole tiny place only has tiny, hard to reach widow at the furthest point from the bathroom. The insulation would be great if it weren't for the damp.

PlutoinCapricorn

Disreputable, I love being able to choose how much water I fill my new toy with and how hot it is. I can wash a few things or a full load. I start with pale things, and if the water is quite clear I can re-use it. I can wash for 1 min and check to see how things are going and if I need to wash for longer.

The spin-dry tub is small, but can do a big towel.

I read ALL the reviews before buying, so was prepared for the chemical smell and the rinsing and draining problems.