This hand powered portable washing machine is an extremely eco-friendly product providing a cheaper alternative to hotel laundry service if you travel and can’t find a green hotel, enjoy camping or need a break from trekking to the laundromat or laundry room of your apartment building.
What intrigued me about this mini-appliance is its small size, portability and the fact that it requires no electricity or batteries – just a little elbow grease. When we travel, especially with kids, we can go through a lot of clean clothes, and doing the wash is the last thing I want to do when I get home.
This little washing machine is purported to hold up to five men’s shirts. It’s lightweight, easy to operate and uses a lot less water and detergent than an electric washer. To wash clothes, you turn the hand crank on the side of the tub. The company states that about 2 minutes of cranking will result in clean clothes, though I’m not so sure about the clothes of highly active, grunge-covered children. Most of its parts are plastic and reviews indicate that the hand crank mechanism may be weakened after 6 months to a year’s steady use.
I wouldn’t recommend this for big loads of laundry at home – I’m all for energy efficiency, but not enough to give up the necessity of my super capacity automatic washing machine…just yet, but this little portable washer may provide a quick on-location, or off-grid, laundry solution. And of course, there’s nothing better than air-drying your clothes.
It retails for about $50.00 and can be found at cleanairgardening.com. A similar product called, Wonder Wash, can be found at laundry-alternatives.com for a few dollars less.
RSS
I’ve got one of these little charmers and after a bit of fiddling, it definitely does what it says. Takes a while to figure out the optimimum water level for the volume of clothes (too little water and it’s hard to turn), but once you’ve got that sorted out it works great. We live in a small restored heritage cabin with no storage space – and no room for a washer and dryer. This, in combination with a spin dryer and a clothesline/drying rack, is perfect for our little two person household. Except the handle – it’s definitely a weak point and I can see how it might break after awhile. That said, it’s a removable part that seems replaceable. I’ve got the ‘Wonder Wash’ model mentioned in the article. We’ve been using the unit since February 2009 most weeks, except when we’ve got big, heavy loads (i.e., after holidays, rugs, etc.) – then I have to make a visit to a larger capacity washer.
Victoria, thank you so much for sharing your first-hand experience. It is good to hear that the product does what it says and lives up to what others are saying as well.
We have loved being able to line dry our clothes the last few years. Now, I think our clothesline needs to be replaced, but that is a whole other topic…
Keep us posted as to how your Wonder Wash holds out, ok?
Enjoy your day,
Theresa
My favorite! I’ve been using this one for two years. It’s perfect for hand washing delicates or for a quick last minute wash. I use it in combination with the laundry-alternative.com spinner.
Good to hear another positive experience…always a good sign. And you have been using the Wonder Wash for two years. Very good! No problems, I take it?
Thanks for your comment.
Will do, Theresa. Thanks for the wonderful resource!
No problem. You are quite welcome. Thank you again for sharing your experience and coming back! I think it’s great.
Have a great weekend,
Theresa