Fall is in full swing here…it was cloudy and gorgeous and gray all day yesterday…then it rained..now its cloudy and gorgeous again. We are loving it. We made a fire to burn a bunch of debris and it made everything that much better. Now it’s time to make pumpkin goodies and all kinds of soups, stews and chilis…comfort food…my favorite. mmmm.
Anywho..Did I tell you guys about our laundry machine breaking? Well when we first moved in we had a washing machine…and decided to use it for the time being until we were ready to do something a little more off grid. So we used it maybe the first month. Well one day I heard what sounded like a faucet running in the laundry room. Yep you guessed it..the machine was leaking. So I tried and tried to get it to switch off but no luck. So my bright idea? Pull the plug! Perfect! Yea..bad idea..turns out the lock on the door is electric..when you remove electricity via a plug, the lock releases, the door opens…and a machine full of soapy water dumps out..fast…like a waterfall. Needless to say it flooded quite a bit of the back side of the house. Whoops.
Fast forward and we saw this as the right time to switch to a energy-free wash by hand option. Enter The rapid breather washer!
That little blue doodad is awesome.
Here’s how I’ve been washing laundry.
I got a galvanized steel 15 gallon tub from the hardware store for less than $20.
I filled it about halfway full with water.
Added in my homemade laundry detergent
Pop in your clothes..and then you move the washer up and down..kind of like a plunger..for 4-5 minutes and you have clean clothes!
I do a “rinse” cycle with fresh water really quick after the initial wash, then I wring them out then hang them to dry.
Drying in the sun.
I’m really excited about this…we use no electricity..it’s really quick..and it’s easy! The one addition I need to make though is to get a wringer…this will help with thick items such as jeans, towels and sweaters. Those things are a little pricey but from what I read well worth it. I’ll take pictures as soon as we get one!
I’m sure things may get a bit tricky in the snowy weather, but I think we will manage. We are excited to be on our way to off grid living…now just 5,000 other things to change š
Have any of you done off grid laundry? Any tips you can offer?
*S
The Johnson Homestead 
I do believe I know who made that plunger. We are staunch customers of Made-in-America entrepreneurs, and this particular couple apply their genius in wonderful ways to the art of manual laundry washing. The BestDryingRack itself is a masterpiece of simple engineering. Glad to see others enjoying a bit of physical labor to clean clothes!
That’s amazing you know them! Genius is completely appropriate in this case. I don’t know how I’ve gone this long without one. I will check out The BestDryingRack…thanks for the insight. I’m also glad to see someone else that appreciates manual physical labor and the satisfaction it brings! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
How about a washboard and a dedicated rolling pin in place of a wringer???Put the washboard on a slant in the empty tub and roll/push the rolling pin down the clothes. Having 2 people wring the heavier pieces gets them drier ,too. Just a thought from someone who uses soap nuts and loves their low water washing machine.
That’s a great idea…I’ll have to try that! Thanks for that š Chris has helped me when he can..usually he is working when I do laundry so I find ways to do the heavier pieces by myself. When he is available to help though I agree, it makes a big difference! You use soap nuts?! That’s fantastic…I have some but haven’t put them to use yet. How do you like them?