doing laundry by hand with large salad spinner & rapid washer

[RestaurantEquipment]

That's awesome! We sell these to restaurants, but now I know that if I'm in a bind I can use one instead of a dryer. This is a really cool way to use them!

[sapodotroposo]

Thanks, this is great info! The spinner you are using seems to be called "Dynamic International Salad Spinner". Rapid Washer seems like a great device also! Do the clothes get clean enough? Wich kind of soap do you use?

[jespter]

@sapodotroposo Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day laundry soap is strong smells good & good for environment. Doing laundry by hand u can really clean things soiled things well if u want to. If u also use an old fashioned wash board, u can get your socks really white, better than a machine, it takes some work. The rapid washer seems to do fine for most things. With good detergent, it works great. Most conventional commercial laundry detergent is strong enough, of the environmental, some r better than others.

[aardvark1956]

@sapodotroposo Lehman's catalog/website sells some of this stuff :)

[cdltpx]

Great work less a slave to the system and you save fuel not having to go to the laundry mat. I cut my own hair after fiding a flowbee at a yard sale I have been cutting my own hair for 5 years now IDK how much money I have saved but I know I have saved many miles on my car time by not having to wait for a spot. In the past I have gone to get a hair cut and the barber not be there then I got to ride around looking for another so I found a way to get out of it. Do it my self do oil change too.

[MissPickletoes]

Just ordered one ....and you can find replacement lids with the gears..in case you wear them out!

[cdltpx]

I just learned how to make my own laundry soap. It takes about 15 min to make the concentrate 5 gallon bucket. You mix the soap half and half in your laundry jug then you shake it each use pour regular measured amounts. Washing my first load now using home made laundry soap.

[cdltpx]

If I only knew about these methods when I was younger I would have saved so much money? All the time I have spent going to a laundry coin op when I could have washed my clothes at home. I use to work in fast food I would have to wear the same shirt they gave us 2 sometimes we got to working so much you didn't have time to go to the laundry so I would wash by hand but didn't have that neat plunging device. The spinner is great too. Again we have been conditioned to throw cash at our problems.

[jespter]

Its a 5 gallon one. I think they only make a 5g or a 2.5g. The 2.5g would be too small.

[lifeisgood4780]

What is the capacity of the salad spinner??? 5 gallon or 10?

[jespter]

@lifeisgood4780 its 5 gallon. i think they only make 2.5 or 5 gallon ones

[bigstring12]

i just wanted to thank you so much for freeing my mind.lol i have spent daaaays looking for ways to wring out hand washed laundry.

[drunkykitty]

I've been using a plastic rapid washer & love it, but I'm still hand wringing wet clothes which sucks. I found the red lettuce spinner at my local restaurant supply for $100 so I'm off to pick it up today! Thanks a million for the great idea!

[badgirl44654]

This is a great idea, that I never would have thought of! I'm considering a move out of the country, and thought about getting a wringer, but wouldn't be able to find replacement parts should it break. Maybe I'll just buy a couple of these and take them along. As long as I don't overload them they should hold up for quite a while.

[daniellenoonan]

I would enjoy if you did a short video showing how you use the rapid wash. I live in a small space and hate driving all the way into town to do laundry. I think this might be the way to go for me! I will have to ask for a 5 gal salad spinner for x-mas! THanks for being so creative and inspiring the rest of us.

[daniellenoonan]

@daniellenoonan NEVER mind about that video. You can see how to use the rapid wash with the youtube video: Hand Washing Our Laundry (Part 1)

[imixmuan]

Nice to know the large salad spinner method works...I use a breathing mobile washer (ie, the plastic kind of yukon washer) and two five gallon buckets. One bucket has holes in the bottom, the other contains the clothes/water/soap. Put wet clothes in bucket with holes, other bucket on top and press, it gets like, probably 75% of the water out. I bet the salad spinner gets more than that though.

[ozmosis1]

I have a rapid washer and it works great plus you get n upper body ab work out. LOL. I did opt for an electric spin dryer but I like your idea.

[turtlelove321]

How damp are the clothes after spinning them? Is it comparable to using an actual wringer? Sorry for all the questions, I am just super interested in this concept of washing my laundry. I use the bucket method with a hole in the lid and plunger. I live in a 40' fifth wheel up in Canada, and in the winter it is nearly impossible for me to do my laundry outdoors. I do my laundry in the shower stall and figured a spinner like this would allow me more space and save on the mess.

[jespter]

@turtlelove321 I never used a wringer so I do not really know how to compare to that. If I spin very hard the clothes are pressed against the sides of the salad spinner basket & sort of come out the same as the spin cycle of a commercial washer. It depends how long and hard I spin it. You can use different levels of effort. Mt place has a hot gas heated furnace so I hang clothes in my apartment. I put the most effort when getting the soap out and less effort on the final spin. I think its fun.

[MsSomM]

@jespter Thanks so much for posting this!! I just ordered a big salad spinner from ebay. I made my own rapid washer out of a brand new plunger...I drilled holes in it for circulation. Then I got a 5 gallon bucket for washing and drilled a hole in the lid for the plunger handle to go through. It works great but hand wringing was no fun. Thanks again, I am really excited to be liberated from the laundry mat!

[jespter]

@turtlelove321 in addition to what I just wrote. It is hard to rate dampness. Most of the water does come out of the clothes if you do not fill the salad spinner too much so that the clothes do not rub against the top lid. If you spin fast for 4 minutes that is usually more than enough. I guess one can spin it longer. It does spin fast. Its good exercise... not too hard to do, but it feels good for the arms and to me its a nice movement to do. Makes my arms strong.

[turtlelove321]

Does the salad spinner actually work for spinning clothes? I have tried many methods and recently found a 5 gallon salad spinner. Before I send payment through are you able to tell me how well it works?

[jespter]

@turtlelove321 , Yes it does work. It extracts soapy water from clothes on the first round & then rinse water. DO not fill it all the way. If the clothes are imbalanced, it does shake a bit, but that is ok. (maybe a machine does spin faster and more completely). The good thing is that t does not take a lot of time. Sometime there is a small plastic thing on the bottom hole. You might want to removed it so the hole was more open so the water can come out the salad spinner faster.

[jespter]

@turtlelove321 , Yes it does work. It extracts soapy water from clothes on the first round & then rinse water. DO not fill it all the way. If the clothes are imbalanced, it does shake a bit, but that is ok. (maybe a machine does spin faster and more completely). The good thing is that t does not take a lot of time. Sometime there is a small plastic thing on the bottom hole. You might want to removed it so the hole is more open so the water can come out the salad spinner faster.

[candiedpecan]

Thanks for posting this! I have been looking for a big salad spinner like that for a while! (^^) Maybe you can do a short video demonstrating the rapid washer - they have a plastic one on ebay, I think.

[jespter]

@candiedpecan Thanks Glad u like it. I might make another video if I get a tripod to hold the camera (or a friend) . I think the plastic Rapid washers are new. Looks good. The metal ones from Lehmans works great too. I think they are only $17-20 either plastic or metal. but metal will rust if you leave it outside in rain or do not dry it. I like the metal and not a lot of rust... its OK.