After researching laundry off-the-grid style, I feel
confident that I will be able to continue to do wash quickly, efficiently, and
without great gobs of sweat. I won’t be taking my wash down to the river to be
beaten on a rock. No, I will have a system in place that will do wash assembly
line style. Interested to learn how to do laundry when you are off the grid?
Keep reading and I will share all my secrets.
Ok, so what are the next steps? Well, you have to assemble
your laundry system. First, you will need a Clothes line. Then you will need
tubs to wash the loads of laundry in. I chose to get two galvanized tubs on a
stand. They have drop down hoses to drain easily and are at a height that is
nice to my back. Plus, I figure if I decided washing clothes manually wasn’t
for me, I could use them as planters. These were pricey at $219 plus shipping,
but I think they were worth it. You
could actually use a couple of 5 gallon buckets for this purpose, but again, I
am not going to live like a mountain man. I am maintaining my quality of life
and these galvanized tubs are my choice.
This is what the set up looks like:
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| Photo Courtesy of Lehmans.com |
Next, you need a good wringer. You could even use two, but
at $200 a shot, one will do. I clamped mine to the middle area on the tub to
the left. That is my soap tub. The tub on the right is my rinse tub. There is a
small water diverter under the wringer so you can direct the run-off into the
tub of your choice. This is what a wringer looks like:
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| Wringer photo courtesy of Lehmans.com |
The third item need is a Rapid Washer. This $20 item has
been around forever and has morphed from galvanized metal on a wooden stick, to
plastic on a wooden stick. The plastic doesn’t rust and it doesn’t snag on more
delicate fabrics, which is a plus. Its job is to push and pull the water and
soap combination through the fibers of your clothes. Now don’t get all worked up. It really isn’t
hard and doesn’t take much effort. This
is a Rapid Washer and I found it on Amazon:
Notice that it has a plunger shape, but the underneath is
completely different. I have seen some handmade Rapid Washers from modified
plungers, but I prefer this style. It really moves the soapy water very
effectively.
Before proceeding I should tell you that 9” of snow fell on
our property yesterday. There is no chance I am going to go outside to do wash.
The bonus with the Rapid Washer and a wringer is that they can be used in our
bathroom, attached to our galvanized stock tank tub. I then hang items to dry
on the fold down rack I found at IKEA. Clothes will dry outside even when it is
cold, but they take longer. When I am having a time with weather like right
now I wash only important items like skivvies and socks, jeans and heavier
items can wait until the weather clears up.
The next item you are going to need is laundry soap. It
takes far less laundry soap in this system than in a washing machine. If you
are going to drain your grey water into a container or system to water plants,
you will want to make sure you use biodegradable laundry soap. I chose to make
my soap at home for a long time, but I have
decided to also try Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castile Soap. I have heard great things about
it and it can be used in so many different capacities including general
cleaning, washing dishes, shampoo, body wash, etc. The key is the dilution
which is the ratio of soap to water. For my washing purposes here are the dilution suggestion
is one Tablespoon for every five gallons of water. For commercial laundry
detergent you will have to experiment and, unless you are draining into a black
water tank, make sure you are using biodegradable detergent. I do not use
fabric softener in my rinse EXCEPT if the fabric causes a ton of static cling
or the fabric I am washing is bedding such as sheets and blankets.
Ok, so you have assembled your laundry team and are ready to
begin. Separate all your wash by colors and type. I wash towels and sheets
separately from whites, darks, colors, and diapers. When washing whites use hot water to prevent
yellowing, but DO NOT add Chlorine bleach. Chlorine Bleach should not ever go into a grey water
system. Seventh Generation makes Peroxide based bleach that is safe for grey
water systems, but NEVER use Chlorine based bleaches. Shop around and read up on grey water systems to find suggestions of other brands of soap that biodegradable.
Fill both tubs with clean water of the proper temperature
for the items you are laundering. Add the proper measurement of soap. Stir it
around to disperse it. Add your load of wash. Using the Rapid Washer, agitate
the clothes by moving the rapid washer up and down. I do this initial motion
for about a minute to make sure the load is thoroughly wet with the soapy
solution. Then I walk away and do other things for about 15 minutes, allow time
for the soap to begin working on the dirt and oils in the fibers. After a time
I go back and agitate it some more. How
long I let it soak and how long I agitate it is based on the type of fabric and
how dirty it is.
After washing, run each garment through the wringer and
allow it to drop into the rinse water. This is the rinse bath where you should
add fabric softener if you are going to use it. Once you have all the clothes
in the rinse water, drain the soapy water tub and add fresh water. Agitate the
clothes in the rinse tub a few times with the rapid washer and run them through
the ringer and allow them one final rinse in the final rinse tub (which is the tub that used to have soapy water in it). Once the clothes
have been run through the ringer into the fresh water, you can drain the first rinse
tub. Your clothes, by this time, are nice and clean. Run them through the
ringer and drop them into a clean basket, take them to your clothes line and
hang them up. You may want to add soap to the second tub of rinse water which again becomes the first tub with soapy water. And so the cycle continues.
·
Reusing water (with the exception of using the last rinse water tub to wash the next load) to do all your laundry (whites,
lights, darks, towels, sheets, etc.) will lead to a wicked case of lint. Unless
you have to conserve water due to circumstances, don’t try to do all of your laundry in one
tub of soapy water and one of rinse.
·
If you use find your fabrics are stiff after
drying on the line, you are most likely not getting all the soap residue out of
your clothes. Don’t skip the extra rinse and consider adjusting the amount of
soap you are adding. Fabric softener will not cure stiff clothes due to soap residue. In fact, it will add to stiffness if too much is used.
·
Don’t hang your laundry directly in the
sunlight. Air should dry your clothes, direct sunlight will bake them. Use
direct sunlight and a bit of lemon juice to naturally bleach out whites, but
hanging dark clothes and such directly in the sun will do nothing good for the
fibers not to mention fade the colors.
· To hang your clothes out even when it rains,
consider using a tarp to create a tent over the line to keep the clothes out of rain and
out of direct sunlight if you don’t have a shaded line. This will do wonders
for your laundry and allow you to dry clothes even when it is drizzly or
raining on and off. Plus, this keeps bird poo and tree sap off of your clothes
as well.
Have suggestions, questions, or ideas about doing wash off-the-grid?
Leave me a comment below.
