Laundry

[Brownbear]

Hey guys,

As a newbie you will have to forgive me if this is in the wrong place.

I have a question relating to washing your clothes whilst out on the road.

As I try to avoid towns and busy locations I am looking for a method of washing my clothes whilst on our hols on the road.

I have heard of a system where you buy a large plastic Keg with waterproof lid(large neck opening of course) and put your clothes in with some water and detergents pop on the lid, stick it on the roof rack and head off on your days travelling.
When you get to your destination you take your gear out the keg, rinse it and hang it out to dry.

The bumps in the road along the way are meant to agitate the clothes, water and detergent making for crudely but effectively washed gear.

Any one got any experience or thoughts on this or any other system.

Cheers.;)

[Sleepy]

BB,

The problem is usually access to plentiful water supply.

If water is available I tend to hand wash and rinse by hand. (Careful not to get detergents into rivers/creeks as this does upset the locals:mad:) Washing your clothes on the riverbank is definetly a no-no.

If you're in the drier parts of AUS (98%?) I usually just wash the "smalls" in a bucket - often the same one I just washed myself in if it's not too filthy!!. (Okay, kids would say my smalls aren't too small!!!).;)

I find that on most days in the outback I just get too dusty to worry about it.:D:D:D

On the longer trips I aim to check into a caravan park every few weeks or so and have a nice hot shower :Dand do all the washing.

I s'pose it all relates to your tolerance for dirt.:p

[vnx205]

We used that method on a trip that included the Oodnadatta Track, the Tanami, the Gibb River Road and Mitchell Falls.
The drum I had was about 10 litres. At first I had it in the back of the SIII, but later I tied it to the top of the bullbar because I thought the water might slosh around more with the drum horizontal.
Because we were carrying about 90 litres of water and weren't in particularly dry places, we washed and rinsed clothes every day.
They came about cleaner than they went in, but when we got home and put them in the washing machine we found they became cleaner still.
I suppose we could have got the same result with 10 minutes of handwashing, but I thought it was a worthwhile system.

[LandyAndy]

At easter there were a couple of "grey nomads" camped next door.
They had a simple washing machine that worked real well.It was a 20l drum and lid,a funnel with holes drilled in it with a broomstick handle.Chuck the clothes detergent and water in agitate with the broomstick/funnel arangement.They had a van and when travelling left clothes to soak in the drum.
Andrew

[Blknight.aus]

all that works. you can buy a small camping washing machine (I got one for $5 at a garage sale cause the person selling it didnt know what it was) its basically about a 10l drum with a lid on a frame with a crank handle insert cloths water+detergent seal up spin a few times every couple of minutes. then empty fill with fresh water repeat and then again all in all it takes about 20l of water to wash one full set of cloths (smalls, jeans, singlet, tshirt+socks).

In a pinch if your at the beach you can use sea water for the actual detergent wash and then rinse with brackish if its available.

be carefull where and how you tip it out.

[vnx205]

I saw one of those machines LandyAndy described at a Leisure/Pleasure/Camping/Caravanning/Outdoor Show last year.
The salesman was responding to a lady in the audience who had bought one previously and said it didn't do a very good job.
He asked her about her technique and explained that she needed to do things differently.
He demonstrated a technique for both the washing and rinsing that was different from her "chuck stuff in and give it a bit of a poke and a stir" technique.
It didn't look particularly difficult, but it did convince me that the right technique is important to get the best results.

Sorry, I don't remember the details of his technique.

[Disco300Tdi]

Brownbear,
That is exactly how we tend to wash our clothes. Its reasonably effective. As log as you don't take any of your "best" gear, or white shirts :D...muddy river water is not always kind to clothes ;)


We don't put the drum on the roof tho. It's usually in the back somewhere. Still gets plenty of agitation :D

We don't use a keg tho...use a bucket with a water-tight lid. That way you can use it for other things as well. See here, Numpty getting the washing ready to go

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n74/numpty_01/Hay%20River/0038HR2006Windorah.jpg

Now I know why his wing is in a sling.....:D

[Blknight.aus]

here they are


1. put in cloths without folding or rolling (stuff the gear in)
2. ensuring that all fabric is wet fill container to the 1/2 mark (warmer is better than cold)
3. add measure of detergent (less than you usually use its not a full size washing machine)
4. screw down the seal and secure the locks (varies from model to model)
5. rotate slowly 10-15 times
6. let sit for a few minutes
7. repeate steps 5+6 as required depending on how badly your cloths are soiled
8. open container drain and wring out cloths
9. replace cloths, fill with water and seal
10. rotate 10-15 times to rinse cloths
11. repeat steps 8-10
12. remove cloths and hang out to dry.

apart from condensing the instructions for the rinsing thats pretty much it.

overfilling it, turning it too fast, putting too many cloths in, folding or rolling the cloths to get them in, not letting it sit for a bit inbetween wash turns will all prevent it from working properly.

Ive found (as before) that my normal cool days wear of jeans, singlet, shirt, socks and jocks are about all it can do in a hit. If its hot and SWMBO and me are decked out similarly in shorts and shirts then it just manages to do it all in one go.

20l of water is usually enough for one load from wash to final rinse and as a bonus you can seal the cloths in it and let it sit for a day in the back of the vehicle.

[vnx205]

Dave, from your description and instructions, yours sounds like a miniature front-end loader and depends on rotation and tumbling.

The one I saw was like the one LandyAndy described; a 20 litre drum with a straight handle sticking out through the lid.

I think the correct action involved pressing down and rotating.

The pressing down seemed to be even more important during the rinsing/wringing part of the cycle.

[Blknight.aus]

yeah the instructions for mine are one that looks like a minitue cement mixer that turns the whole barrel end for end.

the plunger one I cant see being vastly different other than swapping the word rotate for plunge....

[dobbo]

A bucket with a plunger with a D handle sticking through the lid would surely do the trick.

Or dependant on if it's safe to do so, go for a swim in your clothes when available and pommie wash with scented baby wipes.

The best one I ever saw a mate do was wear the same clothes for almost a week then when in town buy new clothes and through the others away.

Mind you he is a dirty pom.


I am suprised no one has devised a PTO driven washing machine.

[Shonky]

I am suprised no one has devised a PTO driven washing machine.

Don't be so sure - I would bet that someone, somewhere has done it!

[vnx205]

I agree with NM except that I work on the assumption that if the clothes have been sloshing around in the drum all day, I don't need to put much effort into agitiating them at the end of the day.
Having versatile equipment is one good way to save on the amount of stuff you have to pack into the vehicle.

[The ho har's]

here's my washing machine......

Old 20 kg flour bucket with hole in lid with a screw tight bung thingy so the water does not come out while travelling. A paint mixer shoved through the bung thingy with a handle on it so I can get exercise plunging up and down to rinse the clothes when we arrive at camp, don't forget use wool wash as you don't need to rinse as much so you save water. And bucket doubles as anything else as NM described so TWO uses :D


Mrs ho har :):)

[Brownbear]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies and info.

Luckily for us when we are on our hols around the warmer Southern European countries, fresh water supply is not an issue for us which helps when having to wash kit.
One washing machine on a French campsite nearly had me honking up with the strong stench of... something minging so taking our own system appeals to me.

On our last trip through Spain and Southern France following the coast of the Mediterranean, we used our solar shower which we just left on the roof rack for a couple of hours. On our return from swimming in the sea we had a very warm, almost too hot shower to rinse off under, so I am hoping we will get the same hot water affect in our wash tub as we got in the Shower.

The bladder that held the water in the shower was Black which obviously absorbs the heat well so I think I will be looking for a black tub for the washing to keep the temp up.

Washing our kit when camping in tiny cold England is never an issue as it is that small that you can be from top to bottom of the country in a matter of hours so its not like you are away from home or in a remote area. No matter where you are in the UK you are probably no more than an hour or so from a Launderette, even when out camping in the hills and remote areas.

Convenient.... may be, but no fun definitely.

The whole being hundreds of miles from the nearest town or settlement and having to be self sufficient and do your own cooking, cleaning etc appeals to me, so whilst living over here I guess thats just tuff :(