Essentials: Laundry (Part 2)

Last week, I posted about homemade laundry detergent (powder). I promised to post about a handmade washing machine, so here it is.

Now, I personally feel that a handmade washing machine is a bit of a radical step. However, I do think it is important to have this in my back pocket for emergancies, such as long times without power (hurricanes or ice storms). This would also be good for camping or off the grid living. Having the materials and knowledge to execute a plan B gives peace of mind during extreme situations.

So here is the premise of a handmade washing machine. 

Materials:

CLEAN plunger

5 gallon bucket (with a lid, preferred)

Sharp knife to cut holes

BE CAREFUL with the knife. Rubber and plastic are not the easiest things to cut into.

Take the plunger and carefully cut out the rubber inner ring. Then along the side walls, cut quarter size holes (about 4-6 holes). The plunger will be your agitator. 

If you have a bucket with a lid, cut a hole in the center of the lid just larger than the plunger handle. This will allow you to be more vigorous with the agitation without getting so much water everywhere. 

That is all there is to it. I am planning on using my 5 gallon bucket as a dual purpose washing machine and laundry soap making bucket. The instructions for the liquid detergent isn't supposed to have a hole in the lid, so I was planning on buying a sink hole cover to place on top of it whenever I plan on making detergent. It is usually used to keep sink water in the sink if you don't have a stopper. I think it would serve the purpose I need it to (we shall see since I am still trying to collect the 10 laundry detergent bottles before I try making liquid detergent. That may take awhile.) However, I saved the hole I cut out of the lid and taped it to the side and want to see if it will work ok just taped over the hole. This will save me money and resources. I will let you know how that goes once I make the soap.

If I find myself in a situation that calls for saving money, this method has potential. Being that I expect at a laundromat to spend about $39 per month. That is $468 per year in savings. Combine this with the savings of making my own laundry detergent (about $125). That is $593 of savings per year! That is amazing savings! 

If I pay $50-$100 extra to have the washer and dryer in my apartment, that is $600-$1200 extra per year. Plus about $146 in electricity charges for running them for a year (I looked up cost estimators online to come to that total. Estimated 3 loads per week). So choosing an apartment without a laundry room would save $746-$1346 per year, plus homemade laundry detergent is a total savings of $871-$1471. It all adds to some significant savings in the long run.

I will have a future post on actually using this method since just making the washer does not automatically lead to knowing how to use it and what it takes to get a load from start to finish.