The Best Powerless Laundry Solution

I’ve wanted to decide on a powerless laundry option ever since I lived on our stored water for a few days.  But I didn’t want to invest in something, put in in my closet and then just pray and hope it would work when the time came.  I wanted to make sure that whatever I invested in didn’t waste water, didn’t take an enormous amount of time and most important: got my clothes as clean as possible.

 

Powerless laundry | Doing laundry without power

 

I decided to try an experiment.  I bought/made a few various different options for powerless laundry and compared them all to the electric washer that I use every day.

 

The Process:

Step #1:  I got five white rags and dirtied them each with some garden soil and ketchup.  I added stain remover (Oxi-Clean) to the left ketchup stain and let the rags sit for about an hour.  Note: I didn’t expect any system to completely get the ketchup out, but purposefully chose something that would leave a stain so I could see which was darkest / lightest etc.

Powerless laundry experiment | Doing laundry without power
#1 (the frontloader) was already in the wash, but looked the same. (-:

Step #2:  I washed each rag using the different systems.  I added 7-10 additional rags to each load to make sure there was equal agitation from other items.  Each load totaled approximately 1.5 lbs of laundry.  I used cold water in all loads since that is likely what I’d be using in an emergency situation.

Step #3:  I rinsed each rag using the system it was washed in.

Step #4:  I dried all rags in my everyday electric dryer to save on time.  I’d obviously be hang drying if I was really using these methods.

 

Results:

 

System #1: My Frontloader

  • Water Used including rinse cycle: Around 10 gallons or 6.7 gallons per pound of laundry.  However, I can fit around 20 pounds of laundry in this washer and it will only use 15 gallons of water or 1.3 gallons per pound.  If you have a top loading washer, it may use up to 20-40+ gallons per load.
  • Time:  This cycle (1.5 lb load) took 50 minutes or about 33 minutes per pound.  A large (20 pound) load takes around 70 minutes or about 3.5 minutes per pound.
  • Amount of Detergent Used: About 1 Tablespoons HE detergent or .67 T per pound of laundry.  But even with a large load, I only use 2 T MAX or .1 T per pound.
  • Physical Energy Used:  None.
  • Pros:  I can put the laundry in a walk away.  The rag was clean with this system.  Only I was surprised that the stain with the stain remover was actually more visible than the one with stain remover.  No dirt visible at all.
  • Cons:  Can’t use this option when / if living on the stored water.  (-:

Powerless laundry experiment | Doing laundry without power

Powerless Laundry System #2: Wonder Wash  (there is a similar less expensive brand at Emergency Essentials)

  • Water Used including rinse cycle: 1 gallon or .67 gallons per pound of laundry.  The max load (4.5 lbs) uses 3 gallons (including rinse) which is still .67 gallons per pound.
  • Time:  10 minutes (2 minute wash, 1 minute rinse) or about 6.6 minutes per pound of laundry.  This would be slightly less for a larger load, but not a lot because most of the time is spent wringing out the clothes.  If washing, rinsing and filling with water all took about the same amount of time, then wringing out clothes would take about 15 minutes for a 4.5 pound load or 19-20 minutes total which is about 4.4 minutes per pound of laundry.
  • Amount of Detergent Used: About .25 T HE detergent or .17 T per pound of laundry.
  • Physical Energy Used:  Not much at all.  This was super easy to spin.
  • Pros:  Doesn’t use a lot of energy or water.  Rag got relatively clean.  Stains were still easily visible, but almost all the dirt was gone.
  • Cons:  Requires hot water.  The hot water creates a suction that is what pushes the water / detergent through the clothes.  When I tried this system with cold water, it did not work well at all.  I did a second run with hot water and it was much, much better.

Powerless laundry experiment | Doing laundry without power

 

Powerless Laundry System #3:  Washboard

  • Water Used including rinse cycle: 1 gallon or .67 gallons per pound of laundry.
  • Time:  30 minutes or 20 minutes per pound of laundry
  • Amount of Detergent Used: About .25 T HE detergent or .17 T per pound of laundry.
  • Physical Energy Used:  A LOT!  This was tough!  I gained a new admiration for those who did / do their laundry this way daily.   Wow.
  • Pros:  This got the rag the clean:  No dirt, both stains almost completely gone.
  • Cons:  Requires a lot of work and a lot of time!  Rag was overall a bit darker then all the others as if the dirt / stains had kinda just spread through the whole rag.  You couldn’t see the stains / dirt anymore, but the rag was a bit more grey than the others.

 Powerless laundry experiment | Doing laundry without power

Powerless Laundry System #4: Plunger made for laundry

  • Water Used including rinse cycle:  Around 3 gallons or 2 gallons per pound of laundry.
  • Time:  10 minutes (2 minute wash, 1 minute rinse) or about 6.6 minutes per pound of laundry.  This would be slightly less for a larger load (largest possible is around 5.5 pounds), but not a lot because most of the time is spent wringing out the clothes.  If washing, rinsing and filling with water all took about the same amount of time, then wringing out clothes would take about 22 minutes for a 5.5 pound load or 28 minutes total which is about 5 minutes per pound of laundry.
  • Amount of Detergent Used: About .5 T HE detergent or .32 T per pound of laundry.
  • Physical Energy Used:  A good amount though not nearly as much as with the washboard.
  • Pros:  None that I can see.
  • Cons:  The plunger kept coming unscrewed as I used it which was frustrating.  Rag did not get very clean.  Stains were still dark and dirt was still visible.

 Powerless laundry experiment | Doing laundry without power

Powerless Laundry System #5: Inexpensive plunger

  • Water Used including rinse cycle:  Around 3 gallons or 2 gallons per pound of laundry.
  • Time:  10 minutes (2 minute wash, 1 minute rinse) or about 6.6 minutes per pound of laundry.  This would be slightly less for a larger load (largest possible is around 5.5 pounds), but not a lot because most of the time is spent wringing out the clothes.  If washing, rinsing and filling with water all took about the same amount of time, then wringing out clothes would take about 22 minutes for a 5.5 pound load or 28 minutes total which is about 5 minutes per pound of laundry.
  • Amount of Detergent Used: About .5 T HE detergent or .32 T per pound of laundry.
  • Physical Energy Used:  A good amount though not nearly as much as with the washboard.
  • Pros:  The plunger stayed together and didn’t come apart!  Clothes smelled like rubber.
  • Cons:  Rags weren’t amazingly clean… cleaner than other plunger, but less than clean than all the other options.

 Powerless laundry experiment | Doing laundry without power

A Chart:

Here is a chart that sums it all up:

Frontloader Wonderwash Washboard Laundry Plunger Cheap Plunger
Water 1.3 gal / lb .67 gal / lb .67 gal / lb 2 gal / lb 2 gal / lb
Time 3.5 min / lb 4.4 min / lb 20 min / lb 5 min / lb 5 min / lb
Detergent .1 T / lb .17 T / lb .17 T / lb .32 T / lb .32 T / lb
Physical Energy None Very little Very High High High
Cleanliness Excellent Good Very Good Poor Fair

 

Some Additional Powerless Laundry Tips

Here are a few tips that will help in a powerless laundry situation no matter what system you choose to use!

Shake – Shake out your clothes before washing to get rid of dust debris.

Soak  – Soaking helps loosen dirt and debris, so if you have the time to soak your clothes before washing, do it!

Boil – If something needs to be sanitized (underwear, throwup etc), boil it.

Wring – Wring out as much soapy water as you can before rinsing.  You will remove dirt and soap from the clothes and make the rinse cycle more effective.  Wring again before hanging to dry.  I used a mop wringer for larger items.  It didn’t get them as dry as a hand wring would, but it made it possible to get enough water out that I could then hand wring them.

Soften – Baking soda is a natural fabric softener.  Add a teaspoon to your rinse cycle!

 

The Best Powerless Laundry Option?

For my family, I have decided that a washboard / wonderwash combo is the best powerless laundry option.

I will use the washboard to remove stains etc and the wonderwash to wash clothes.  I know this will require fuel (for the hot water), so I will keep the inexpensive plunger as a backup option.

Depending on the reason why we need to do powerless laundry, I may use the plunger to save on fuel if needed.  I will be returning the more expensive plunger as it wouldn’t even stay together for me.

What will you do for your family?

 

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Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.

71 thoughts on “The Best Powerless Laundry Solution”

  1. I use a manual spin dryer listed on Amazon as: “Deer 5 Gallon Large Commercial Manual Salad Spinner/Dryer”. Sold by Deer Kitchen. I did add a garden hose to drain it because the drain that came with it was inadequate.

    Now I use the Wonder Wash and spin dryer for whites. I live alone and it would take me almost a month to get enough whites for a full load in my washer. The spin dryer does a good enough job so that my laundry can be dried indoors without dripping.

    Reply
  2. I would think about investing in a wringer which is what my mom used many years ago. I am thinking of going to an antique store to find one. The wringing out is the only part that is hard for me

    Reply
  3. Thanks for the comparison. I have looked into the wonderwash and thought it too expensive,as you said to just sit in a closet as a back up. I’ll rethink it now.

    Reply
  4. We used a 5 gallon bucket with a hole in the lid and a (previously unused) bathroom plunger this summer when camping with kids. Small amount of biodegradable soap because that is all we use in Nature. Did not take long and clothes came out remarkably clean. Of course, it was just camp dirt. Note for campers: do not empty your bucket in or near water because it needs to soak through the soil/rocks to filter before it goes back into the water system. Plus you clothes contain remnants of detergent. We could not have stayed a week if we did not do this as we had one grandson who was just learning to walk and 2 older (3 and 6) boys who loved every minute of playing in the dirt!

    Reply
  5. The drawback for the Wonder Wash is that you must use hot water for it to work. Not only is that more expense, but more importantly, it fades some clothes and wears them out quicker. I occasionally use WARM water (not hot), but for a lot of my clothes I prefer cold water.

    Reply
  6. This was great post. I would use large galvanized um, well, is not bucket or pot, what to call it (?) (bath dogs in it) and soak n cold water then use washboard and ring out, rinse, ring out.
    Love all your posts.
    I am food storage person in my church and have gotten lots of info from you!
    Thanks for that!
    Moo

    Reply
  7. How do you wring the clothes out well enough to dry or is there a small dryer that works on alternate fuel?

    Thanks Misty, your info is awesome!!!

    Reply
    • I haven’t found / don’t know of a dryer like that Julie. It very well may exist, but I don’t think I’d want to store the fuel. (-: I just used a mop wringer for larger items. It didn’t get them as dry as a hand wring would, but it made it possible to get enough water out that I could then hand wring them.

      Reply
      • I have 2 five gal. Buckets that I use to wrong out clothes. One has holes drilled in the side near the bottom of the bucket. The other is just a bucket with a lid on it. Put the washes and rinsed clothes in the bucket with the holes. Place the other bucket inside that bucket and sit on it. The water comes out the holes and the clothes are ready to hang for drying.

        Reply
          • When wringing out towels we use two people. Each person takes an end and twists. We get far more water out this way. I would do that with clothes if we were hand washing them. My grandmother never had a wringer washer. She would put the clothes in the sink and dip them in the water and take her hands work on the clothes like I do when trying to get a spot out. She would wring them out, put them on the counter and then put rinse water in the sink and let them sit for about 15 minutes and let the water loosen the soap. She would then take her hands and dip the clothes in and out of the water until the soap was out. Then she would refill the sink and rinse a second time.

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