Portable Washing Machine

yota_mota

New member
I've been thinking about inventing a portable "camping" type wash machine. I'm curious to see how well this one works out! Looking forward to the write up on it


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4x4tripping

Adventurer
This looks interesting!

You can read often at 4x4-traveller Blogs how the people handle the cleaning of the clothes.

I read severall times about to use one of these as washing device:

Waschmaschine17l.png

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http://transafrica2012.blogspot.ch/p/einige-details.html
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When you drive a day, add water, clothes & soap - and let the bad roads shake it for you :)

We carry that through africa, use it for collecting the dirty clothes - but we just use it once. Loundry Service is so cheap in the 2 and 3rd world.

The scruba seems perfect for backpackers and when you try to travel light. Too a good alternative for using it as 4x4 overlander - when you normally dont wash by yourself.

Surfy
 

Geodoc

Adventurer
I got lucky and met the inventor of the Scrubba at the Outdoor Retailer show. I'm impressed with it.
 

JDaPP

Adventurer
I have the scuba and I use it when I travel for work. I consider it slightly better than washing in the sink. In fairness my biggest issue is getting the clothes dry before they start to smell like damp/mildew. The nice thing is it doubles as a compression bag if you use the valve to let the air out. It is actually better at that than some of the purpose built compression bags I have. One tip is to do no more than 2 shirts at a time from what I have seen.
 

aaen

Adventurer
Old thread I know but I just stumbled on it.

The scrubba for me is a perfect little wash bag and is much better then washing in the sink I have found, I use this all the time when I am in camps for work. I find the washing machines tend to be horrible as the crews wash all their work gear in them which either leaves oil/debris in the machines or ruins them all together for the next persons. Anyways, at the end of the day strip off the socks, underwear, shirt fire them in the bag, give them a wash, I tend to go 2-3 mins of a good vigorous scrub in the bag. Drain, rinse once or twice, then ring out the clothes. Put in the towel and twist to remove the majority of the water. Then I hang it up and by morning it is dry. I typically have 2-3days worth of clothes with me and I wash every night for 10mins. typically right before bed or as soon as my shift is done.

What i have found with the bag is that you have to experiment with what works. I do not use the fill lines on the bag at all as I find it puts to much water into the bag making it difficult to actually scrub the clothing. A little less then what is required allows you to get some pressure down on the clothes and onto the scrub board. Soaps, I tend to use Dr. Brohmers or I bring a goo-tube full of my preferred soap (usually biodegradable, safe for environment kind). Remember a little goes a long way here, you only need a tiny amount.

I have had a few issues with my bag that I fixed with aqua seal, the vent developed a hole in it and was spitting water out. The other is that I find the washable is not ideal for washing pants. It can be done, it even gives you a warning if I remember correctly on the packing. Anyways you really need to be careful, I tend to turn the pants inside out so the buttons and zippers cannot puncture a hole. I also find that I sometimes have to wash them twice to get them clean, well somewhat clean.

other then that I have used mine for over a year, pretty much 75% of the time as I was in camps or away traveling in hotels or camping, etc. Hasn't been used in a bit as I have been laid off and am seeking employment once again and I have a washing machine here. Overall though I think it is a great idea to bring it along as it can extend the time btw proper washing on a trip or decrease the amount of gear you need to bring.

regards

Steve
 

highdesertranger

Adventurer
I use a 5 gallon bucket with a gamma lid. if traveling just add clothes, soap(very little), and water. the motion of travel especially off road does the trick. if I am at base camp I have a gamma lid with hole in the center and a toilet plunger.
step 1 let soak drink your favorite libation
step2 then plunge a little
step3 repeat steps 1 and 2
step4 rinse
highdesertranger
 

Geodoc

Adventurer

aaen

Adventurer
Wonder wash is pretty slick, old school washing machine combo, kind of, I've seen these used in RV's a lot, did decent job. Although might be a bit big to throw in the back of a truck, not to mention fragile when offloading/overlanding if it gets tossed a side or something falls/slides into it. I have used the 5 gallon pale method with a plunger (they use to sell one on amazon designed to wash clothes?) as well and it worked fairly well, actually better then most, although I also found this to take up more room then I was willing to commit, although I suppose the pail could do double duty as a port potty and storage vessel.

Not really sure on how 5 gallon pail with a lid on it is really going to have enough agitation in the bucket to get clothes cleaned? Although I have never tried it just can't really see it working all that well.
 

Antichrist

Expedition Leader
I use a 5 gallon bucket with a gamma lid. if traveling just add clothes, soap(very little), and water. the motion of travel especially off road does the trick. if I am at base camp I have a gamma lid with hole in the center and a toilet plunger.
step 1 let soak drink your favorite libation
step2 then plunge a little
step3 repeat steps 1 and 2
step4 rinse
Sounds like you've built yourself a churn. :wings:
 

Happy Joe

Apprentice Geezer
I used a wonder wash for a couple of trips, it does a reasonable job, but its a space hog when not in use, IMO.
Now I too use the 5 gallon bucket and a holey plunger on trips that are long enough to need to wash clothes.

Haven't tried just letting the rough road do the job; sounds like a good idea though...thanx!

Enjoy!
 

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