How to Wash Clothes Without a Washing Machine
Sometimes you need to give your laundry personal attention, or maybe your washing machine decided not to work. There are also some fabrics that you cannot wash in a machine and, for other garments, washing by hand will extend the life of the fabric, because it isn't as rough on the seams and it better protects the colors. Here are some steps to washing clothes without a washing machine. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Check the label for washing instructions. The label will tell you the temperature of water you should use, be it hot, cold or warm.
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Look over your clothing for stains. If the fabric of the clothes can be pre-treated (the label should identify this), pre-treat with a stain stick or another method. You can also use laundry detergent and scrub the stained area gently to help remove the stain.
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Fill a sink or other wash basin that can hold water with the correct temperature and a small amount of detergent, such as Tide, Gain or another cleansing product. Use the appropriate amount of detergent and mix it with the water to form suds.
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Place your clothes in the soapy water and mix them around. Pay close attention to pre-treated stains and move your clothes around in the water for 10 to 15 minutes. Give each garment individual attention as you wash the clothes.
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Hang your wet clothes to dry, or lay the clothes on a flat surface. Washing instructions on the label can help you identify which method to use to dry. You can also use hangers or the backs of furniture to place your clothes.
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Drain all used water before you get begin another load of laundry. Check the labels again to get the correct water temperature, add detergent and wash the next load.
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Tips & Warnings
You can dry clothes by hanging them outside on a rope and let the fresh air blow through them.
Wash colors with like colors and whites with whites. Mixing them together dulls the appearance of both and if the water is too hot, the colors could bleed.
Do not use bleach unless the label on your article of clothing specifically says you can do so. This could ruin your laundry.
Make sure the label on the article of clothing does not read "dry clean only" before you wash it. This could permanently destroy your clothes.
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Comments
View all 6 Comments-
How long should you soak them?
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odualum08
Jan 22, 2009
How about rinsing the clothes -
odualum08
Jan 22, 2009
How about rinsing the clothes
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KmWV
Jun 09, 2008
Why was there no mention of wringing most of the water out of the clothes after washing them? Hanging them over furniture or on a clothes line soaking wet would take so long for them to dry, that they would mildew first! And all the dripping if dried indoors would be quite a mess. If no electric is available, a rolling mop bucket such as a Rubbermaid brand commercial mop bucket, has a wringer on the side which could be used to press most of the water out, much as an old wringer washer did. Even if hanging soaking wet clothes outdoors to dry, it would still take far too long to be practical.
