How to Build a Laundry Hamper
Laundry hampers have changed little over the years. Most hampers are still gaped baskets or net bags, designed to let air circulate past clothes as you haul them to and from the washing machine or laundromat. Rather than buying a laundry hamper, save yourself a little bit of money and practice your building skills by assembling your own hamper suited to your home. This hamper will hold two loads of laundry. Use longer pipes if you prefer a larger hamper. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- PVC pipes
- Ruler
- Tape measure
- Permanent marker
- Hacksaw
- 8 three-way PVC fittings
- PVC adhesive
- Snap clamps
Instructions
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1
Use a ruler or tape measure to divide a 2-inch-wide, 10-foot-long PVC pipe into four sections. Make a mark every 2 1/2 feet with a permanent marker. Repeat with a second and third PVC pipe to measure a total of 12 sections.
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2
Cut straight through the pipe with a hacksaw at the points you marked to create 12 lengths of PVC pipe 2 1/2 feet. Your cuts should be perpendicular to the pipe.
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3
Form a square by connecting four pipes with four of the three-way connectors. The open ends of the connectors should all point in the same direction.
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4
Disconnect the pipes and end fittings once you ensure that everything fits together. Put a thin layer of PVC adhesive on each end of each pipe. Put the pipes together again as tightly as possible.
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5
Glue a second square together with another four tubes.
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6
Put glue on both ends of the four remaining pipes. Stick them in the open ends of one square to form four uprights. Press the second square down on top of them to form a cube. Let the glue cure.
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7
Place a mesh bag inside the laundry hamper. Anchor it to four pipes with snap claps so it is held open with the bottom just above the ground.
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Tips & Warnings
You can carry the laundry hamper to the laundromat as is or, alternately, unsnap the snap claps and remove the bag for a lighter load.
If you prefer, you may glue plastic mesh to five sides of the hamper instead of using a mesh bag.
References
- Photo Credit dirty laundry image by jedphoto from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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Kinda vague for people who have never worked with PVC before. It's best to draw out your design first and then determine which types of connector joints you need. What pipe size do you need? The larger the diameter, the more stable. How about some more details?
