For a long time, I’ve wondered if maybe some day I might take an old washing machine and hook it up to a stationary bicycle such that peddling the bike powers the washing machine. Maybe some day. While thinking those thoughts I searched the internet for inspiration and I discovered a hand-powered clothes washer.
A hand-powered clothes washing machine? The Wonderwash. Basically: A bucket. A watertight top. All attached to a base that allows the bucket to spin on an axis when you turn a crank. Put dirty laundry in the bucket, add water and detergent, close and spin, … you get the idea.
Recently, the goddess of good luck smiled on me and I found a used Wonderwash machine at the local Goodwill. As it was only about 1/5 of the normal price, I couldn’t resist buying it. After using it a few times, here are my thoughts.
First, most people will probably find that it won’t replace a full-size washing machine. You will still need your regular washing machine to do large loads, especially for things like blankets or towels. But for small loads, the Wonderwash is a good alternative to using a regular washing machine — especially if that would require transporting clothes to a laundry room or laundromat (as apartment dwellers often need to do). I can easily see how someone could save time and money by using the Wonderwash for washing loads of small things like underwear, tee-shirts, and socks. It might also be useful for camping trips or in a cabin or vacation house that doesn’t have a regular washing machine.
Most videos of people using the Wonderwash show them using it in a kitchen. I thought it made more sense to use it in the bathtub. I did a load of 3 tee-shirts, 3 shorts (underwear), and a fitted sheet, which seemed like a good-sized load for the Wonderwash. I filled it about half way with hot water, using the bathtub’s handheld shower. I added just a small spoonful of liquid laundry detergent. After screwing on the top, I turned the crank a few times to spin the bucket, then let the laundry soak for a minute or so. I should mention that the bucket is well-balanced on its axis and spins quite easily. I continued to crank it a few times each minute or so for about ten minutes. (During this time I took a shower, with the Wonderwash right there in the tub with me.)
The machine has a drainpipe at the bottom (which you need to attach to use, but need to remove to spin the bucket), but as I had the machine sitting in the bathtub I thought it was easier to just dump the water out the same way it went in, by removing the top and tilting the bucket. Then I added fresh water for the rinse cycle, closed the top and spun it a few times. I like my clothes well rinsed, so I repeated the rinse cycle. After dumping the rinse water out, I removed the clothes, wrung them by hand to get out most of the water, and hung them up to dry. The next day, the clothes were dry and seemed just as clean as if they had been washed in a regular washing machine.
Overall, I’m glad I have the machine. Even though we do most of our laundry in a regular washing machine in the basement, this is a good alternative for small loads or when the regular washing machine is unavailable because someone else is using it. And, as already mentioned, if I lived in an apartment and didn’t have my own washing machine, I’d certainly consider getting one of these so as to minimize trips to the laundry room or laundromat. Using the Wonderwash in a apartment would save all the time (and perhaps money) it takes to transport clothes to a laundry room or laundromat.
