Is it really necessary to use a washing machine? I'm trying to reduce the electricity I use and I know that the washing machine and dryer use quite a bit. Would it be ok to hand wash my clothes in the bathtub? Should I use some type of soap or just water? Thanks guys!
Hey front loaders use a very small amount of energy for the actual mechanics of it.I have calculated that a single wash heating the water excluded uses about the same amount on electricity as leaving a 100w globe turned on for about 90 minutes.Even if you do wash in warm water, you only use less that 10 litres of water for the actual wash cycle and another 40-50 litres for the rinsing. Tumble dryers on the other hand use an enormous amount of energy, about 4 kw /hour. You can find more energy saving hints on my home page.
I have washed laundry in 5 gallon buckets on bumpy roads (fill halfway with clothers, top with soap and water or biodegradeable detergent, put on lid and drive on bad roads at about 40 mph.) BUT wringing is tough. Get an old wringer if you can, and lots of replacement buttons. "Living on the Earth" suggests a pole in the washyard to wring clothes around. take the item & stand facing the pole, put item around pole so you are still holding the ends and twist. They will take longer to dry. I naw wash in a front loader and line dry, since I have a lot to do on non-work days (ha! like I'm not still working?)
id rather use a washing machine then air dry stuff (in the summe rthat is when its not humid) b/c then my clothes are clean.......
My grandpa used to sometimes wash clothes in like the bathtub or sink. But most of the time he was bleaching things...
I would definately use soap, otherwise, you may as well just hose them off. Something mild, such as Woolite, will be easier to rinse out by hand.
Of course it's not necessary to use a washing machine! It'd be ok for you to wash your clothes in any manner you wanted to, even without soap. I don't wash my clothes a lot because they don't usually get dirty enough to need it. But when they do I put them in my grandma's washer and then line dry them and when they're dry, I put em in the dryer for like 20 minutes to soften them up. This post is making me realize how wasteful that is, though, so I'll probably find another way. Maybe I'll use the tub.
I hand washed my clothes for about a year and lined dried them. They came out cleaner and lasted a lot longer. Takes longer to do so but it's definately worth it.
One thing that you can do, if you want to cut out the dryer (energy waste), is to add some white vinegar to the rinse cycle as a fabric softener, so the clothes aren't so stiff from line drying. Don't EVER wash a partial load of clothes-utilize the full capacity of the washer. Try not to use hot water, either. If you dry your clothes in the sun, the sun is a great natural bleach. I use cloth diapers for my daughter, so I am constantly washing clothes, but my water bill is never more than $15/month. I wash about every other day-but, I cut water in other areas to compensate. My daughters bathe together instead of two separate baths, my husband and I shower together , and I don't have a dishwasher.
