How To Wash Clothes Without A Washing Machine

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There are several ways of washing clothes today but traditional washing of clothes by hand typically saves energy and water than using a washing-machine. Additionally, washing clothes by hand helps to minimize on the damage which usually occurs when washing most especially with washing-machines and this is why most delicate clothes have a tag which recommends for hand-washing because it’s a more secure and safe way to clean-up clothes. On top of that, hand-washing is a good skill because it will help you when travelling to areas without access to washing-machines or in case power goes-out. All in all, I have decided to list for you some of the steps that you may use in case you don’t wish to wash clothes using a washing-machine:

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  1. Consider purchasing or making an agitator: it is easy to wash a load of clothes without using any tools but this actually tends to be tedious at times. so, in case you’re planning on washing all your clothes by hand especially jeans, towels and other heavy-items, then you may need to use a handheld agitator which is a simple tool used for pressing and moving clothes during the washing-process. But in case you can’t find an agitator in a store, then try looking online or make your own agitator by simply cutting a few holes in the rubber of a new plunger.


  1. Separate white-clothes from colored-clothes (recommended): washing laundry by hand usually involves lower-temperatures and less-agitation than with most washing-machines. This means that there is less risk of color-bleeding but it may still occur with certain clothes. So, separating white and light-pastel clothing from dark-colored clothing is highly recommended in order to avoid occurrence of color-bleeding which may damage any delicate clothes during the washing-process.


  1. Place clothes in a clean basin or bucket: in case you don’t have a large washing-tub, then you may clean-up your sink, bathtub, bucket or basin and then place your clothes in there while spreading them-out evenly. However, the less-full the basin/bucket is, the easier it will be to wash clothes and if you have too many clothes to wash-up at ounce, then consider using a second clean bucket/basin and after wet the clothes while you finish with the first load. Likewise, in case you’re washing a small-amount of clothes then you may use a large bowl.


  1. Treat stains with a pre-wash stain-remover or soap: incase some of the clothing contain strong-stains that have dyed-up the fabric like; mustard or ink stains, then try rubbing a little stain-remover product over the affected area or you may even use soap in case you don’t have a stain-remover. Let the clothes sit for about 5-minutes before proceeding to wash.


  1. Fill the basin/bucket with lukewarm water: fill your basin with warm-water until the water-level reaches 1-2 inches (2.5-5cm) or just above the level of the clothing. Lukewarm or room-temperature water will work well for most laundry loads and it even helps to reduce on the occurrence of damage or color-bleeding. Likewise, never use hot-water unless the clothes you’re washing are sturdy and heavily-soiled. in fact, in case you’re not sure whether a particular cloth should be washed in warm or cold water, then just play it safe by using cool-water instead.


  1. Apply laundry detergent to the clothes: in case you using a sink or bucket, then you will need about 2-teaspoons (5-10ml) of mild-detergent or washing-powder. In case you have a lot of clothes that require a bathtub, then use about 4-teaspoons (60-ml) of washing detergent/powder. Additionally, try to follow the instructions on the detergent package in order to learn the measurements. Likewise, if a detergent isn’t labeled ‘mild’ yet you have sensitive-skin, then wear rubber-gloves in order to prevent itching or rashes.


  1. Let the clothes soak: the laundry-detergent will actually take some time to work so it’s best to leave the tub -of water for about 20-minutes after applying the detergent. Additionally, incase clothes have a significant amount of dirt/stains then you may leave the detergent to rest for about 1-hour before beginning to wash your clothes.


  1. Swish clothes around while in water: use your hands or an agitator to swish the clothes gently around in water. Try pressing clothes against the bottom and sides until suds emerge but never scrub or twist because this may stretch or damage your clothes. Do the swishing for at least 2-minutes or until you notice that the clothes have become clean.


  1. Rinse clothes repeatedly in new cold-water: empty the water from the bucket/basin and then fill it with new, cool-water. Proceed with swishing the clothes around while pressing in order to remove any soap-suds. After a few minutes, drain the water again and then repeat the rinsing-process for about 2-times or until no soap-suds are visible when clothes are moved/presses in newly-added water. On the other hand, you may also decide to rinse your clothes by holding them under running-water until no soap-suds are visible then prepare for drying.


  1. Wring and dry the clothes: twist each cloth independently in order to remove most of the water or you may even pass clothes through a hand-cranked wringler incase you have one. In case you’re not going to use a dryer, then hang your clothes on cloth-horse, cloth-line or on the back of chairs. make sure that the clothes a evenly spread-out and overlap with each other because it a wet section is covered by another cloth, then will take a bit longer to the clothes to dry-up. However, remember that wet clothes will drip and this means that they may leave stains on hard-wood or upholstery materials incase draped on directly. On the other hand, your clothes will dry-up within a few hours on a sunny day but in case you don’t have access to the sun, then dry clothes by simply placing them in a warm and ventilated room for best results.