https://ecosalon.com/ditch-the-washing-machine-how-to-hand-wash-clothes/ Sun, 29 Nov 2015 15:51:01 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.25 https://ecosalon.com/ditch-the-washing-machine-how-to-hand-wash-clothes/#comment-84755 Sat, 04 Jan 2014 23:34:05 +0000 http://ecosalon.com/?p=141778#comment-84755 I’ve never owned a washing machine, so I’m a bit of an expert on hand washing. First, if you’re going to wash silk and wool, make sure your stain remover does not contain enzymes (they’ll eat the fiber). Second, if your whites are cotton and linen, they’ll come out much cleaner simmered on the stove with laundry soap, and stirred with a long wooden spoon or dowel (you won’t believe how filthy the water gets!). Don’t boil anything with plastic buttons; shell and metal are OK. Rinse in the bathtub when you’re done. For really sparkling whites, dissolve a bluing tablet in hot water, and add it to the last cold rinse. CAUTION: Bluing is caustic; wear rubber gloves for this step.Third, if you’re going to wash your wool sweaters and knitted dresses, use cold water only. BEFORE you wash the garment, trace it on a piece of brown paper (e.g. a grocery bag you’ve slit open). After you squeeze it out in the towel, lay it on the tracing, and match the length and width to your drawing. Finally, after a lifetime of hand washing, I bought The Laundry Pod, a human-powered, apartment size, hand-cranked washing “machine.” It’s terrific, and saved loads of time. Finally, if hand wash is your thing (and it should be), check garage sales, antiques markets, or eBay for a hand-cranked rubber wringer. It gets the clothes dry enough that I can hang them in the living room without having to lay layers of newspaper on the floor! I own a lot of fine vintage clothing, and this is how I keep it in great shape.

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