Any one have any experiences with this ?

[Kevin K]

Any body ever use this type of wash machine when camping ? http://camping.about.com/od/campinggearrev.../wonderwash.htm

[AndyW]

Oddly, I've had one of those at home all summer. I was supposed to try it out on a camping trip for a product review, but I never got to it. And now we're in ski season...

I generally do shorter trips, so I'd rather just bring a few extra sets of clothes - although I did have to hand wash a few things in the sink when I was at the Telluride Film Festival for four days back in September.

Anyway, having at least seen it in person, I see no reason it wouldn't work, although I wonder how effective the rinse cycle would be if you didn't really fill the thing with water. I imagine using detergent sparingly in the first place would be the key.

[Chris C]

Kevin,

I have one. Bought it because it made a whole lot of sense to me. However, when I realized just how much water was needed to wash and then rinse, I realized it really didn't make much sense at all unless one was where there would be bountiful water. Now many of the Forest Service campgrounds I frequent do actually have pumps where water is available. So This next Fall when I head out West, I'll be giving it a good tryout. Between now and then I'll just be doing 2 or 3 night trips and I can bring home dirty clothes to my regular washing machine at home. So I can't recommend this washer...............nor can I condemn it. But it still seems as if it should do a pretty good job for underwear and socks, wash cloths and the like.

[Greg A]

Looks like when you're not using it for washing clothes it would make a heck of a cement mixer for yard projects....

[Camilla]

Ya know a 2 dollar plunger and a cheap plastic bucket would do about the same thing and take up a lot less space and weight. You could also use the bucket for other things
Cam

[Benita]

That and the partially filled paint bucket trick work quite well.

Legacy Post featuring portable washer

[Rand]

Hi,

We have used an old catfood container with water and laundry soap (and a little bleach) to toss rags and small stuff into on the road...cheap laundry machine and it agitates as we go down the road!

Rand:-)

[Robert Brummett]

Neat gizmo but I don't think I would be buying one. When I'm out for a long time I take enough clothes for a couple of weeks. Then I stop at a laundromat when needed. In an emergency I'll rinse out a few items in a wash basin and hang 'em up. I don't really need anything else to tote.

[Gina D.]

and it agitates as we go down the road

yeah, that is usually is what I do... agitate on the road. Why is everyone honking????

[Greg A]

yeah, that is usually is what I do... agitate on the road. Why is everyone honking????

Well if ur sitting in a tub of soapy water as well, then I'd be honkin too....

[Jan Adams]

I also use pickle or cat litter containers for my washing machine. I use two containers. We wash the clothes one day and rinse those the next day - letting everything aggitate as we go down the road. We also use an air dryer because some campgrounds don't want you to have wash lines up. So, we put the air dryer close to the camper or picnic table or even behind us if we don't have back yard neighbors.

However, we have found that we can't get the clothes dried in humid climates. So, I have bungie cords that I put one side to the other in the VW Westfalia and when we go visit a site, we close up tight and let the "heat" dry the stuff.

[Kevin K]

Just in case your are thinking of buying one of these,here is some detailed information.
http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/wonderwash/



My daughter just got one for her dorm room.

[Jim Bennett]

Another wash system that does not need electricity. Tried, tested and true.

[Anne Badgley]

I bought one of these when I lived in a tiny house with no laundry facilities. I tried it several times. Yes, the clothes did get clean, but it was no better than soaking them in a sink or bucket and squishing them around by hand. One thing I didn't see mentioned in the link was that the water has to be HOT to acheive the pressure build that supposedly gets the dirt out best. Also, water drains out but does not spin out of the clothes, so I had to use extra water and two rinses to get the soap out. When I was done I still had to wring out the clothes to get them light enough to hang on my clothesline. And my Wonderwash leaked around the seal no matter what I did. The suction cups usually held it to my kitchen counter, but altogether it used too much water, too much mess, and took up too much storage space. I sent it to Goodwill and went back to using the laundromat.

[Adrian W]

In his book, Travels with Charley: In Search of America, a travelogue by American author John Steinbeck, Steinbeck did his wash by putting the dirty clothes in a bucket with a lid, soap & water and allowed it to letting everything aggitate as he went down the road. Sounds familar?

The book documents the road trip he took with his French standard poodle Charley around the United States, in 1960. He wrote that he was moved by a desire to see his country on a personal level, since he made his living writing about it. He had many questions going into his journey, the main one being, "What are Americans like today?" However, he found that the "new America" did not live up to his expectations. Steinbeck traveled throughout the United States in a specially-made camper which he named "Rocinante" after the horse of Don Quixote.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travels_with_...arch_of_America

The camper was built in the back of a pickup.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Travelsw...rlieVehicle.jpg

We just find a laundry & use the machines, or wash something in the sink.