PEEv2c12
Manual Clothes Washing
I haven't had too many
completely original ideas. I look at things differently than the
average survivalist guru, but that isn't the same thing as original
products or procedures. A minor notch on my bragging stick was
thermos coffee. After I had gone through several French Presses, no
surprise that even expensive $15 hunks of plastic broke easily ( a
very kind minion care packaged me an all stainless steel french
press, bless his heart. They really are handy for summer when you
don't need the heat from a camping percolator ), I figured out
Thermos Coffee.
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The double wall vacuum
Thermos works just like the French Press, drawing the oil out of the
coffee grounds ( another great thing about the Press is that it
REALLY makes the coffee taste better. Even bottom of the rung grocery
store generic drip. I simply do NOT care if coffee tastes bad. I am
only concerned with having coffee, period. $6 a can ground from the
grocery tastes bad. But it tastes exactly the same way five years
later when you open a stockpiled can. Don't run out of coffee for
the apocalypse. It is the best thing that came out of our colonies.
Although if you meet a Puerto Rico gal... )
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I'm much prouder of my
Nuke Bread. Born of desperation meeting an accident meeting the
general public's dislike of whole wheat flour, one day at work there
was absolutely nothing to eat. Needing fuel to continue on, I opened
the only thing there, a bag of flour, and stirred some water into
some flour in a Styrofoam cup, spreading the waffle batter on a paper
plate. Then seeing what would happen in the microwave. It was
edible and I was just hungry enough. The taste, well...
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I've refined it over
the years. One half water to flour, dipped in flour and rolled out
very thin. I use one half cup flour ( 200 calories ) and the platter
fits a standard size dinner plate. One and a half minutes one side,
one minute on the other. Butter, salt and pepper. It still won't be
mistaken for a Big Mac, but it cost pennies and really sticks to your
ribs. Flat bread tastes much better but uses a lot of fuel and takes
a bit more time. Of course, flat bread you can cook up for the week.
Nuke bread doesn't age past a couple of hours.
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My most practical
original idea is the Jim Washer. I'm sure they still sell it, there
was a manual washing machine called the James Washer ( see what I did
there, naming mine? More casual and folksie ). Twenty-five years
ago, it was selling for a kings ransom of $300. This was at a time
an ounce of gold was barely above that price ( and you needed another
$200 for the wringer ). All it was was a steel barrel, cut down the
middle with a flat roof over the opening. There was a door on top to
load clothes. The barrel sat horizontally on a set of legs and on
the side was a handle. You rocked the thing back and forth to
agitate the laundry.
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( Looking at Lehman's,
they only carry a generic model. For $900!!! I guess the company
went out of business. It is a shame, but such is the consequences of
globalization. Well, that, and no more American jobs. If you dare,
here is the link: click
HERE ) Even ignoring the insane price, you are still killing
your back and arms. And if the wife is using it, she might be
diminishing her bra size-which of course is sacrilege. Here is one
of those strange things you realize if you knew anything about
biology. Which, apparently, business owners do not.
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Your legs have much
stronger muscles than your upper body. You NEVER use your arms if
you can instead use your legs. Ever see those stupid reclining beach
chairs turned into a bicycle, where you pedal with your arms? The
stupidity is unbelievable! Arm powered washing machines ARE
retarded. Spending a grand on one is extra exponentially squared
stupid. Even if the cost is $5, it is still a terrible way to wash
your clothes. You know what I'm talking about, those toilet plungers
in a bucket.
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I actually bought the
metal version, with the multiple flared wings ( to increase agitation
), and it wasn't all that cheap. Being younger and in better shape,
it still kicked my ass. I'd imagine the rubber head on a wood stick
toilet plunger was even more ineffective. The vacuum washer, that
small $50 plastic unit that was all the rage pre-Y2K? It eliminated
the manual labor. But, it required hot water. Don't get me wrong,
hot water is great, especially for baby cloth diapers ( and smaller
versions for toilet paper replacement ). But sometimes you don't
have the ability to heat the water. Or even just have mild
unsanitary conditions that a cold water wash can handle.
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Plus, at $50 each,
back-up's are problematic. You need a Jim Washer. Which is, simply,
a closed five gallon bucket tied to a rocking chair. Sit behind it
on another chair/couch, and use your foot to move the rocker as you
relax reading or watching TV. The rocking motion agitates the
clothing. If there are going to be splashing water, say if you used
one of those five gallon bucket screw on tops, take it out to the
porch. I got lucky and found an aluminum lawn chair that is also a
rocker, at the thrift store.
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But they also have
strange contraptions I can only call a rocking foot stool. I would
think that is too top heavy, but I bought that one also, at the
thrift store. I might be able to make it work. All else fails,
you'd have to buy a new rocking chair. The best I've seen ( besides
the garage sale or curbside freebies ) is $55 for a folding tube and
fabric model ( linked below at Daily Link ). If you reinforced with
some wood slats I imagine it would last quite some time. All wood
chairs start at right under $100 at Amazon.
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If you get lucky at the
thrift store, your major expense is going to be the mop bucket and
wringer. You don't need a roller wringer, just use the mop ringer (
I got this wringer idea from a gal who used them during hurricanes ).
Wring out once when wet and soapy, THEN follow with fresh water to
the clothes. There is far less soap to have to flush out. The last
time I saw a mop wringer and bucket in Wal-Mart they were about $40
new. I'm not sure if you can just find the wringer part, but I would
imagine without the bucket it would be hard to secure the wringer on
something else. Although, just a wringer for a back up, using one
original bucket of the same brand, would be nice.
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Everything you find to
do with less work, WITHOUT relying on grid equipment ( that's
cheating ), the less food you need to replace calories consumed.
$100 now and clothes washing is easy peasy lemon squeesy.
( .Y. )
( today's related Amazon link click HERE )
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note: I added a note to the AR Bolt Action article. If you want to read, it is HERE. Basically, I needed to add that you should saw off the receiver end gas tube, removing just under an inch. Now the tube is flush to the receiver. It was moving and causing jams interfering with the bolt gas intake.
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note: free for today book, EMP HERE
*
note: I added a note to the AR Bolt Action article. If you want to read, it is HERE. Basically, I needed to add that you should saw off the receiver end gas tube, removing just under an inch. Now the tube is flush to the receiver. It was moving and causing jams interfering with the bolt gas intake.
*
note: free for today book, EMP HERE
*
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One idea about building a large clothes and blanket wringer:
ReplyDeleteI bought the "Maple Creek Do-It-Yourself Apple Cider Press Parts Kit":
https://pleasanthillgrain.com/maple-creek-diy-apple-cider-press-wine-press-kit
Yes it's expensive but you can use it as a fruit press and honey comb press. It seems to me that you could also use it as a clothes wringer.
You could find an old, broken, top-loading washing machine and build the press for it.
I looked at wringers on Amazon and eBay. All looked fragile and got somewhat bad reviews. They seemed to be a waste of money, and were too small for blankets.
The press parts kits is very, very heavy duty. It could be used for anything that needs to be pushed and pressed. You could move it to different strainers depending on your needs. The price seems worth it to me.
Not to quibble, but wouldn't a simple weight press also work?
DeleteGet a rusty old cast iron and steel screw type house jack and really put some pressure on it, for about $5-10 or so. Or, a $20 bottle jack from wally. Or, as you say Jim, a couple concrete blocks and then stand on it.
DeleteYour legs have much stronger muscles than your upper body. You NEVER use your arms if you can instead use your legs.
ReplyDeleteIf my memory is correct, the English long bowmen shot their arrows with having their LEGS on the bow.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you.
DeleteWhen I was about 10 my dad gave me a recurve fiberglass bow and showed me how to shoot it with my legs, while laying on my back. He also gave me some of his big boy arrows which were much longer than my little kid arrows. See, when you lay on your back and the bow handle is across the bottom of your feet, you grab the cord with both hands and lay backwards, but not all the way down, cause you then raise your legs off the ground so you can sight down over your belly at the target. Doing it this way pulls the cordage much further back and therefore delivers much greater energy and the arrow will go out of sight. Plus, using your legs like that is much more accurate than using the arms. Point was, my shorter kid arrows would not allow me to pull the cord back very far before I ran out of arrow. My dad's 36" long arrows allowed me to pull all the way back. I used to shoot then straight up in the air while laying out in the cow field, then run like hell. LOL dangerous, stupid little kid stuff....I'm surprised I'm not dead...
DeleteI made flaming arrows. In dry, central California. I claim the Retard Prize
DeleteWe(my brothers and i) used to tape m-80s to an arrow, light them then fire them into the field. Arrows were cheap then.
DeleteAnd why the hell are arrows so damn expensive now, when other items were falling?
DeleteBoy, you’re not kidding about that. I think I paid $30 for 4 or 5 carbon fiber arrows. You can get aluminum, and even wood, but I don’t think that either are that much cheaper, and aluminum probably not at all. That Hawaiian dude, the backyard bowyer, is to archery, what you are to survivalism (Cheaper alternatives).
DeleteI have a mental block, always forgetting that guy ( and I own two or three of his books ). Yeah, one batch of Home Depot arrows and the book should pay for itself. Thanks, my memory needs all the help it can get.
DeleteIf your soap is good, and you can spare enough each load the agitation need not be dramatic. Using idled soak times between beating on your britches will save labor. I think a well pump handle type of lever actuated plunger head in your wash tank-tub would be a decent enough agitation. Give it a work out and then take a break for awhile to soak. Shucks use the wash water for your whore's bath in the interim.
ReplyDeleteSoap will be dear, soon enough. Fats will need to be eaten, not turned into soap. Be careful husbanding what soap you have.
DeleteFew years ago I built my "Bucket Brigade" and have all of it in a big box, labled, in the garage. Bucket 1 is a new 5 gal bucket and lid and a Lovely Loo type seat/lid. Inside that bucket is a 10lb bag of cat little a 100 count box of wally 13gal trashbags, and 5 rolls of TP and a box of handi-wipes. Bucket 2 is actually 2 buckets and lids and using parts acquired on amazon and the directions are online, to create a potable water system. Bucket 3 is actually 2 buckets, both brand new, and 1 has a hole in the lid through which a brand new toilet plunger will do the washing. The 2nd bucket in this group has about 200 half inch holes drilled all around the sides and there are several 20' lengths of rope hemp rope in it. I will put the washed closes in the bucket, tie the rope to the handle and tie the other end to a tree limb, then wind the bucket up on the rope real tight and let it go. It will spin much of the water out of the clothes. I still need to get around to making the home made laundry soap. Maybe that will be a completed project later this year.
ReplyDeleteI prefer my sawdust, but you could also think about wood pellets. Folks swear by them for an improved cat litter.
DeleteWhat works really nicely is leaf litter, the leaves etc under trees where they've decomposed enough to not simply be leaves, but aren't quite soil yet either. It may take some time to find the right kind of tree, but once you find it, it's free and the process of decomposition is already started, plus it's not as heavy as just using soil.
DeleteCall me a girl, but I like not having creepy crawlies right under my ass-same reason to avoid outhouses.
DeleteYou're right about the litter - we have 4 cats. We get 40# bags of Equine Pine at Rural King for about $5 a bag. Alex is right too, for long term use the leaves will be handy.
DeleteCoffee....I have been heavily addicted to it all of my adult life and still. Here it is 9pm and I just fired up a cup. I am so frugal I squeak. Did I just make a joke? I'm not joking. lol Over the course of about 10 years I have made many backwards steps in finding the best way to spend the least amount toward my coffee (mud) addiction. I use walmart brand instant coffee and powdered cream. And cane sugar and milk. I heat 8oz of Brita filtered water in a glass pyrex measuring cup in the microwave for 3 mins. I put 1 heaping tablespoon of coff, 1/2 tablespoon of cream, and 1/2 tbs of sugar in the cup and then dump the boiling water in and stir. It is screaming hot at this point - non drinkable. So I pout in maybe 2-3 tablespoons of the milk. DAWGEEZ! It don't get no better'n that. My wife can't stand it, says it's way too strong. But I need that astrojet jolt to keep things running around here. The walmart instant is in a red lableled plastic jar and 1 jar lasts me about 3.5 weeks @ 3 or 4 cups a day. I think a jar costs about $5 and I buy em 10 at a time - maybe 2 or 3 times a year. When the elct goes out I heat the water on my little 1 burner propane stove and a small stainless steel pot.
ReplyDeleteYes, it sounds gross, but one must be applauded for the dedication to the gift from the gods. Ben Franklin and beer? Please! Thank you, greedy British Monarchy for taking away that swill mop water tea and turning us on to coffee.
DeleteA few years back I considered picking up a hand wringer but was put off by the price. Instead I built what amounted to an oversized tortilla press about 18 inches on a side. Worked great for de-watering cloths after wash and it was nearly free. A few scraps of wood and a handful of screws, plus some epoxy paint to waterproof the wood.
ReplyDeleteI like it.
DeleteSomething to consider about coffee. In the service we bought the cheapest stuff we could find ($2 at the Navy Commissary). We would then grind it in an electric coffee grinder. You end up with 2 1/2 cans of coffee and use the same measurement of grounds as before. And the cheap coffee tasted better!
ReplyDeleteSo, you are just getting an extra fine grind? Pardon if I'm asking a stupid question, but if this worked so well, why aren't manufacturers doing this? Is it because customers won't accept the lesser weight even if it makes the same amount of cups? Are the grounds just "puffier"? I want to ask the retarded questions because if this works so well I'll invest in a coffee grinder again.
DeleteIt can't be because of the weight. My wife uses Maxwell House in the blue plastic and I've watched the weight drop consistently over the past few years, while the price continues to rise. Maybe they're doing the see saw 2 step method. Cut the weight, then 6 months later raise the price, rinse, repeat. Everybody's doing it.
DeleteFrito Lay was doing it in the 90's, and they were minting money ( plus, the economy was gang busters ). Up a few cents on year, down a fraction of an ounce next year. I wonder if they were the first others followed?
DeleteA finer grind exposes more surface area to the water hence stronger coffee,Not better tasting but stronger.
DeleteThat's why they use to have the grind it yourself machines at the grocery,so you could grind to suit your own tastebuds.
We have some coffee from the food bank, which seems to be a fine grind. Claims "extra caffeine". I can't tell any difference. Still, if you double the volume and lose no taste, this is something I need to check out. I'll try it in the KitchenAid, see what happens.
DeleteThis is my preferred coffee maker:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Vietnamese-Coffee-Filter-known-Maker/dp/B01953YT1I/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=phinn+coffee+maker&qid=1579242847&sr=8-6-spell
This one's 3X the cost I buy one for, but it's the proper one, and you can have it delivered out there to bumfuckistan.
No filters or pressing or bullshit. Just. Makes. Coffee.
People seem to all have issues using this thing. Just what you need, a piece of equipment to make you feel like a moron
DeleteNot me and not tons and tons of Viet people and remember they won the war.
DeleteGo Cuban then and "strain" coffee using an old hankerchief no shit, that's how they do it and I've been there, coffee's out of this world. Ahh... Cuban coffee and Castro on the teevee, Hatuey beer and nasty sandwiches .... if you go, avoid the Hotel Panamericanos.
Let's be fair here-a few thousands of miles of logistics tale has something to do with our defeat. One of the main reasons we won the Revolution. Although that isn't the reason you'll get very often ( "Murica, love it or leave it!" "Freedom Fries!" )
DeleteShould be "tail", not tale.
DeleteAs for nuke bread, I think you may have re-invented the paratha:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/paratha-recipe-plain-paratha/
If you can get a flat surface hot, you can make some kind of flatbread/crepe/paratha etc. If you're using corn, I guess you can call it a tortilla, literally "little cake" let me tell you, what words mean in Spanish here in the US and what they mean over in Spain, are often pretty different, I know, I checked.
I was already making flatbread when I "discovered" nuke bread. It isn't the shape or taste that is new, just the cooking method
DeleteI think I told you this before, but your idea of the bucket in a rocking chair saved me when my washing machine went kaput. I have tried the plunger and bucket and it sucked. I also tried the mop bucket with wringer and it sucked as well. After paying over $50 smackers for it.
ReplyDeleteWhat did I do instead to get water out of the clothes? I saw this on a video. It was years ago, so can't give credit to the young guy that suggested it, but it was brilliant. All you need is 4 buckets and some string or paracord.
Put your clothes in a bucket that has had multiple holes drilled in the bottom half of the bucket and in the bottom itself. Your clothes will go in this bucket, now called the clothes bucket.
Put the clothes bucket in another bucket of soap and water, put it on the rocking chair and wash as your describe.
Pull out clothes bucket. Put that bucket on the porch or a piece of wood. Put an empty bucket (with the lid on) inside the clothes bucket (on top of the clothes). Sit on it and the water will gush out of the clothes bucket below.
For rinsing, use one or two buckets of clean water. (This is why you have the clothes in a bucket with holes, which helps economically because you can wash and rinse multiple loads at a time without dumping the water.)
Place the clothes bucket in the first (or only) bucket of rinse water. Agitate in rocking chair.
Do the same things as before. Remove bucket, put empty bucket inside clothes bucket and sit on to release water.
(Repeat if you want a second rinse in the third bucket containing rinse water.)
Then, to make sure as much water as possible is driven out, attach a string or paracord to a tree limb, the eave of the house, a swing set bar or etc. Have a carabiner on the end. Attack the carabiner to the handle of the clothes bucket and lift it off the ground. Spin the bucket really fast as much as you want to release more water.
Pull out clothes, hang to dry.
This works wonderfully, is cheap, and is a hell of a lot less work.
I never would have thought of that. Very good!
DeleteBy the way, I used to use French presses until I found out about pour-over coffee. Here's an example of the holder (You can usually find them much cheaper than this. This is just an example. Mine is plastic not ceramic):
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L2C82O0/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01L2C82O0&pd_rd_w=YDUql&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=vkBEB&pf_rd_r=7YCXHFXS4F0ZZ984DYQ7&pd_rd_r=dc606bcf-ed51-469b-89a1-b2a371c5592e&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzQzJSWVREWVFGWjYxJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTExNjY0SEtLWEVCNTBJUEJEJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0ODkwMTZHUk1DQkhRVjVQWVQmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWwmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
You put that holder on top of your cup. I use a paper filters and add a scoop of ground coffee. But you can buy reusable permanent mesh-screen filters that can be cleaned after each use so you don't have to stock the filters.
All you do is boil water and pour it over the regular ground coffee in the holder. Let it drip. If needed, pour more water over the grounds to fill your cup, depending on cup size. You're done. Add sugar, milk, cream or whatever or nothing and drink.
But doesn't it use more grounds overall? Not a problem now, but later...
DeleteMy problem with all coffee making procedures is that I want it RIGHT NOW! With my instant coffee and microwave water I am drinking it in 4-5 mins. The only thing I am aware of that is almost as fast is the Kuerig but I have a problem with the flavor - just can't get used to it. My wife bought the Kuerig a few years ago and it seldom gets used. Those K-cups are expensive. She also got the little adpater that lets you put your own coffee in a K-cup shaped device. To me, no matter which brand of coffee is used it still all tastes the same to me. My wife said that cheap assed wally instant I drink has destroyed my brains sense of quality. LOL But at least my monthly coffee expenditure is half what hers is!
DeleteI used to crawl the walls after just getting up, waiting for the drip coffee ( I was okay waiting for coffee at work as the bike exercise substituted for caffeine ). Now? It is rare to get coffee faster tan three hours after waking up. I have to wait for a stomach full of starch before I can handle the acid. And I'm NEVER hungry at first waking. It is agony most days waiting for the fix. But, you adjust to old age, right, grandpa? LOL
DeleteI use the same amount of ground coffee for pour-over coffee that I used for my coffee pot. It's a little weaker but not much.
DeleteI bought a couple of reusable mesh filters that I'm keeping for when SHTF. I'll use that when my paper filters run out.
I use just a quarter cup per pot. Can't imagine 1/8th of that is enough. But it has been awhile since I was experimenting.
DeleteI was at a yard sale a few years ago. I found what appeared to be a "potato masher on steroids." The metal head of it was about 8 inches by 8 inches and the wooden handle, about as thick as a hoe handle, was about 4 feet long. I am not sure, but I think that this tool is used in masonry. (I'm sure that someone can educate me about this.)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it occurred to me that it might be much more effective than using a simple toilet plunger with a 5-gallon bucket, so I picked it up for a couple of bucks.
At a community rummage sale, I found several janitor's buckets with mop wringer mechanisms for about $5.00 each. I kept one and gave the other two away.
I like the rocker agitator idea. I also like "Unknown's" idea of using buckets with holes in the side and bottom and simply sitting on another bucket on top of it. Since I live in an arid climate, I would want to use a third bucket/tub to capture the water as it escaped from the bucket in order to re-use the water. I would do the same with the water that was released when the bucket was spun.
I expect that in a grid down situation, all of us will be forced to be less fastidious about hygiene and clean clothes that we are currently, so every little bit helps.
I don't buy into the current "a tiny cut will kill us instantly" paranoia, from a populace overdosing on antibiotics. But ramping UP all hygiene/sanitation/standards will surely be a good strategy.
DeleteI did forget one thing. When agitating the clothes in the rocker, I put a lid on the clothes bucket so I don't lose the water by it sloshing around. But wait until the clothes bucket has been submerged in the water bucket before adding the lid so the air can escape easily. Then put the lid on the clothes bucket and agitate.
DeleteAs far as trying to trap the water that is squeezed out, you may have to put the buckets on some kind of stand over, say, a wide metal wash tub, a stand that will hold your weight when you sit on it. Because if you place the clothes bucket directly in a wash tub and squeeze the water out, it will be reabsorbed through the holes as soon as you stand up.
Also, when spinning, the side holes shoot the water straight out to the side, which would be hard to catch. But you could recapture anything coming out of the bottom.
I just thought, for a stand, simply put a couple of concrete blocks in your wash tub, put the buckets on it and sit on it. That should hold your weight and deliver the water down into the wash tub.
Delete