Ethical Laundry . . .

[otherthan]

I am curious not only on how to do landry aboard but how to be ethical about it...not disturbing other peapoles and being envirnemental friendly...what works for you?

[Badsanta]

Mobile Rapid Washer Plunger DIY Hand Washing Machine - eBay (item 260570407041 end time Dec-11-10 22:47:21 PST)

[beau]

We bought a cheap chinese made 12lb washing machine and spin dryer on ebay for $120.00 generally used by campers.
No pump, gravity feed over the side using environmentally exceptable soap power.
(and wash at night)

[Chief Engineer]

OH, I thought this was about the former Dallas Cowboys Coach.

Really Ethical Laundry?

I guess we should go back to beating our stuff on rocks?

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

OH, I thought this was about the former Dallas Cowboys Coach.

Really Ethical Laundry?

I guess we should go back to beating our stuff on rocks?

And when he retired from the Cowboys he opened a chain of laundromats called Landry's Laundrys.

Seriously I have been curious about "green" soaps and detergents. Are they really better for the environment than "regular" detergents?

[boatman61]

Trousers/jeans towed behind the boat on a line then light wash n rinse works... at anchor a large bowl of soapy water, Spanish music and maraca's...
Leave clothes to soak for 1/2 hour... start music, remove shoes, pick up maraca's, step in bowl and start dancing...
Avoid detergents with whiteners.. fish don't like it...

[otherthan]

iv read that other boaters dont like to see (laundry) hanging all over a boat...also where do you discard water?

[s/vfootloose]

If its not your peapole don't touch they will be disturbed

[callmecrazy]

I've been using this laundry soap for a few years now, its DIY and it works very well. Homemade Laundry Detergent

I've only recently bought a boat, but this stuff is perfect for anchorage applications because it does not Suds up and it its pretty much all natural ingredients.

Note: This is not the exact recipe I use, but it's pretty much the same. the Fels Naptha soap is prefered. I make a 2 gallon container that lasts about 6 months between 2-3 people.

[Tom and Maje]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Seriously I have been curious about "green" soaps and detergents. Are they really better for the environment than "regular" detergents?

They really are better for the environment than regular detergents and they work just as well. I've been using them for years now.

If you have a machine, I suggest having a watermaker. Actually, according to most of my research, I suggest a watermaker anyway. If you are doing them by hand, Liza Copeland, says to do laundry in fresh water as the salt is too hard to rinse out.

Maje

[Tom and Maje]

Originally Posted by jobi

iv read that other boaters dont like to see (laundry) hanging all over a boat...also where do you discard water?

Do these people not cruise? If you use an environmentally safe soap you can throw it overboard.

Maje

[JiffyLube]

I saw this small washer that looked interesting called the Wonder Wash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk-CK_2OmHk

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

There's no where on a boat to stow a Wonder Wash, carried one for a year adn then took it off the boat.

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Seriously I have been curious about "green" soaps and detergents. Are they really better for the environment than "regular" detergents?

You don't want to be adding phosphates to fresh water since they cause fishing killing algea blooms. I don't think they use phosphates much any more though. Some detergents don't break down which is a problem. Many others are very slow to break down. Many of the ingredients are harmful to aquatic life.

Short answer is, yes, they really are better.

U.S.E.P.A. :
Key Characteristics of Laundry Detergent Ingredients | Design for the Environment (DfE) | US EPA

[gettinthere]

phosphates were removed from detergent back in the 60's.