Laundry Aboard While on the Hook

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by Delfin

we put a few gallons of fresh water and Joy in the bottom of a clean dinghy and the sloshing from towing or sitting at anchor for a few hours resulted in very clean cloths.

At first I read that wrong ... wondered if Joey was your child and started thinking that was not very good parenting


-Sven

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SvenG

At first I read that wrong ... wondered if Joey was your child and started thinking that was not very good parenting


-Sven

I thought 'Joy' was the wife... thought he was a mean dude making her launder in the dinghy... then I read on and the sun rose....

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by tager

Ammonia is highly toxic to marine animals.

It is not at all toxic as she's talking about it being used. In short, if you add it to fresh water the would-be harmful effects are neutralized in seconds.

Un-ionized ammonia (NH3) is a colorless gas at standard temperature and pressure. A pungent odor is detectable at levels above 50 ppm (NRC, 1979). Ammonia is very soluble in water at low (acidic) pH.

Ammonia levels in zero-salinity surface water increase with increasing pH and temperature .... At low pH and temperature, ammonia combines with water to produce an ammonium ion (NH4+) and a hydroxide ion (OH-). The ammonium ion is non-toxic and not of concern to organisms. Above a pH of 9, un-ionized ammonia is the predominant species (Morgan et al., 1981). The un-ionized ammonia (NH3) can cross cell membranes more readily at higher pH values.

Ammonia remains in the atmosphere only 5 - 10 days before being deposited or chemically altered. The fate of atmospheric ammonia is largely a function of global location and weather conditions. If ammonia is introduced into a pristine water system (neutral pH or slightly less), it is readily converted to nitrate by nitrification and becomes harmless to aquatic life (NRC, 1979). (For more information, refer to nitrification in the nitrate-nitrite section.)

Ammonia often serves as the primary or secondary source of nitrogen for plant life. While some plants prefer ammonia to other forms of nitrogen, other plants prefer nitrate but can assimilate gaseous ammonia if necessary (NRC, 1979).

[barnakiel]

Get one of the huge soft buckets and ... errrr... tread (?) the laundry. I mean put your feet into the bucket and do the washing with your feet.

PLS PLS PLS use bio-degradable washing chemistry if you do it onboard.

b.

[Damiana]

Put your clothes on the floor of the shower and get double duty using the water and soap to bath while you stomp on the clothes.

Also there is nothing better that the local Lavanderia available in every town in Mexico.

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Get one of the huge soft buckets and ... errrr... tread (?) the laundry. I mean put your feet into the bucket and do the washing with your feet.

PLS PLS PLS use bio-degradable washing chemistry if you do it onboard.

b.

DIY bio-degradable laundry soap - DIY laundry soap – video | Living Off the Grid: Free Yourself

I use this, and have used it for several years now. I make 2 gallon batches that last over 6 months for a 3 person family (and costs less than a single box of regular detergent). I prefer Fels Naptha for the bar soap, but as they say in the article, any 'clean' bar soap will due.

Enjoy.

[ggray]

A previous poster mentioned this, so here you go.
When we get to that stage, I'll probably try one. Anyone have experience with one?

Portable Washing Machine, Compact, Small, Mini,Clothes Washer

[ozskipper]

Hang a sealed bucket (clothes,water and soap included) a foot or two below the tack end of the spinaker pole. The natural motion of the boat and the swing of the bucket will provide agitation over an hour or so. Then rince and your done.

Of course it will work better at anchor and not so well at a calm marina. At sea, just leave the bucket attached to the pullpit- same effect.

Cheers
Oz

[zeehag]

plunger and a bucket -- gord posted it first--is what i use-- if i cant find the plunger i use my feets....

[foamcore]

Google "Wonder Wash"

[JJB]

Originally Posted by ggray

A previous poster mentioned this, so here you go.
When we get to that stage, I'll probably try one. Anyone have experience with one?

Portable Washing Machine, Compact, Small, Mini,Clothes Washer

That's the one. If you don't have a washer on board, these are great things to have, they do a great job.

[foamcore]

They sell a pretty nifty looking spin dryer too. Electric though...

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by grunzster

....So...

Is a washboard really necessary, or can you kind of just rub the clothes against each other?
If so, where would you get one locally?

So far no luck at Ace Hardware. I do see a few on Amazon, though.

I think a wash broad is really useful and for me quite easy to find.

One of the joys of living in the Philippines is that extended families also means lots of available domestic help.

At the house, I installed a modern washer / dryer but they don’t like it, preferring to scrub by hand and smell till satisfied.

Hey, who am I to argue and it adapts quite well to the boat when we are cruising.

[John A]

Dang, another adventure missed!

I always dinked my laundry ashore and had e local do my wash. Very inexpesive and they used hot water, ran them thru the dryer amd folded them. Some anchorages there was even same day free pick-up and delivery to the boat.

[wryanddry]

By trade I am an industrial designer. I was considering this problem and read several posts on this and other sites with solutions ranging from a black bin liner with ammonia/water left to slosh around to buying and installing a purpose designed washer/dryer. Not able to help myself I came up with this idea. basically it gets towed behind the vessel, spinning on its axis on bearings mounted into each end cap. the paddles bite into the water and cause the pentagon shaped drum to revolve. the non cylindrical shape of the drum enhances the agitation of the waves. One end cap unscrews to afford access to the drum and the entire drum assembly is a concertina type arrangement allowing the unit to collapse. Extended the unit is about 2 ft long and collapses to approx 8 inches. Now I just have to thing of another use for this device because everything on board has to have at least 2 uses. Would anyone buy this? and if so what would you want to pay $US? Suggestions for improvements?