(I saw this on Racheal Ray's show. You can see the segment here .)
First is the Wonder Wash:
The Wonder Wash is a pressurized tub. You put in your laundry and only a couple quarts of water, a tablespoon or two of detergent and easily turn a crank for a minute to 2 minutes. This washes your clothes as well or better than a commercial, full sized washer. Then you drain off the dirty water, put in a little rinse water, turn for about 30 seconds, and drain that off.
The key is that it's pressurized. You use hot water, and the lid seals and it creates pressure inside. I love my pressure cooker in the kitchen for food and this is the same principle - the pressure forcing the water and soap through the fibers of the clothing.
Here's Kevin giving a demonstration - Please note that these are not for children to use unsupervised! Adult supervision is needed ALWAYS!
Here's an updated demo - Mr. Duck Gets a Bath!
Why Use the Wonder Wash?
* Washes a 5-lb. load super clean in just a couple of minutes.
* Has a patented pressure system that forces detergent into the fabric at high speed for a fast, efficient, economic and very easy wash
* Is ideal for campers, single persons and even for the housewife with small frequent loads like hand washables and diapers.
* Is ideal for delicates such as woolens, silks, knitted dresses and cashmere garments.
* Uses far less water than even hand washing.
Here is a demonstration of the Wonder Wash on You Tube.
How Big Is It?
12" x 12" x 16" (L x W x H)
The Wonder Wash washes:
7-8 dress shirts or
10 T-shirts or
30 pairs of socks or
2-3 pairs of blue jeans
How to dry the wet, dripping, clean clothes?
With this spin dryer:
Here's a demo of the Spin Dryer on YouTube.
It should be called the SuperSpinner! It spins at 3200 rpm! (a standard washer spins about 700 rpm) The clothes come out just damp - not dripping at all - nearly dry.
You could then throw them into a regular clothes dryer for 5 or 10 minutes and they're dry. OR hang them up and they're dry in an hour or less.
Description
* Works in only 2-3 minutes
* 12.2 lb capacity for wet laundry, 5.5 lb capacity for dry laundry
* 3200 rpm spin speed
* Portable, only weighs 22 lbs
* Compact, only 13.7" x 13.7" x 24" (lwh)
* Much gentler on clothes than a conventional tumble dryer
* Removes mineral deposits and detergents, rather than baking them on
* Can be used as a standalone dryer, or with a tumble dryer
* If used with a conventional tumble dryer, cuts drying time by 30 minutes or more, significantly reducing energy costs and prolonging the life of your dryer and clothing
* Connects to any 110V outlet, no installation required.
For me, this solves a big problem. We bought this house (105 years old) and moved in with a big washer and dryer but the electricity wouldn't support them. Plus the back porch that is sort of enclosed is not conducive to doing laundry, it needed a big overhaul that would cost thousands of dollars. While we were trying to figure out what to do, time has passed and we go to the laundromat every week.
You would not believe how much this little thing holds and how quickly you can do a wash! It uses 90% less water and detergent than conventional washing machines! And takes 1 - 2 minutes to wash a load, 30 seconds to rinse, 1 - 2 minutes to spin dry. The spin dryer is so fast and forces so much out of the clothes through centrifugal force that it removes mineral deposits and soap deposits normally left in the clothes that bake on in conventional dryers. Your clothes last longer, your detergent lasts a lot longer, you save time and a LOT of water and electricity.
I just bought a Wonder Wash and Spin Dryer for my daughter and she could not be more thrilled! She lives in an apt building that has a laundry room but she's always trying to get in there when it's not busy, many machines aren't working, the dryer just eats quarters and never truly gets anything dry. It can be dangerous plus you never know what the person just before you put in there that can get onto your clothes. All good reasons to have your own little laundromat tucked away, pull it out once a week for a half hour and wash up all your clothes. She has a 2 year old and this is a lifesaver - no worries about messes. Her clothes can always be washed up in just minutes.
I'll tell you what, I'm happy with these neat little things! I wish I'd had them when the kids were teens and were in sports or working at fast food jobs. I can't tell you how many last minute emergencies we had from a kid needing a uniform cleaned to wear! With the Wonder Wash those uniforms could have been washed up in less than 5 minutes (even at midnight the night before they're needed - which is usually when I was notified by the kid!) and hung to dry. By morning they're freshly washed, dry and ready to go.
Here are a couple of real things to consider if you get yours - or are about to -
Don't buy a cheap knock off version. This is from Laundry Alternative's website about knock offs:
Be aware that there are several cheaper imitations of this product on the market, which may have one or more of the following defects:
The plastic lid cracks under pressure, causing water to leak during use;
The handle is not sturdy enough, and cracks;
The brackets are very weak and wobbly, and can even snap and break;
There is no water release valve, which means you have to pick up the machine after washing and turn it upside down to drain the greywater.
The water release valve is very stiff, and hard to fit in place each time. We recently modified our drain spouts, so they slide in effortlessly.
The knob that goes into the lid can strip the thread inside the lid. We recently improved the lid screw, so it cannot be screwed in past the past where it can damage the thread.
However, despite the above defects, these cheaper imitations typically sell for up to $13 more than our product. We know about these defects, because we receive a number of requests for replacement lids and handles. We have also tested several of these products and confirmed these defects for ourselves.
The links given here for the Wonder Wash and Spin Dryer all go to the Laundry Alternative website - I don't sell these (wish I did!) and don't get anything for referring you to them. I'm just overjoyed at this wonderful, green, planet saving, clothing saving, money saving solution and had to share!
Here are some great tips:
1) ABSOLUTELY do read the sheet that comes with the WonderWash. It gives you this table for determining how much water and detergent to use:
I recreated that little chart and printed it out and have it posted on the wall to refer to.
2) Use the right amount of water! At first you'll say "This can't possibly work!" and you'll be tempted to add more, but don't. Too much water for the clothes will make the crank hard to turn, it feels lopsided and it's alot of work (for nothing). When you have the amount right (which is really easy to do) it turns easily.
3) Don't race the cranking! The instructions tell you to turn the crank about 1 revolution per second. At that rate it turns easily and you can hear a bit of sloshing inside. If you turn it super fast you can get it going like a blur! But the real washing isn't being done. Just do steady steady for a minute or two and you're done!
4) If you add bleach to your wash, make it a tiny amount. You won't believe the effect even a little has! For a load of all whites, try one TEASPOON of bleach. Then, if you would like some fabric softener (nice for jeans and towels that tend to dry a little stiff on the line) add a TEASPOON of it to the rinse.
5) READ your bottles of laundry products! My first mistake was using a concentrated liquid detergent that was 2x normal strength. When the chart says to add 2 Tablespoons of detergent, if you're using a concentrated liquid that is 2x, you only add 1 Tablespoon! Same with those concentrated fabric softeners like Downy. If it's 2x, add half what you need.
6) When spin drying - be sure to balance the load when you put in the clothes. The instructions say to spiral the clothing like a snake to keep it in the middle, but I've found sort of folding it back and forth into the dryer balances it really nicely. You'll know immediately if it's unbalanced - it knocks rather than hums, and you must open it up and reposition the clothes.
I added a few inexpensive things to complete my laundry room -
- A plastic dishpan (to catch the water coming out of the spin dryer) $2 at Walmart
- A set of measuring spoons (for detergent, fabric softener, bleach) $1.50 at Walmart
- A plastic quart size cup (an empty plastic cup left over from a soda purchase)
- A timer (after I realized that when I counted a minute it was much faster than a real minute) $6 at Walmart
And a dryer rack. I bought this one first:
It's a very nice, chrome dryer rack. It was $25 plus shipping from Amazon.
Since then I've found these wooden racks
$19 plus shipping on Amazon's website and I found some also at Walmart. The ones at Walmart are $10 each but they can be a little hard to find in stock. I had to check 3 around my area to find some, and I bought the last 2 they had for my daughter.It's really nice to have a couple extra racks on hand for times when you have quite a bit to catch up on (the washing/spinning dry only takes a few minutes and you'll fill up a rack very fast) or if you're washing larger items. The racks fold up flat and take very little room to store.
I have successfully washed my queen sized sheets in the Wonder Wash! One sheet in one load (2 minutes) and the other sheet in the next load (2 minutes). Laying them out across two racks makes it easy to dry them in a short time.
Just for fun - do you know how to fold a shirt like a ninja? I learned this years ago and can whip through a pile of shirts like a hot knife through butter! A couple of seconds per shirt and they look professionally folded.
Learn to fold a shirt fast here.
Enjoy! While everyone else is doing load after load the "old fashioned way" in water and fuel hogging washers and dryers (at 20 minutes per wash cycle, 20 minutes or more per dryer cycle) you're done with your wash in minutes!
Now go outside and play!
Update - Just had to mention - it's been 4 months now using the WonderWash and I just finished ONE bottle of laundry detergent!!! Using a tablespoon or two at a time to wash your clothes really makes the soap last, and the money! By now I would have bought and used at least 3 bottles with the automatic washer, I'm sure. Still on the first bottle of fabric softener, and first (small) bottle of bleach. :)
Update 03/21/2012 Today marks over 3 years of using my WonderWash exclusively for all laundry for 2 people. It has worked exceptionally well - we're so happy with the convenience and ease and money saving/fuel saving aspects! Alas, my original WonderWash bit the dust. I wore it out! But never fear I have purchased a new one and am hopeful that I'll get at least 3 years wear out of this one! $40 spread out over 3 years time? :) Sure beats the $10 PER WEEK I was spending at the laundromat every single week!
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