Washing and drying clothes

[crackodawn]

We elected not to have a washer/dryer installed in our 09 Journey 34Y. There were quite a few reasons we decided not to have the install but not wanting to go to laundromats all the time we tried out the hand washer and high speed spin dryer from the Laundry Alternative.

WOW!

Their products work just as they say they stand behind their products 100% and without question. When I had a small leak from the water outlet on the washer (i mean slight drip actually, not enough to soak a sponge) they sent out a brand new washer at no charge, not even for shipping.

The spin dryer is something to experience. It spins at something like 5000 rpms and the clothes that come out are nearly dry. A quick hang outside and they are as dry as they can be. On days where it rains we just take all the spun dry clothes and in 10 min from a commercial dryer they are bone dry. Many items come out so airy that they need no air drying at all.

When I wash the MH I throw the microfiber towels in there and they are super absorbent in seconds.

The washer is almost fun to use. While it is hand powered is it extremely efficient. I can wash three weeks of clothes in a morning, something that would take that long with a washing machine anyway. It is fast and so compact it takes up very little space.

I wondered about how clean the clothes would come but the whites are pure white and everything else comes out super clean as well. I run the washer and my wife does the hanging, we both fold. While we usually do the clothes every other week, like I said, if you go longer it can still keep up on wash day.

I ordered mine direct but I see the washer and dryer offered online elsewhere, sometimes with free shipping and a slight discount.

I can say that the washer is well designed and built and the dryer is equal in quality to any other dryer I've seen or used. The spin dryer is so quite you can watch TV or listen to the radio in the same part of the MH.

The best part is that there is practically no electric use. I checked and the spin dryer uses about 170 watts when it is running. It takes about 2 minutes to spin dry a load. Not much electric there. The washer uses none since you power it.

Perfect for dry campers that want to conserve battery charge and not use much water.

When I wash, 4 pumps from a soap dispenser holding any laundry soap does the trick. Much less soap and much less water. No noise to speak of so you can wash in the late evening and never bother the neighbors.

I use the spun out water to run down the toilet and the gray just goes down the sink. Since the washing days usually coincide with dump day and the tanks are usually not full, that soapy waste water helps keep the tanks cleaner.

We've been using the washer/dryer for about 6 months now and they've more than paid for themselves. At this point, it is a pure money saving operation.

 

[donn]

Question for you.  How much of your time does this take in total?

 

[crackodawn]

Question for you.  How much of your time does this take in total?

Here is an idea of the time:

On average I will wash 10 pair of pants (mostly black/blue jeans), 25 shirts, 28 pair of socks, 4 thick shower towels, 4 face cloths, 14 t-shirts and underpants, 2 pair of sweat pants, a lightweight jacket, 14 women's panties, two weeks of bras (whatever that comes to) 2 sets of sheets and whatever kitchen towels are handy.

I start at 9am after breakfast and finish around noon or a little after. That means washed and spun dry and also hung out for finish dry. I watch the news during that time or listen to the radio, make phone calls to catch up with family.

Total dryer time is less than 30 minutes I think.

 

[crackodawn]

I also want to ad that this is not constant washing. I let the clothes soak a bit and I usually go read/reply to email, surf the net and things like that. So only a little of the time is actually spent with me washing.

There is no lint coming out of the clothes so I bet they will last longer too. With most electric washers and dryers you can make a rug from the lint and that is getting pulled right out of the fabric.

 

[ArdraF]

There is no lint coming out of the clothes so I bet they will last longer too. With most electric washers and dryers you can make a rug from the lint and that is getting pulled right out of the fabric.

That's one of the good things about the newer Splendides.  They have very little lint and there is no lint filter to clean.  So, the way I read what you wrote, you have to hang everything out to dry.  Hmmm.  Most campgrounds don't allow that, so are you talking about home use?  If not, where do camp that you're allowed to hang out a big washing like that?  Just curious.

I'm glad you like the product, but I still prefer the Splendide. 

ArdraF

 

[crackodawn]

That's one of the good things about the newer Splendides.  They have very little lint and there is no lint filter to clean.  So, the way I read what you wrote, you have to hang everything out to dry.  Hmmm.  Most campgrounds don't allow that, so are you talking about home use?  If not, where do camp that you're allowed to hang out a big washing like that?  Just curious.

I'm glad you like the product, but I still prefer the Splendide. 

ArdraF

Not everything needs to get hung out, just heavy things and only for a short while so maybe I misstated a little.

We try not to stay at typical campgrounds because for us that is like just moving from one park to another. We fulltime and in our permanent site the spaces are fenced, you can't look over the fence from one to another unless you get nosy. We have storage behind the MH with plenty of space to hang right behind the MH, no one walking by can see anything.

When we head out, we stay away from campgrounds as much as possible, preferring to use the facilities of the motorhome which is why we bought it - self contained.

We have our clothing organized so that every two weeks we wash and dry. If traveling it is pretty easy to find an out of the way place to hang out for the 20 minutes or so we might need. When it is even slightly warm outside it takes very little time to completely finish dry. Otherwise we can wash and then continue on the road and hang in the bathroom. With the fan on and an open vent up top there is no condensation to worry about. With the bathroom door closed the amount of air flowing up from under the door up and out is pretty amazing. When we stop, we fold and put away. Got this down top a science.

When traveling, we wear mostly the lightweight travel clothes like Ex-Officio and similar. They never need to be hung out because the spin dryer makes them so dry. Ex-Officio makes great traveling clothes tops and bottoms.

What we like most is not being dependent upon using a lot of electrical or propane power. Neither are cheap and getting more expensive all the time.  We also use a lot less water so we don't need to hook up to do laundry.

I really dislike hooking and unhooking hoses, cables and all that so anything I can do to avoid that is great.

My wife can snooze while I'm doing the laundry too because there is no noise. Fire up a regular washer and that part of the MH is noisy.

One day we might go for an installed arrangement but we enjoy the extra space.

 

[ArdraF]

Thanks for the explanation.  My curiosity is satisfied. 

ArdraF

 

[Wendy]

How much space do the washer and dryer take up when they're not in use?

And how did your wife get you to do the laundry ???

Wendy

 

[crackodawn]

How much space do the washer and dryer take up when they're not in use?

And how did your wife get you to do the laundry ???

Wendy

;D When I said I wanted to full time in a MH we came to some agreements. She really likes living in a MH because everything is built-in and the place is cozy.

I take care of outside things related to the MH she takes care of the inside. She likes flowers so she grows orchids, I have a motorcycle. She likes to cook breakfast and dinner weekdays, weekends I cook. I keep all the electrics going, the computers the TVs and so on, she lays claim to interior design.

As far as space. The washer can sit on your kitchen counter or over a sink.  You can lift it with one hand easily. The dryer is about mid-thigh high (I am 5'10") and weighs about 25-30 pounds. We keep the dryer behind a reclining chair when not in use and it doubles as a hamper. Basically everything goes into a place we can use anyway. If you look at the floor plan for the 09 Winnie Journey 34Y the place I'm talking about is where the recliner is on the passenger side slideout. You could also put a small table top on top of the dryer and then it would serve that purpose nicely. It is white in color and when just sitting there no one really notices it. A little table top held in place with velcro would do it and could hold plants or things like that when in one location for any length of time.

When on the road, the washer goes in the shower. It has suction cups on the bottom so it won't go anywhere and being in the bathroom isn't a missile hazard. The dryer stays put and we have a little strap that goes around it and secures it to the space next to the lounge chair. It will be the last thing to move around.

When I wash/dry, the washer comes out from behind the chair and onto the kitchen counter and the dryer stands at the end of the counter in front of the hidden trash bins. This way we can use everything and walk around without even thinking about it. Nothing is in the way.

They are both small enough to go into storage bays if you have them available. They are light enough to take in an out even if you are of small stature. My wife can move them around and she is about 5'2 and 108 pounds.

Eventually we plan to put a hitch box on back and put everything in there. We'll have other things in there but that will make it all more or less permanent but still movable if we need it that way.

Oh yeah, I can't stand doing dishes, so that is her job. We both got pretty good deals. I only wish we'd have done this a long time ago.

 

[crackodawn]

I have pics of the setup and stowage if you want to see them.

 

[Wendy]

Thanks for the info. Maybe someday if we ever go bigger it's something we'll think about. As for getting the dh to do the laundry, he'll carry it to laundromat and he'll carry the clean, folded laundry back to the coach, but that's about as far as I've been able to get him. He does, however, do the dishes on days we aren't on the road. And he does do all the driving and all the electronic mumbo-jumbo and mechanical junk. It's amazing how RVers work out distribution of duties

Wendy