Launderette?, Washing Machine?, Hand wash? HELP!!! (1 Viewer)

gazza280

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Ok Ok so I'm eating my dinner and spill red sauce down my front (the cat jogged my arm) and I'm looking down thinking," if I were in a motorhome right now what would I do? no washing machine" and this got me thinking exactly what do I do? The motorhomes I've looked at and researched thoroughly have not got room for washing machines.
Am I right in thinking that although my future experiences as a fulltime motorhomer are filled with fun and laughter, am I to be bought down to earth each week sitting in a dingy launderette with a handful of 20p's and a bin bag full of smelly clothes and a Dot Cotton look alike watching me watch my smalls going round in the little window.
I have seen advertised a twin tub washer that holds about a kilo and a half, are they any good?
Is there something I'm not seeing whats the solution? I like to think of myself as a fairly practical sort of person so the only answer I can see is buy a bigger wardrobe of clothes and wash once a month but I'm still see me sitting in that dingy launderette again!!

Suggestions would be very welcome

I thank you in advance
Gary
 
Feb 27, 2011
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I have a small twin tub I carry around for emergencies. However I use a laundrette most of the time.

I have enough clothes/towels/bedding to last me a month and I use the large washing machine. Costs me £6 per load and £4 for the tumble drier. In and out in under 2 hours.

It's not as bad as it seems. There are some manky laundrettes but there are also some well run well maintained ones. If I don't like the look of a place I don't use it.

PS: You'll get bugger all for 20p. I only save £1, £2 and 50p coins
 
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gazza280

gazza280

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Thank you

Once again Grommet you are a font of knowledge and it is much appreciated. I suppose for all the good things about fulltiming there has to be some bad, but as I am told that if I do have a motorhome I must be prepared to be adaptable.



Many thanks
Gary

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Sep 4, 2011
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You will know when you've found the right launderette because you will be sitting in a pub oposite looking at it:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::beer:




:Cool:ROB:Cool:
 
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Mar 18, 2012
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How about ironing ??, never even thought about washing, ironing etc, never having been away for more that three weeks at a time, but now getting around to spending much more time touring, I guess that these practical things will arise,
Lots of sites have washing facilities, but what about ironing, or is the rumpled, crumpled look the in thing for us funsters,

Ken ( Beerdrinker ) :thumb: :drink:
 
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scotjimland

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......... and this got me thinking exactly what do I do? The motorhomes I've looked at and researched thoroughly have not got room for washing machines.
......................................
Suggestions would be very welcome

I thank you in advance
Gary

Having fulltimed for three years with a family of four, we found it a real chore to visit a launderette every week.. so after a year of doing by hand I fitted a top loading Whirlpool domestic automatic.

I remember the day clearly when I plumbed it in and tried it for the first time, my wife Jan thought it was her birthday and Christmas rolled into one.. and every time she used it would stand looking and smiling ...

If you want all mod cons you need to think on a bigger motorhome .. most USRVs have enough space for a washer and have a large fresh tank, many now come with washer/driers as standard..

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If all else fails, you could also lower yourself to visiting a campsite with a launderette...they tend to have irons as well and aren't too 'dingy' :winky:

Or just keep buying new clothes all the time and help revive the economy :Smile:
 
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Feb 27, 2011
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A couple of tricks I have learned from being a perpetual bachelor are;
1) Never buy white clothes, only clothes that can all be bunged in the washing machine at the same time.
2) Buy clothes that don't look totally crap un-ironed. This is something you learn by experience. My favorites are fruit of the loom t's and hoodies. Always buy the heavier, higher quality ones.
3) Hand iron and fold clothes while they are still red hot out of the tumble drier at the laundrette. By hand iron I mean flatten with your hands :ROFLMAO::thumb:

These tricks I used when I had a house and they have stood me in good stead for over 3.5 years of fulltiming.
 
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Also lots of micro-fibre fleece .
Cant beat it in the winter or on cool summer evenings . Its warm , light weight, dries very quickly and needs no ironing.
You can buy some lovely coloured tops in it too. :thumb:

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ezzy

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washing machines

ok so i concur with 'use a site once in a while' its what we do and then u have the choice of a nice location to do the washing and often cheaper, cleaner, safer and better than a launderette and u can pop in and out as u dont need to be right next to the washing all the time or we also take a small twin tub and i find mine excellent - it goes in the garage is fairly light and i swear by it have washed all sorts in it and the spin cycle is excellent they come out really dry and then we also have a small 700w tumble dryer in the garage - but obviously i will deny this if ever asked!! :winky: makes long term travelling very much easier - water usage is fairly economical but u just have to set the temperature yourself:RollEyes: the waster water can then be used to wash a bike, the motorhome or the dog :whatthe:
 
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Us partimers/weekenders bin bag it all up and do it when we get back home.
Don`t want to ruin time off doing washing:thumb:
 
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Wildman

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of course some funsters don't bother with clothes at all once in the sun and spend all summer without the need for a single clothes wash. Then come home and show off their all over tan, :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

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Welsh girl

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We used laundrettes for 3 and half years until I bought a single tub machine but found the clothes took too long to dry because they could not be spinned so I sold that and bought a twin tub, it fits in the overhead cab as we dont have a garage, wait for a sunny day and then peg it onto my whirlygig or in the winter as clothes dont dry too good in the winter outside I will use a site to access their dryer, saves me a bit on washing machines anyway, have thought about a dryer but dont think the site owner would be pleased about that anyway the overhead cab is full now so dont have room :Smile::Smile:
Have to buy a MH with a garage:thumb:
 
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Bryan

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We used to use a portable twintub for months at a time in Spain.

Doesn't heat the water, granted, but the spinner was excellent and I can heartily recommend one if away for quite some time.
 
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Well, if I had to think about ironing (I did but only for a little while , for JJ's curtains... and I just found nice stones , very handy , that I could either leave to get warm in the sun or in boiling water, took as well something to handle them when very hot...:winky:)

I would just use this, it's nice no electricity... and you can always use it for self defense::bigsmile::

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chatter

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The portable twintubs are excellent, there are 2 sizes
1.5-2kg and 3.5-4kg wash time isnt long and the spin practically dries the washing. Ok it spins creases in if you spin for too long and you do need to give clothes a good shake to get them out before hanging to dry.
I started with the smaller machine but now have the bigger one as i struggled to squash quilt covers/ bedding in the spinner of the small one.Wouldnt be without mine especially if abroad as the only place you find launderettes are on the bigger campsites
 
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vwalan

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hi.like some above i used to use a single tub washing machine and a mangle .that worked great.
but now use a twintub. even better .works via the inverter and solar panels .
the spinners are absolutely amazing .better than many household ones it seems .
bit like old days start with whites and the cleanest work your way to jeans and the muckiest . mind i also have a posser if the batteries are down .again easy to use and works.
but ironing forget it . fold neatly and pretend .
 
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aba

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the twin tub washers are great and as said before the spinner is fantastic.

mind there are some people i know that when they take their socks off if they dont stick to the wall they just turn them inside out and wear them again the next day and so on until they stick then they throw them away and buy new :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

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jhorsf

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of course some funsters don't bother with clothes at all once in the sun and spend all summer without the need for a single clothes wash. Then come home and show off their all over tan, :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:




All the ones I have seen look like they wanted ironing:ROFLMAO:
 
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1, Buy large Waste bin

2,Remove said item

3 Open lid of bin, place item in bin, close lid.

4 go shopping to replace said item, AND buy a bloody Bib!!!:Doh:

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Minxy

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The stuff that you're more likely to get through is undies/socks - by getting some sore of container with a secure lid you can put hot water and washing liquid in it, then the undies/socks and fasten the lid on, then as you drive along the movement of the camper will agitate the washing and clean it, you then need to rinse and wring them out, then hang out to dry. We have a water tight barrel which we use when we go out in our canoes to keep important stuff dry and if needs be we could use this. There is a 'proper' version of this which is a Presawash, or Wondawasher (I think that's what the 'newer' version was called, but they're not easy to get hold of - they work a bit like a butter churn.

One way of drying small stuff more is to use an old salad spinner as it's surprising how much extra water can be got out by using one! Another way is it use a towel and lay the wrung out items in it, then roll it up and give it a good wring, the towel will draw out a lot of the water and then it will all dry much quicker.
 
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heres a wonder wash .

I bought one of those and it was crap. Ended up giving it away. Handwashes were less hassle.

The twin tub was a much investment though :thumb:

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vwalan

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hi .only put it up because someone mentioned them.
heres my single tub had it years bought in spain years ago.
my mate had a wonder wash and the handle fell off .
i do like my mangle though . but havent got any pics . has its own proper stand . acme wringers glasgow.
i have a sunncamp twintub now great bit of kit.
 

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Heyupluv

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Ok Ok so I'm eating my dinner and spill red sauce down my front (the cat jogged my arm) and I'm looking down thinking," if I were in a motorhome right now what would I do? no washing machine" and this got me thinking exactly what do I do? The motorhomes I've looked at and researched thoroughly have not got room for washing machines.
Am I right in thinking that although my future experiences as a fulltime motorhomer are filled with fun and laughter, am I to be bought down to earth each week sitting in a dingy launderette with a handful of 20p's and a bin bag full of smelly clothes and a Dot Cotton look alike watching me watch my smalls going round in the little window.
I have seen advertised a twin tub washer that holds about a kilo and a half, are they any good?
Is there something I'm not seeing whats the solution? I like to think of myself as a fairly practical sort of person so the only answer I can see is buy a bigger wardrobe of clothes and wash once a month but I'm still see me sitting in that dingy launderette again!!

Suggestions would be very welcome

I thank you in advance
Gary

Hi Gary
WE use one of these portable twin tubs .....2kg load..light in weight...both washer and spinner have separate motors so can be used at the same time.....the electric motors are around 150watts each so not much more than an electric light bulb....
We would use it on EHUP...or if on Aires the small 1kw Honda genny would run it.
It sits in the garage and there is no need to remove if you don't want to....as the plastic /fibre glass floor does have a hole in it to fit the waste water outlet pipe.
Now these washers are fine for ....Underwear, shirts, polo shirts , socks, hankies . trousers , shorts....in fact most things.....but heavy items like bedding .....for them we would still use a launderette and dry them as well......you can spend a awful lot of your time looking for a launderette (Diesel)...then the time sat in them Zzzzzz, and then the money factor the cost to wash & dry..it does not take long to get your money back on the purchase of the twin tub...I would NOT just buy a washer only as we found the spinner more valuable...
You will find the spinner an asset.. Brill ..and spinner will most likely be the one you would use the most... hand wash a few items and spin....we also have a place to hang spun cloths (damp but not dripping )in the garage and with the alde heating on the garage gets very warm in fact quite hot so in the night the cloths are dry in the morning plus you can travel with the clothes still hanging on the lines .then you don't look like Gypsies..clothes on the bushes.:winky::winky::RollEyes: also no worry if it rains and of course leave your washing drying while out and about with no fear somebody else will be wearing them when you get back:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
Of course you need electric or a genny.....but it also a good idea to be close to water for rinsing a few times and final spin also to empty the grey.
Down in Spain/Benicassim/Fontera park last winter there was 4 Brits using the twin tubs next to the tap with electric ...they loved them....:thumb: even though there was a launderette with 4 auto washers and dryers on site

Ours is like this one cream not blue and takes 2kg not 1.5kg cost £58 Delivered brand new from a camping shop in the uk off Ebay:thumb:

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If you weigh your clothes you will find 2 kg is a lot so we do not fill be weight ...we fill to what will go around and wash....agitate

Or you could wear the plain colour all BLACK...and then you would have no problems:winky::winky:
or you could do the 4 cycle...wear your underwear right way one day then turn them around the next day...then inside out and do the same process over again ,...or as some instead of a day do it every month or every year the 4 cycle:winky::winky::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: then after the 4 cycle hang out for a week and start again:Eeek::Eeek:

Mel
 
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Mags52

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In the UK many laundrettes do service washes where you leave your dirty laundry in the morning and collect it dry and folded at the end of the day.
Just as an aside - on our recent trip we stopped at an Aire in Vivonne just south of Poitiers. Fabby aire and a laundrette round the corner with different sized machines. You could easily put your stuff in to wash and then go back for a cuppa until it was done. I thought it was a pretty smart business investment as it was a popular aire.

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jhorsf

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I have an appliance that does all that washing drying ironing etc. I cannot recommend it though as its very expensive and noisy ouch......... and it thumps quite hard also:ROFLMAO:
 
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chatter

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this is the same as the one i have now
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and the 1st one i had was like this. I found it too small for bedding really
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aba

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I have an appliance that does all that washing drying ironing etc. I cannot recommend it though as its very expensive and noisy ouch......... and it thumps quite hard also:ROFLMAO:

this same said appliance :lipstick: probably used to polish your bits too at some point:eek:pp5:Blush::Blush:
 
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