[N00b Question] How the heck do you do your laundry in a MH ?

alittlerock

alittlerock

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How does the whole laundty thing work out, especially for longer term trips?
I do not think many have washing machines due to outrageous water needs?
saw one lady on youtube using this device - https://ebay.to/2rozHrs can you share how you guys manage?

Thanks and sorry for the zillions of noob questions

Al
 
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Hi
We normally stop at a site where there are washing machines and do a big load including sheets once a fortnight or so. In between, we wash our own smalls as we go should we be stopped at a place where we can put out our table base which doubles as a drying rack - and it’s not raining!
In France there are washers and dryers in some supermarket car parks.
 
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Our local filling station has washing machines and driers here in Scotland

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Thx guys, yeah I was thinking other than the old launderettomat :))
So, nothing to be concerned about in short, [or in shorts] :D
 
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We use a couple of large trugs, one for wash, one for rince, then we use our antique ACME wringer (ok, it does weigh in at 15kg😜) and then hang it on our home made washing line. 😁

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There are launderettes all over UK and Europe. And a lot of European sites have washing machines. But if you have enough storage room you can buy a small twin tub washing machine designed for use in motorhomes and caravans.

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Some full-timers I met on the road a few years ago told me they have a lidded bucket filled with water and a scoop of Napisan and throw their dirty laundry in it. The washing gets agitated as they drive along the road.
One of the things I find very irritating about the club sites in the UK is that many of them don’t provide washing lines. They want you to spend a small fortune on using their inefficient tumble driers. Hardly environmentally friendly. And don’t even think of hanging your washing on your own airer outside your van. The camp commandant will be round with enough hot air to dry your smalls.
 
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I use a bucket and a strong spud masher! :giggle:

Warm water goes in the bucket with a squirt of washing liquid (better than powder), once mixed round toss in washing remembering to leave room to 'squish' it with the masher and get the water through it to force out the muck, after a minute of squishing leave it to soak for a couple of mins further then another good squish, remove washing from bucket and wring out so the water goes back in the bucket, if the water's okay put in another load and repeat, otherwise empty bucket and put in cold water, put the wrung out washing in, squish again, take out and wring - unless you've used loads of washing liquid that should be enough to remove it.

The 'difficult' part is wringing it out sufficiently to be able to hang it out, I find looping it round a pole/thin tree etc, helps as you can then twist it really well and get loads of water out rather than contorting your arms to do so.

One benefit is that the washing 'bashing' really gets rid of tension and aggression if you're having a bad day! :LOL:
 
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Minxy Girl said:
I use a bucket and a strong spud masher! :giggle:
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Yes, it is surprising how effective washing clothes in a bucket is. We did have a portable twin tub, but it was a bit of a faff and we didn't miss it when it blew up. The most useful part was the spin dryer. I could see myself buying another of those just by itself.
 
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the plastic twin tubs are great for small bits but not items like trousers. My preferred choice is finding a launderette with service washes. Drop the bag of clothes off, and go exploring the town, do shopping etc. Then back to collect the freshly laundered and pressed clothes. It is really not more expensive than doing it yourself in the machines and sitting waiting for them to finish is not on my list of things I enjoy. I like a hassle free life at home and even more so when travelling. Never had a truly bad experience with service washes and you are supporting a small local business. Also I find asking about local cafes etc when I drop the clothes off gets some real gems recommended by the locals

On the subject of finding a good local cafe, you rarely go wrong if you ask a local
 
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cmcardle75 said:
Yes, it is surprising how effective washing clothes in a bucket is. We did have a portable twin tub, but it was a bit of a faff and we didn't miss it when it blew up. The most useful part was the spin dryer. I could see myself buying another of those just by itself.
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I got it down to a fine art when having to wash Romy's bedding every day whilst in Spain, fortunately the weather was great at the time so getting it dried wasn't a problem, it was only when it was due to turn for a week or so that we upped sticks and came home as there's no way we could 'cope' with it.
 
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Minxy Girl said:
I use a bucket and a strong spud masher! :giggle:

Warm water goes in the bucket with a squirt of washing liquid (better than powder), once mixed round toss in washing remembering to leave room to 'squish' it with the masher and get the water through it to force out the muck, after a minute of squishing leave it to soak for a couple of mins further then another good squish, remove washing from bucket and wring out so the water goes back in the bucket, if the water's okay put in another load and repeat, otherwise empty bucket and put in cold water, put the wrung out washing in, squish again, take out and wring - unless you've used loads of washing liquid that should be enough to remove it.

The 'difficult' part is wringing it out sufficiently to be able to hang it out, I find looping it round a pole/thin tree etc, helps as you can then twist it really well and get loads of water out rather than contorting your arms to do so.

One benefit is that the washing 'bashing' really gets rid of tension and aggression if you're having a bad day! :LOL:
Click to expand...


Thank you so much!
This is very helpful indeed!
Think I'd try this rather thann the little machine, an the wringing is great for training the grip strength!
Thanks again,
 
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Used to have a bucket with a lid, when caravanning (lid quite important).
Place washing in the bucket at the back of the van (in the shower tray).
Washing nicely agitated during travel.
Not so good in a motorhome, but might be worth a try.
Still use the shower area to hang things in, to dry.
 
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When abroad we use one of the many self service coin operated laundry machines you find at supermarkets and some aires

when you do a large load it becomes quite cost effective too just park the van near enough and get the kettle on (no booze you are technically on a public access road and so the Gendarmes would haveyou
 
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I save it up and do a wash when i have enough to fill a machine.plenty around in Spain n Portugal and appearing in the Uk now,here,s one in Hawick.
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Cheers Cris.
 
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Madcaravanner said:
When abroad we use one of the many self service coin operated laundry machines you find at supermarkets and some aires

when you do a large load it becomes quite cost effective too just park the van near enough and get the kettle on (no booze you are technically on a public access road and so the Gendarmes would haveyou
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We did that once as we had a load of washing to do but unfortunately although the washing machine was okay when it came to drying it none of the driers worked! Even getting the locals to read the instructions and try couldn't get any going so we ended up with a spider's web concoction of lines over the rear bed ... looked like a set from Mission Impossible. :giggle:

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As Minxy Girl says, it’s not the washing, it’s the drying! Ok in a hot country- I’ve got a collapsible rack that does the job nicely. Trouble is in the U.K. the van ends up looking like Widow Twanky’s laundry! 😀
 
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We are limited for other reasons to trips of 5-6 weeks.

We have 3 sets of bed linen and take enough shirts/tee shirts/shorts/ undies to last that time but in our 7m and with a large garage we have plenty of space for all that, and some long jeans and sweaters also wet weather and walking gear.

If we were more free we would use launderettes, or in Greece, service washes as I did on the boat.

Geoff
 
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Oscar said:
We've bought one of these, it travels & we use it in the shower cubicle. Very pleased with it so far
View attachment 423739
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Yep we have one of those as well, carry it in the garage. When using it stand it on a plastic tub in front or the garage. Fitted a shower tap in the garage for filling it.
 
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