Leininger Homestead

The struggle is real. One of the things I spent a lot of time planning for was how to do laundry in my camper. My initial plan of using the non-electric, very tiny, Wonder-wash by Laundry Alternative, is not working out. I paid about fifty dollars for this product, which I had high hopes for.

The first thing we noticed was that it leaks. It has this system where the soap and hot water build up pressure in the machine as you spin it.  The pressure is supposed to push the soap and hot water through the fabric of your dirty clothes, cleansing out dirt and grease. But the cap mechanism that seals up the machine was not quite up to the task.

I personally blame poor quality materials. The whole thing is made of a hard plastic. There is a rubber gasket, but it does not go all the way to the edge of the lid. Although the parts were made to fit together well, they really needed some kind of a rubber or silicone seal is they wanted it to be watertight.

Now if the leak was the only thing wrong with it, I probably would not be looking for something else. Ed an I are pretty creative people and we would probably have tried to fix it somehow. The thing that really changed my mind about it was what the kitchen rags looked like after they came out of the rinse cycle.

We used about a tablespoon of the most basic laundry soap, which is a mixture of borax, washing soda, and Kirk's Castile Soap, shredded. We also added a bit of OxiClean to help remove stains. They were still dirty. There was food, grease, and grime on them. Disappointed, we washed them again in the kitchen sink. The water was filthy.

Even though the concept of an all-green mini-washer was an excellent idea, I think the idea still needs to be perfected. Let's go back to the drawing board with this.  I would like to see the Wonder-wash with a better silicone seal or gasket around the pressurized lid to prevent leaking. I also think that an agitator arm that spins the opposite direction of the machine is necessary. The clothes and rags just aren't getting enough attention in there.

I've seen spin dryers on a lot of mini machines. They are a lot like salad spinners. Why not have a built-in, drawstring spinner for helping to wring out the clothes? Wringing out wet towels while bent over the shower drain in your camper is not fun, especially if you've got a bad wrist like I do.

My answer to the Wonder-wash is that it had wonderful potential, but it needs a lot of work. It needs to be better quality, and it needs to get the clothes clean.  But my problem persists. I'm back to square one on the laundry situation here in the little rolling homestead. I've seen  couples use a mop bucket and plunger. So I guess I'm not the only one.

Thoughts? What do you do on laundry day?

Happy Camping!