Hand Washing Clothes

After handwashing your clothes, you will probably want to wring your wet items in some way. There are various methods for accomplishing this. Some require only your bare hands, while others will make use of additional equipment. There is no right or wrong way to get the job done. It is a matter of personal preference and resources.

When I first started hand washing my clothes last year, I did not wring them out very well. I believed if I were to wring out the fabric vigorously, that I would damage my clothes. I thought they would tear or stretch out of shape. So I would gently squeeze out as much water as I could. I always ended up with a lot of wet, dripping clothes and would have to put pans and towels under the drying rack to catch all the water. It was a mess!

I do not do that anymore. Now I wring every garment out with vigor. I fold the item into a manageable length and then twist one end in one direction and the other in the opposite direction, then using my fists I squeeze and twist and milk all the liquid out until I cannot force out another drop. Sometimes this requires refolding to get a different angle. Sometimes certain areas, such as elastic waistbands, require additional attention.

After I get all the water out that I can, I straighten and shape the garment back to its original proportions before hanging to dry. Using this method I no longer get drips on the floor, but my clothes do come off the line more wrinkled. I find most of the wrinkles fall out during wear, but I do end up ironing some things. I don't think I am doing more ironing than I did when using the dryer. If you hang things with care, I find they usually come out nicer than they did after sitting in the dryer. I never was very good at rushing to the dryer to hang things up as soon as the bell rang.

Another option is to purchase a wringer. This device consists of two rollers that press the water out of the clothes, either by hand-cranking the clothing through or with the push of a button if you buy an electric wringer. This looks similar to the wringer on a mop bucket, but there is quite a bit of difference between the wringer on mop bucket and a laundry wringer. You are never going to get enough pressure on a thin piece of fabric from the mop wringer, because it is just not made for that. There will be too much space between the rollers. So, do not waste your money on that. Go ahead, if you are going to go this route, and invest in the tool that will get the job done. Get the tool that was made to do the job.

Someone asked if she could use the spin cycle on her washing machine to remove the water from her handwashed clothes. Of course you can do that! Just set the machine to spin and turn it on. It should work fine.

You can also purchase a machine that does nothing except spin the water out of wet clothes. This machine, called a centrifuge, is actually also handy if you machine wash clothes, because it will get out additional water that your washer spin cycle left in. This will save work for your dryer, if you use one, or allow your clothing to dry faster if you hang to air dry.

Finally, you can take your wet items out to the yard and beat them against a large rock, your patio or the brick wall of your house. In my opinion, this is probably hard on your fabric, but it would be great for getting out your aggressions! Be sure to watch the video of the lady in India beating the water out of her clothes in this manner.