# The Art of Washing Clothes Aboard...



## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

This came up in another thread, so I thought I would discuss it here.

As most know, we have been living aboard/Cruising since about 2000, and have been boating since about 1995. All that time we have the same problem: Keeping clean clothes. Now when you own a house, it is not as big of an issue. But as liveaboards especially, it becomes quite an issue. SO here are the ways we have used over the years, and our thoughts. Others are free to chime in one way or another.

*Dragging behind in a mesh bag.* I have heard about the old time cruisers doing this and tried it with minimal success many years ago. However, it was not as successful for us as I am sure it was for others. For one, you still have salt in your clothes, which is one of the things we are trying to get rid of. Second, you have to be a gorilla to pull that bag in under any kind of speed. Third, we got a lot of sea weed caught up on the bag. Lastly, our mesh bag did not break, but if it did, that would be a real problem. Wet clothes sink like a brick (especially if the are expensive or new or stain free... snicker). Personally, we will never do that again. Plus, liveaboards are often in one spot, not cruising and sailing in pristine water.

*Washing in Salt, Rinsing in fresh.* We have done this several times. Basically, it involves a 5 gallon bucket, some detergent, salt water, and a fresh rinse thereafter. I will say that salt water, if clean, does as good a job of washing as fresh. My wife thinks it does better. However, and here was the real kicker for us, we ended up spending more fresh water to rinse the clothes than if we had just washed in fresh too. Inevitable, there would be salt residue when the clothes dried and they always felt damp. When completely dried, they resembled an old chamois and chafed sensitive areas like sand paper. We avoid this method now.

*Washing in fresh/Rinsing in fresh.* Maybe the best method for some. You use a lot more fresh water than the method I will describe below, but in my opinion, less than those above. When you are done, your clothes smell good and are marginally clean. The best method here, assuming you do not have a lot of clothes, is to actually let them sit in the soapy water for a while - hours if you can. Then wash them in one bucket, squeeze them out until they are as dry as you can wrench by hand, then rinsing in another fresh water bucket. Two buckets makes this a lot easier. In a pinch, you can keep the dirty water and re-use, as well as the rinse. And if a good rain storm comes, use your bimini to collect that water for washing... just let the bird droppings and salt rinse off before filling. Some people use a stick, they also make a special plunger looking device for agitation, but we generally just used our hands. It works ok, better if you let soak for a while.

*Washing with Fresh and Lemon Ammonia.*



In a water conservation mode, this may be my favorite. Basically, you fill a 5 gallon bucket with water and add roughly a cup of Lemon Scent Ammonia. Let them sit a bit. Shake them around or stir as discussed above. Then pull them out and wring them out to dry. No rinsing necessary. You will not smell the ammonia and it does a good job of getting the clothes pretty clean with minimal fresh water. Negatives, obviously, are that you cannot use bleach (CL + Ammonia is toxic). Another negative is it takes longer and does not do as well as a traditional washer. But for most cruisers I know, this is how they wash their clothes if they do not go to a laundromat.

*Wonder Wash.*



Thanks to Tim R., we bought this little contraption (thank you Tim). He suggested it. My experience is it works pretty well. You can certainly go through a lot more volume of clothes than doing any of the above methods. It uses moderate amounts of water, with the trick being to be cautious about your soap usage. Basically, you add clothes to this little bucket, small amount of soap, and spin. We personally use cold water and spin longer, but it suggests hot water. THe problem for us is that hot water is even more of a premium than fresh water, so I will tell you, cold water works fine. After you put the lid on, you spin this thing for a few minutes, then stick in the drain pipe and drain it out. We wring dry (method stated below) between rinsing and washing to really help conserve water. The cost of the Wonder Wash is circa $55. We purchased it from here: Clothes Dryers, Washers & Dryers, Portable & Compact Washing Machines

I think this may be the bests option for liveaboards - especially if water is available. For drying between cycles, we use a 5g bucket with many holes drilled across the bottom. You can put the clothes in there and step on it repeatedly and it will wring them out (see pic).



Note: Some people also use a spin dryer. I think this would be the ideal way to do it, as you simply cannot wring the clothes as dry as it can. However, it cost power, money, and space. As such, we have not done that yet. The method above works. It also serves as a good bait bucket for Lobster (would have to see my Facebook post).

*Washing clothes in a laundromat.* Most marinas and mooring fields have these. But let me warn you: Many are expensive ($3.75 wash here, plus $2.25 to dry and one dry often does not do it). Also, inevitably every colored piece of clothing you have will get a bleach spot from some yahoo that spilled bleach on the washer or where you spread out your clothes. I have also seen oily clothes washed in there, muddy clothes, lines, canvas, etc. Don't expect the washers to always work and certainly not to always be available. Sometimes 'laundry day' can take all day or two days. If nothing else, something like a Wonder Wash may save you money and frustrations.

One last comment about washing clothes and keeping them clean aboard. Other ways to help conserve water and keep clean clothes are when you shower, throw your dirty clothes at the bottom of the shower before starting. We always do this with our bathing suits. Wring out when done washing and they are 'ok' clean (at least the salt and smell are gone). Another trick is actually being careful what you buy. Cotton clothes (with things like blue jeans) are a nightmare on fresh water, harder to get clean, soak up salt air, and take forever to dry. On the flip side, clothes with a lot of Polyester (100% preferably) wash easily and dry so quick you won't believe it. Salt does not stick with them well. I like the Climalite products, but the reality is that most 100% polyester products will work. These products have also held up well for us. Third, we try to avoid buying too many colored clothes. Remember my 'Musings of a Liveaboard' where I said my best shirt has only one bleach stain? You got it... colored clothes are a killer for us as they never stay looking nice for long. My last suggestion is to avoid any product that does not fit into a standard washer. I have literally traveled miles to find a washer big enough to wash a stupid comforter. So instead of the big, luxurious comforters that are so popular (and unpractical), get multiple sheets or the thinner polyester/cotton blend blankets that look nice. They will fit in a standard washer and will make your life aboard so much more enjoyable.

Hope these hints help everyone... happy boating...

Brian


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Good summary Brian.

I think the Wonder Wash is big. Too big.

I use a combination of the ammonia approach (I use plain sudsy ammonia) and laundromats. I agree that the issues you list with laundromats exist. If I can find a laundromat away from the marina I use that. A lot depends on the marina ...


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## outbound (Dec 3, 2012)

?Any thoughts about a Splendide? I plumbed for it when spec'ing the boat. Have yet to put it in due to concern about space and water use. Was figuring to put it in when we stick in the watermaker.


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

when i wash my clothing in sea water, then rinse in sea water , then rinse with fresh, i make sure those clothing bits are as dry as i can get them before i waste too much fresh water removing the salt--i also give them some good shakes to flap out water and salt. 
it seems to work for me, and i have extremely sensitive skin.


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

I just purchased an old fashioned wringer off ebay, figuring we could use it on the boat for wringing cloths out. It takes up some space, so we'll see if it earns a permanent spot on the boat when we go cruising. Anyone else use a wringer?


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

outbound said:


> ?Any thoughts about a Splendide? I plumbed for it when spec'ing the boat. Have yet to put it in due to concern about space and water use. Was figuring to put it in when we stick in the watermaker.


Mixed reviews, mostly negative.

I know the old marina manager of Valiant put in a bunch of those and thought they were a disaster. He said they were always breaking or not working well. I have met other people that say they are ok. I personally would rather have a small washer/dryer like that then sitting out in the cockpit doing my laundry!! So I say go for it. I suspect your biggest issues will be how much fits into them and how dry they get. But please understand, all of my comments are second hand. I have not owned one. Others with more dirst hand knowledge would know better.

Unless washing via bucket/ammonia approach or salt water wash, you are going to go through a descent amount of water anyways. SO not sure that would be my concern. I assume you are going to have a generator too? At one point, you were not. If I did not have a generator, I probably wouldn't put in a washer/dryer. It would not be worth much except at a marina.

Brian


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

SVAuspicious said:


> Good summary Brian.
> 
> I think the Wonder Wash is big. Too big.
> 
> I use a combination of the ammonia approach (I use plain sudsy ammonia) and laundromats. I agree that the issues you list with laundromats exist. If I can find a laundromat away from the marina I use that. A lot depends on the marina ...


I don't believe it is any bigger than a 5 gallon bucket... maybe smaller. We disassemble it each time and throw it in our lazarette. Everything comes off. Handle and spigot can go inside bowl, the rest lay flat.

However, a five gallon bucket (required liveaboard equipment... snicker) has multiple other uses, while the Wonderwash really only has one. I always thought that someone ingenious could make their own wonderwash out of a 5 gallon bucket.

Brian


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## outbound (Dec 3, 2012)

thanks Brian- Really appreciate your input. current thinking is engine driven watermaker, dc generator. Already put in the 2 d400s and having panels put on top of hard bimini this winter. Find the space for the washer dryer is already filled with foulies/ditch bag/ boots etc. Expect most time off grid will be in Caribe or trades. So far the D400s have been enough and haven't needed to run engine beyond in and out. Figure dc generator most efficient to charge batteries. Only will run AC to get to sleep for a couple of hours. Maybe should just throw a wonder wash in the lazerette but disappointed blew the effort to plumb for Splendide.


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

outbound said:


> thanks Brian- Really appreciate your input. current thinking is engine driven watermaker, dc generator. Already put in the 2 d400s and having panels put on top of hard bimini this winter. Find the space for the washer dryer is already filled with foulies/ditch bag/ boots etc. Expect most time off grid will be in Caribe or trades. So far the D400s have been enough and haven't needed to run engine beyond in and out. Figure dc generator most efficient to charge batteries. Only will run AC to get to sleep for a couple of hours. Maybe should just throw a wonder wash in the lazerette but disappointed blew the effort to plumb for Splendide.


I just want to be clear that my experience with them is second hand knowledge. I have always tried to point that out. So you may be perfectly happy with it. As I said, cost not an object or space, I would have one!

But for $55 bucks, kinda hard to go wrong with the wonderwash too. If you don't like it, toss it off to another cruiser.

Brian


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## Tim R. (Mar 23, 2003)

No problem Brian. We love our wonder wash and I am currently trying to come up with a way to mount it somewhere on the boat rather than use the included frame. It would only be mounted when in use but would be more stable and could lose the frame.

The spinner does take up a lot of room but I think that outweighs the excellent job it does to remove the water. It also seems to keep stuff wrinkle free. Some of that space could be taken back by storing something inside it when not in use. As for power, we would be running the engine, water maker and the spinner all at the same time so just the cost of the diesel. we make water to wash and electricity to spin. The side benefit is that we get hot water for showering after doing the laundry.


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## svHyLyte (Nov 13, 2008)

Cruisingdad said:


> I just want to be clear that my experience with them is second hand knowledge. I have always tried to point that out. So you may be perfectly happy with it. As I said, cost not an object or space, I would have one!
> 
> But for $55 bucks, kinda hard to go wrong with the wonderwash too. If you don't like it, toss it off to another cruiser.
> 
> Brian


Friends of ours sailing a sister ship to ours that are sitting out hurricane season in Trinidad purchased a Little Wonder and report they have been very happy with it. According to them, using only a modest amount of soap and very hot water--a tea kettle's worth from the galley--makes a big difference in terms of cleaning. A hand cranked wringer also comes in handy. Our approach has always been a bit more rudimentary. A black plastic trash bag with a few pounds of dirty clothes, and a gallon or two soapy water, left out in the sun and flopped over and squeezed a few times for several hours seems to get things pretty clean and the water, dumped on the foredeck as the bag is emptied, allows one to give that a scrub as well. We rinse the clothes with our anchor wash-down hose, and then rinse the clothes in a bucket or two of fresh water. Towels are the hardest things to get cleaned and rinsed but with the amount of rain we generally have in Florida during the season, rinsing isn't that much of a problem. We long ago got into using dark blue towels as the dark colors seem to dry relatively more quickly than white and they can be stretched over our Navy Blue sail cover and are pretty much are invisible so that the ship doesn't look like an escapee from the Hooligan Navy.

FWIW...


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## steve77 (Aug 5, 2010)

Or you could do what Cary Grant did in "Charade"...










Kills two birds with one stone.


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## vtsailguy (Aug 4, 2010)

Has anyone tried this?
"The Breathing Mobile Washer"
About Us


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

We have a Splendide and find it very useful. The unvented model does not dry cotton well, but does fine with synthetics. However, it needs 110v and the drying mode actually uses water in the unvented model. With no hot air vent, it heats the drum, creates condensation by cooling the outside and rinsing it away. 

It's best to just wash and spin, which at worst comes out better than hand wringing. We run the washer about once per week when cruising, but would need to do so much more if living aboard full time. We do so, when running the generator anyway. Washing sans drying takes 30 to 45 mins, no fuss, no muss.


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

svHyLyte said:


> Friends of ours sailing a sister ship to ours that are sitting out hurricane season in Trinidad purchased a Little Wonder and report they have been very happy with it. According to them, using only a modest amount of soap and very hot water--a tea kettle's worth from the galley--makes a big difference in terms of cleaning. A hand cranked wringer also comes in handy. Our approach has always been a bit more rudimentary. A black plastic trash bag with a few pounds of dirty clothes, and a gallon or two soapy water, left out in the sun and flopped over and squeezed a few times for several hours seems to get things pretty clean and the water, dumped on the foredeck as the bag is emptied, allows one to give that a scrub as well. We rinse the clothes with our anchor wash-down hose, and then rinse the clothes in a bucket or two of fresh water. Towels are the hardest things to get cleaned and rinsed but with the amount of rain we generally have in Florida during the season, rinsing isn't that much of a problem. We long ago got into using dark blue towels as the dark colors seem to dry relatively more quickly than white and they can be stretched over our Navy Blue sail cover and are pretty much are invisible so that the ship doesn't look like an escapee from the Hooligan Navy.
> 
> FWIW...


Not sure if I was clear, but I have (and use) the Wonder Wash. I do not have a Splendide.

Minne - good feedback there.

Brian


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## svHyLyte (Nov 13, 2008)

Cruisingdad said:


> Not sure if I was clear, but I have (and use) the Wonder Wash. I do not have a Splendide.
> 
> Minne - good feedback there.
> 
> Brian


Brian--Our pals aboard Ocean Angel have the same laundry ball as you, which they refer to as the "Little Wonder". Perhaps in should be written "little Wonder _[Wash]_". We haven't gotten one as, these days, on our travels, periodic stops at reciprocal yacht clubs commonly gives us access to inexpensive washers and dryers and, when not, the black trash bag trick seems to work reasonably well save for towels.


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

svHyLyte said:


> Brian--Our pals aboard Ocean Angel have the same laundry ball as you, which they refer to as the "Little Wonder". Perhaps in should be written "little Wonder _[Wash]_". We haven't gotten one as, these days, on our travels, periodic stops at reciprocal yacht clubs commonly gives us access to inexpensive washers and dryers and, when not, the black trash bag trick seems to work reasonably well save for towels.


No worries. Tell you what, next time you are out, come by and we will let you give it a try (with our clothes of course). Hehe. Just kidding.

Brian


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## vtsailguy (Aug 4, 2010)

Actually, we seem have solved the towel laundry problem.

I got two shamwow's and sewed them together. They make a great towel and dry practically instantly.


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## wind_magic (Jun 6, 2006)

The easiest thing is to open a pack of new socks and throw the dirty ones in the trash. j/k! 

Where does everyone store their dirty clothes ?


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

wind_magic said:


> ...Where does everyone store their dirty clothes ?


Great question. I'm interested to hear full time liveaboard answers. I use a medium sized soft duffle, essentially ready to grab and go do the laundry at any time. Trouble is, no good place to hide the duffle. It just gets shuffled around in our stateroom.

When necessary to do sheets, you just do laundry (ashore) immediately. Way too big to squirrel away.


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

Minnewaska said:


> Great question. I'm interested to hear full time liveaboard answers. I use a medium sized soft duffle, essentially ready to grab and go do the laundry at any time. Trouble is, no good place to hide the duffle. It just gets shuffled around in our stateroom.
> 
> When necessary to do sheets, you just do laundry (ashore) immediately. Way too big to squirrel away.


Hi Minnie and Wind,

Before the current setup, we kept a hamper in one of the heads. The hamper was a cloth one. Been a long time so I don't have pics.

Here is what we use now...





Works great. Clothes don't roll around and it is tidy. Basically, we used a piece of cedar plank (tongue and grooved, you can buy it like this at Home Depot, like we did), and cut it into pieces that fit just behind the door jam. The reason we did this instead of a long, solid piece is it allows you to add planks (via tongue-and-groove) as the clothes pile up, but also pull planks out to get to the clothes (because my arms simply aren't that long).

This may not work fore everyone, it is simply what works for us.

Brian


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## smurphny (Feb 20, 2009)

Nigel Calder mentions a good method in his _Cruising Handbook_: The stomp on the clothes if taking a shower method. If using the shower aboard, why let fresh water escape before it does a second task? I have done this a number of times when no shoreside washer has been handy for a while and both I and the clothes have become a bit ripe.


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## MikeOReilly (Apr 12, 2010)

vtsailguy said:


> Has anyone tried this?
> "The Breathing Mobile Washer"
> About Us


Hi vtsailguy. We use this Mobile Washer, both at our land-based home, and when we're cruising. We used a Wonder Washer for a number of years. It works well, but it is large for our small boat, requires hot water to be effective, and is kinda slow.

I've used plungers before, but the this breather plunger seems to be far more efficient. It's quick, uses no more water than the Wonder Washer, works just fine in cool water, and stores in a much smaller space.


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## vtsailguy (Aug 4, 2010)

Good info, thanks.


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

i tossed the wonder wash i was gifted and prefer my bucket and plunger for daily wear and flap n fold for bed linens and towels. 
floor coverings for cats get hosed off well while in marinas 
on passage dirties --daily clothing, washed or reworn until fall off, then done on board in the bucket, as too dirty to send out. the rest goes to flap n fold nearest my boat either by my muling or calling the local delivery system
for storage of dirties i use laundry bags, a novel concept invented looong ago. this item hangs on a brass hook which came with my boat and is out of the way in the shower. catyakked items, if they exist, go into a large plastic bag for cleaning on a friendly dock or tossed for new old used scatter rugs for cat. 
now, while my boat is being stripped apart fro repairing, there is a cheat i have arranged--friend has house in which i rent a room for storage and or me, and cat. there is a laundry machine on premisis and a nicely sunny line with breezes from 11 am to 7 pm. 

mexico is easy for laundry as flap n folds are plentiful and inexpensive, and are universal. some even give same day service if you bring laundry in by 10, back by 5 pm. earlier if winds are good and day is sunny


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