Washing clothes by hand

BlondeAmbition

Hi all. I buy a lot of clothes that need to be washed by hand. I find it tedious and difficult to do so. Does anyone have any tips on how to wash clothes by hand that is not such back breaking work? Where do you wash your clothes by hand? In the sink, tub, a little basin? What kind of detergent do you use? What technique do you use for washing garments by hand? I could really use some feedback, right now I have a pile of clothes I'm too lazy to wash by hand and need some tips and encouragement

13 years ago

General

9 replies

Latest reply was from crst

Diana

Veteran

I generally put things in the sink with soapy water to soak while I take a shower, then when I am done with my shower I rinse them out and hang them in the shower to dry. I figure handwash only clothes probably should not get wrung too much anyway, so I pretty much just push them around a little bit when I put them in the sink and again when I am rinsing. I also do not wring the water out. If it's something heavy like a sweater, I wrap it in a towel and press on the towel (this will sound weird, but you can actually put the towel with the wet garment inside on the floor and step on it to press the water out (with clean feet of course!).

For detergent I actually just use my regular detergent since it is scent-free and I cannot abide any detergents with smells. I use All Free and Clear if that helps, and my clothes seem to do OK. I put very little detergent in the water. In a pinch, you can actually use mild shampoo (as long as it is the kind without conditioner added) especially on natural fibers since they're basically hair.

There are also various types of gentle soaking washes you can buy; a lot of knitters use them. Eucalan and Soak are two types, and supposedly you do not have to rinse them out after you wash. I don't use them because the aforementioned smell issue, but lots of people like them.

13 years ago

Kristin L

Veteran

I usually put my things (one at a time) into a lingerie bag and wash it in the washing machine on delicate.

13 years ago

Anonymous

I handwash many of my knits, regardless on what's on the label. I live in an apartment complex with a communal laundry facility. Those washers are commercial issue and don't have delicate cycles. That's why.

As far as technique, lol, I have a mid size plastic basin that I put on top of my kitchen sink for this purpose. I don't like to use the tub or the bathroom sink, since I'm tall and they sit too low. I don't like to use the kitchen sink without the plastic basin either, as there might be oils from food etc, that might ruin my clothes. I don't soak because my OCD tendencies go haywire if I see a lot of the dye coming out of the garment, so I do a quick dunk, rub on armpits and collar, and rinse routine. I have - don't laugh- a spaghetti drainer I use for rinsing. I put the soapy garment inside, let the faucet run atop for a few secs and I'm done. I wring the item without twisting, since I don't like to leave a lot of water inside the garment to weight it down, when hanging, since I don't have space to lay things flat. I then lay on a clothing rack to dry. Most things dry overnight. You might have discovered 1001 OCD tendencies thru this explanation, lol.

As far as soap, I use Woolite dark and regular Woolite. Some people hate this brand or don't see the benefit, but I've been using it for years with good results.

13 years ago

BethL

(website)

Veteran

Depending on the item, I either do what Kristin does and wash things in lingerie bags in the machine on delicate, or I wash them in the sink like Diana and Zapotee. I do use the non-rinse cleansers, specifically Soak Wash. I knit, so I started using those kinds of products for my hand-knits, and then I just started using them for my other hand-washables and liked how they worked. I really like not having go to go through the rinsing process, and I like how they make the fabrics feel. I'm sensitive to scents, too, but Soak now comes in a fragrance-free formula.

13 years ago

Ana

(website)

Veteran

I usually only hand wash bras. I put them in a little plastic tub with some Eucalan, which Alicat recommended. It's a non-rinse cleaner, which saves a lot of work. Anything else that might be hand wash, I put into a lingerie bag and run in the machine on delicate. I air dry almost all my clothes.

13 years ago

BlondeAmbition

Active Member

Thanks for the replies. When you run a delicate cycle, what goes in the garment bag and what stays out of a garment bag?

13 years ago

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I use this in the bathroom sink

http://www.amazon.com/Forever-.....+detergent

13 years ago

Veteran

I pretty much use Diana's technique. I would add though, that gently squeezing the suds through the garment is great for gently removing dirt and oils. I wash them in a clear dish detergent, although I've heard baby shampoo is good too.

For something like a silk scarf, I would not let it soak more than a minute or two, to prevent bleeding. A pinch of salt in the wash water is supposed to help. And adding some vinegar to the rinse water is supposed to restore shine.

For me, not letting it pile up is key. As soon as I decide something needs washing, I hang it up beside my bath towels, and wash it at the next shower. I get easily overwhelmed otherwise and reluctant to do it.

13 years ago

crst

Active Member

A wonderful product I have found - Soak Wash Scentless, which is sold at Amazon among other places. The reason it is so great is that it doesn't need to be rinsed out. Just soak for 15 minutes, gently get as much water out of the item as possible and air dry. I used to hate (and avoid) hand washing, it was so hard to be sure I got all of the soap out. Now I really don't mind it at all, well not nearly as much...

13 years ago

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