….On grid down laundry

 

This is the first of a series of gear reviews that I will be leisurely doing. Due to the nature of our 16 person retreat, I have collected a lot of really cool useful gear. I will share my experiences and opinion of them here, as well as the price and a source if I can remember it. D.

 

One of the many skills that will be necessary during a prolonged grid down situation will be keeping your clothes clean. Even if you have a solar power system or generators, you will not want to waste your limited fuel and resources running that energy sucking motor and pump in your washer.

 

On one of my many forays to Amazon.com looking for an old fashioned scrub board, which I bought along with a couple large plastic laundry buckets from ALDI, I came upon a rather unique device. After reading the positive reviews. I bought two! By the way I also bought a scrub board and large galvanized scrub bucket from Tractor Supply. I did not test these as our elders were very successful with them for decades.

 

I did my manual laundry test in my bathtub to minimize any mess. Filling a 6 gallon bucket half full of water and adding a measure of Oxi-clean, I placed some problem yellowed T-shirts in the bucket and then the washing plunger. It is a 8” diameter cone within a cone with a substantial 23” screw in wooden handle.

 

Per the instructions, I vigorously worked the handle up and down as you would a butter churn. The nature of the device creates a suction that pulls the soapy water through your clothes with out damaging them. You can easily feel the suction action at work. A few minutes of this and I changed the dirty soapy water for clean to repeat the process to rinse. I rinsed twice.

 

This unit uses minimum water and smaller amount of soap than usual. It is very efficient, but don’t plan on doing a load size that you would put in your washer. The threads in the cone would probably take a full sized pole (like those used for paint rollers) and allow you to stand or sit on a stool while plunging.

 

Upon hanging my shirts to dry, I found that the yellowing was gone. My conventional washer was unable to do this. The device proved more than adequate to launder a small batch of clothes.

 

I must say that this is work and would probably make a nice addition to your exercise schedule…but it does work well. MOBILE WASHER $14.95 (price changes frequently – currently $26 with free shipping on orders over $35) found on Amazon.com.

 

…..cleanly off grid. Regards, D.

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The above article was an entry into the ModernSurvivalOnline Survival & Preparedness Guest Post Contest. Want to enter? You will have a chance to win the following - 

First Place will receive:

• Inergy has donated their “Lion” Ultralight, Portable Lithium Power System including a 20 watt semi-flexible solar panel and two 5 Watt LED Lights. Total Value: $560+
• Forge Survival Supply is providing an awesome Parry Blade “Hunter” Knife. Value: $249.00
• A $200 Gift Certificate from PatriotAmmoSupply.com

Total Prize Value in excess of $1000.00+!! Awesome.

 

Second Place will receive:

• A Covert/Overt Level II Body Armor Vest from SafeGuardClothing.com. Value: $249.00
• CampingSurvival.com has provided a case of MRE’s manufactured by Sopakco . Value: $120.00
• Directive21.com has donated a Case of 10-15 year Shelf Life Canned Chicken. Value: $150.00
• Choate Machine & Tool has provided a $150.00 Gift Certificate. Value: $150.00
• An autographed copy of the excellent book - EMP: Equipping Modern Patriots by Jonathan Hollerman

Total Prize Value in access of $670.00+!!   Cool!!

 

Third Place will receive:

• A $200 Gift Certificate from EPSWarehouse.com. Value: $200.00
• HCMags.com is providing one of their new HCMAGS Ruger 10/22 Tactical Packs along with an extra HC3R 25-rd Ruger 10/22 magazine and a pack of their innovative Stripper Clips. Value: $130.00+
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• An autographed copy of the excellent book - EMP: Equipping Modern Patriots by Jonathan Hollerman

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• A $30.00 Gift Certificate from Emergency Essentials
• Old West Lawman’s Forgotten Memoir courtesy of http://www.oldwestlawmansforgottenmemoir.com/.  Available in Kindle, PDF, and Printed formats. Value: $20+
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• An autographed copy of the excellent book - EMP: Equipping Modern Patriots by Jonathan Hollerman

Total Prize Value in access of $120.00!!

Fifth Place:

• Author Archer Garrett is providing your choice of 5 books from his series - The Western Front, Kratocracy Part 1, The Nine of the North, and many more. For selection visit his Amazon page HERE.  Value: $50.00+
• The TSP Gear Shop is donating the following items related to the 299 Days Book Series: Value: $50.00
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Total Prize Value in access of $100.00!!

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