Daniel and Abby Jo are off grid, so they are always looking for excellent products to help their family achieve an off gird lifestyle. But the good news is, they pass that knowledge on and have started a home based business, selling those great products. And this is just one of those items.
Even if you're not off grid, having a hand plunge washer is a VERY good idea. If the electricity is out for more than a week, most of us would need to do some laundry, if at all possible. And that's not such a far fetched thing, is it? I'm thinking this hurricane season, some of you had a week "off grid" whether you wanted it or not!
It's also great for camping. We took our hand plunge washer along on our recent trip to the river to give it a test run. Thankfully, my oldest daughter had a bit of experience since she had to hand wash all her clothes in Indonesia this summer, so she did my demonstration.
We started with some very dirty items. Not hard to do when you're camping. Here's a pair of pants and a wash cloth that needed some attention...
Kate used a bucket and the little water we had along with some of my homemade laundry soap. We probably should have used more water, but I didn't have any more other than what was left for drinking and river water, but it was enough to do the job. I figure this would replicate a real life water shortage!
You simply work the plunger up and down like you would a toilet plunger - only this one is a hard plastic that is durable, with a bit of a different design to it... and it's CLEAN! You may wish to periodically move the clothes around.
Kate likes to check for spots that need a bit of extra attention. She says you just rub the fabric together where the spot is and it works to loosen the stain. (This is after it's been in the soapy water).
When you feel they're clean, just rinse in clean water and then wring out the excess water. Forgotten Way Farms also has a hand wringer for those who plan to use the hand plunger regularly for a lot of clothes. It would definitely come in handy!
Looking at the results, I'd say it did a pretty good job. This pair of pants were old and had been stained from outdoor play long before we ever went camping, and the rag is an old one I had discarded from the kitchen drawer, so it had permanent stains in it before the trip as well. But you can see the majority of the dirt is out. We could have worked on the rag more, but dinner was calling and we were ready for a good meal after a hard day playing! (For more on washing with a Hand Plunger, visit Abby Jo's blog!)
Enter The Give-Away
1. Visit Forgotten Way Farms and meet Daniel and Abby Jo if you haven't already. Come back and leave a comment telling me how you would use a hand plunge washer. I'd love to hear some creative ideas!
2. Follow Forgotten Way Farm Blog and then leave a comment telling me you've done so and I'll enter you again!
This give-away ends Saturday, September 17 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
