Washing Clothing While At Sea

[SeaVenture]

We have a Splendide washer/dryer--vented--that is such a gift to me. It will wash and dry our two big bath towels (I like big and fluffy) along with hand towels and washcloths in one load. The drying takes a while, so if the weather permits, we get the drying started in the machine and hang out for the last bit.

After six months in Ensenada our lines were black--probably from the mess in the air from boat burning that takes place across the harbor. (I hate to think what our lungs look like). I tried the old soak in the bucket trick, but though cleanish, they remained grey and ugly. So I put one line at a time in the washer, set it to cold water with an extra rinse, and let the machine do the work. Lovely, lovely lines. No heat, of course, but the gentle tossing (the machine seems to do everything in slow motion) did the trick.

In bad weather I often have laundry hanging all over the pilothouse and lower salon, and in good, on lines outside just because some things don't get exposed to heat and some I like sun-dried. But the extra nudge from the dryer for towels and jeans is a blessing I wouldn't want to do without. And I'm too old to mess with hauling to a laundromat.

As for longevity of the unit, I haven't a clue. We've had this one for about three years. It has bounced and heaved with the rest of us in some nasty water and works like a charm. May it continue to do so....

[SilentOption]

Originally Posted by SeaVenture

We have a Splendide washer/dryer--vented--that is such a gift to me.

Thanks for responding. I am looking at the Splendide and now I'm convinced.

I was going to give my wife a toaster or new vacuum for her birthday but this is so much better!

[MJWarner]

I know I'm getting real late on this topic, but in January I didn't have a computer, so please bear w/ me. I am sailing w/ my husband Al from NC to the Bahamas for 3 months this November. Laundry has been on my mind since it's my job and after reading this thread w/ interest, I have bought this.

It was the least expensive of all the wringers I found; I figured it would be a little less expensive than hauling all the laundry ashore, plus I know my hands are not up to the shroud wringing routine, and I want do my own laundry on the boat. I like the ammonia idea, but Al is convinced that since it doesn't get rinsed out, when we wear the clothes and sweat (and we will sweat) the ammonia will reactivate and give us an irritating rash. Do I need to worry? I know if he's right, he will never let me live it down if I experiment on ourselves. (we can be quite rough on each other when we are suffering from irritating rashes, and I make no apology for that.) Anyone with first hand experience, can you say definitively the ammonia won't cause a rash or irritation? Thanks, Martha s/v Journey 1977 Islander28

[MMNETSEA]

Here is a reference not to use ammonia with any form of bleach in this very good write up on laundry when cruising :-

WASH DAY BLUES

[osirissailing]

If your wife thinks you need a washer-dryer on board your boat - then DO NOT go sailing with her out in the ocean. You will be divorced at your first landfall. She is not ready unless your boat is cruise liner sized vessel. Do 5 years in the islands with her where she will learn that washing clothes is not done at sea. Only when anchored somewhere and then you take them ashore for the locals to wash and dry. If you do enough extended "cruising" you will notice that few if any men and women wear underwear at sea. A bathing suit is standard or shorts and a T-shirt style top is normal uniform at sea. Once anchored in a nice place then the "normal" landside clothing is worn.

When at sea with the boat pitching, rolling, and heeled over going below to do the wash is not even up for discussion. Trying to cook food is dangerous and very difficult, so most "pre-cook" meals before getting underway or eat foods that do not need cooking. Beside the first day or two or three, nobody is really in the "mood" to eat especially in rough conditions. Sailing is a great weight reduction program. You eat minimal food at sea, lose excess pounds and feel and look great when you get to your destination; then you put it all back on by "chowing down" when you are finally at anchor again.

[JeanneP]

Originally Posted by osirissailing

When at sea with the boat pitching, rolling, and heeled over going below to do the wash is not even up for discussion. Trying to cook food is dangerous and very difficult, so most "pre-cook" meals before getting underway or eat foods that do not need cooking.

Don't mean to sound smug, but I always cooked while underway. *In fact, since I preferred long passages, I rewarded Peter by making foods he really liked then - cakes, custards, banana bread, etc. *We always ate better on passages than when we were in port. *We always had brewed coffee in a carafe, no matter how bad the weather.

But I admit, I never did laundry while on a passage. *Maybe that's why I liked the passages so much!

[redbopeep]

Originally Posted by osirissailing

If your wife thinks you need a washer-dryer on board your boat - then DO NOT go sailing with her out in the ocean. You will be divorced at your first landfall. She is not ready unless your boat is cruise liner sized vessel. Do 5 years in the islands with her where she will learn that washing clothes is not done at sea. Only when anchored somewhere and then you take them ashore for the locals to wash and dry. If you do enough extended "cruising" you will notice that few if any men and women wear underwear at sea. A bathing suit is standard or shorts and a T-shirt style top is normal uniform at sea. Once anchored in a nice place then the "normal" landside clothing is worn.

When at sea with the boat pitching, rolling, and heeled over going below to do the wash is not even up for discussion. Trying to cook food is dangerous and very difficult, so most "pre-cook" meals before getting underway or eat foods that do not need cooking. Beside the first day or two or three, nobody is really in the "mood" to eat especially in rough conditions. Sailing is a great weight reduction program. You eat minimal food at sea, lose excess pounds and feel and look great when you get to your destination; then you put it all back on by "chowing down" when you are finally at anchor again.

Not everyone is the same:

If one is cruising in anything but the tropics (especially high latitudes), one definitely doesn't live in shorts/T's or bathing suits! Here in "warm" So. Cal even in the summer we find ourselves all bundled up with jackets, sweaters, gloves...at night when sailing.

I've spent years washing clothes in a bucket, bag, or any other way while on trips up to about a month in length. Some of those trips being shorts/T type tropical trips. Even so, there's always laundry--the sheets, the dish towels, etc.

You can wash at sea in a contractor bag or in a cooler--letting the motion work for you in getting things clean. Its the drying that's a problem. Ah, that's where the washer-dryer and a gen-set is useful...

If one has a large boat (as the originator of this topic does and we do...) there's no reason NOT to have a washer/dryer onboard and to use it as the larger boats are likely to have good tankage, a sizeable gen-set, etc.

About the eating/cooking...cooking on passage is fine. I love a story my good friend tells me of their first long trip--a passage from HI back to WA--they ate everything they could they were just so hungry. She said they looked forward to meals like they had at no other time. So, next trip they laid in more supplies to deal with the extra hunger. The only reason one would eat less on passage is seasickness, of course. It usually goes away in a few days for most folks. Binge and starve eating patterns aren't healthy, by the way.

[behang]

I have a few things to add...

>> she will learn that washing clothes is not done at sea

I disagree. We don't have any trouble doing laundry underway. Different strokes. ;-) We pick our times- salt water spray is not a friend to laundry! But it's easy enough to find those times. There are 5 of us on board, with the 3 kids... if we waited to do it ashore / at anchor, we'd be swimming in dirty clothes. Ew.

>> wonders of vinegar are quite something

Vinegar is fantastic for laundry! It especially useful as a natural fabric softener. I always (OK, when I remember- but as soon as I feel the clothes when I forget, it's apparent) add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup to the fresh water rinse per "load"... that would be the 5-gallon bucket we do laundry in.

Our basic method:

- wash in salt water- 5 gallon bucket, a dedicated toilet plunger is awesome for agitating and saves your hands

- rinse in salt water

- rinse again in salt water

- wring out as much as possible

- rinse in fresh water

- wring out, hang to dry... we usually put clothes on our (spectra) lifelines.

While we're on the subject... please consider your choice of detergents, since it's being dumped overboard. It's easy enough to stock up on something more environmentally friendly while it's available to you. I do not understand the cruiser obsession with Joy. it's harsh, it's full of junk hello, carcinogens and hormone disruptors? I do not want you setting my daughters up for breast cancer. please go away), and the whole thing about suds is... well, I guess it's personal preference (back to that different strokes thing!), because you don't need suds for things to get clean. That is old cruising lore I would love to see go away.

If I had to get into extolling the virtues of vinegar on board, this would get absurdly long. Hmm, might need a new thread!

Behan

www.sv-totem.com

PS thank you, thank you, thank you to the person who posted the chamois wringer. I couldn't bring myself to pay the crazy Lehman's price for their yuppies-who-wanna-go-traditionalist wringer... I guess it's handmade by Amish virgins or something. Anyway, I can't wait to order one of these!

[redbopeep]

Originally Posted by behang

PS thank you, thank you, thank you to the person who posted the chamois wringer. I couldn't bring myself to pay the crazy Lehman's price for their yuppies-who-wanna-go-traditionalist wringer... I guess it's handmade by Amish virgins or something. Anyway, I can't wait to order one of these!

The high price of Lehman's wringers has kept me away from buying one as well. A chamois wringer will be unlikely to handle the sorts of things I would wish to wring out (heavy fabrics) but should work great for lightweight things. Some wringers are widely adjustable for thickness of fabric being wrung through while others (like the chamois wringer) are simply made for thin stuff.

As I recall from a different post, you're in Mexico right now--you will find hand wringers as well as high quality washboards in the stores which do not cater to tourists. They will likely be a very good price.

fair winds,

[Auspicious]

I too cook on offshore passages. There isn't a lot else to do after SSB e-mail and wefax. *grin* I usually serve two big meals and one or two smaller snacks, plus maintain a snack bag.

I sometimes do laundry on longer passages. When the laundry (usually t-shirts and underwear) smells more than I do something must be done. I use ammonia and fresh water in a 5-gal bucket that I leave for a day or so tied on the aft deck. If we are becalmed I wipe the salt off the lifelines and dry there, otherwise I wring everything out and rotate it through the shower stall. This works particularly well in colder weather when my diesel heater keeps the head particularly warm.

Sheets and towels get washed ashore after landfall.

I keep a set of clean sheets and towels taped up in a trash bag on longer passages so that after cleaning ourselves we have clean towels and then clean sheets even if it takes a day to get the laundry done.

[redbopeep]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

I keep a set of clean sheets and towels taped up in a trash bag on longer passages so that after cleaning ourselves we have clean towels and then clean sheets even if it takes a day to get the laundry done.

We keep spare sheets and towels double packed in vac-bags (the kind with a valve and you press out the air or use a vacuum on it) since they take up much less space that way. I also pack all my "spare" clothes in vac-bags (the kind you roll to press out the excess air) before storing them in the stateroom. Again, they take up less space this way. Hubby can't seem to manage to keep such things organized and airtight, so all his clothes--spare and normal wear--reside together in mesh baskets open to the humid air. I worry that his stuff will get musty, but not enough to take care of his clothes management...and so far so good no mustiness.

[Aquaria]

Originally Posted by redbopeep

We keep spare sheets and towels double packed in vac-bags (the kind with a valve and you press out the air or use a vacuum on it) since they take up much less space that way. I also pack all my "spare" clothes in vac-bags (the kind you roll to press out the excess air) before storing them in the stateroom. Again, they take up less space this way. Hubby can't seem to manage to keep such things organized and airtight, so all his clothes--spare and normal wear--reside together in mesh baskets open to the humid air. I worry that his stuff will get musty, but not enough to take care of his clothes management...and so far so good no mustiness.

Saving room is one nice advantage. And we too love to use these bags because they keep sheets and clothes fresh and dry. No problem to store a spare pair of bed sheets or the clothes and shirts for the better occasions in a not so well ventilated locker for weeks and months. Unpacked they are nearly as fresh as just washed and dried. *Even if they are stowed in not so well ventilated lockers close to the hull (in higher latitudes), moisture and mold is not a problem any more!

Uwe

SY Aquaria

[Allan]

Here is a gadget that I have used a bit

We had 5 people for 2 weeks once and washed double bed sheets towels and all the clothes

Uses about 2 litres of water per wash

http://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdeta...tAbsolutePage=1

Allan

[ovnijad]

Originally Posted by redbopeep

I thought I'd post a couple "alternatives" to the trash bag mode and the other extreme of having a regular washer/dryer.

Here's a link for a non-electric hand-machine. Link

We live on board and we use the WonderWash, a very cheap manual and very practical wash machine. You do up to 10 Tshirts at the time!

Enough for the day to day. For larger pieces such as bed sheets, we go on land, not in the marinas as it is often more expensive than the local shops.

Pªhilippe

JAD

www.ovnijad.com

[redbopeep]

Back to vinegar. Other than laundry detergent, dishwash soap, and personal soap, I've found that having three things aboard pretty much cover all my cleaning and disinfecting needs--vinegar, bleach, and Simple Green. The vinegar and bleach keep us clean and un-moldy; the Simple Green deals with grease and what-not around the engine. My cleaning locker has become pretty straightforward.

[Netteypatch]

I like using hospital scrubs; they're light, easy to clean with minimal soap and sparse amounts of fresh water 'waste'.

[MMNETSEA]

Originally Posted by Netteypatch

I like using hospital scrubs; they're light, easy to clean with minimal soap and sparse amounts of fresh water 'waste'.

Can you get scrubs in 100% cotton ?

[redbopeep]

When I googled "100% cotton hospital scrubs" I found many hits, many available. However, scrubs are the equivalent of walking around in pajamas so I don't know why anyone would choose scrubs over a variety of other comfortable and attractive clothing.

[Silver Raven]

Originally Posted by redbopeep

When I googled "100% cotton hospital scrubs" I found many hits, many available. However, scrubs are the equivalent of walking around in pajamas so I don't know why anyone would choose scrubs over a variety of other comfortable and attractive clothing.

Hi there & G'day. Brenda - suggest (tongue in cheek) of course. BRING ALL LAUNDRY TO OUR Place. CAT 4 C/W 200/250 KPH WINDS WITHIN 36 HRS WITH UP TO 4 MTR - STORM SURGE PLUS LOST & LOTS OF RAIN. Not yelling - of course - just making the point. A tad bit of wind, rain, swells & much of the etc's. Am very glad y'all are not here, although there are several families coming up the mountain to our place to 'camp' in the house (rough but warm & dry - maybe) for the next few + days.Throw-away comment here; we may well be 'off-the-air- for some days from now, but WE WILL BE O.K. trust me - I'm a bloody crocodile, (that's a Ladies joke) Stay well everyone & just send your laundry via pellican. Very late here & not much sleep for the next 72 hrs. so until then Ciao, james. Lady Pamela & all our parrots - lol

[Nausikaa]

Keep safe James & co.

Batten down and ride it out

Aye // Stephen