Washing Clothing While At Sea

[Silver Raven]

Originally Posted by Nausikaa

Keep safe James & co.

Batten down and ride it out

Aye // Stephen

G'day & THANKS. there are many of us here. Most of them are far worse-off than ourselves. Sure hope they can 'ride-it-out' A O.K. After a few years at this (both cyclones & both building/rebuilding/construction) I sure do hope they give me a call before they spend to much getting a bad job and allow me to see their problems & see if I can help out. Time will tell. The offer is there.

Got to go. Still screwing 8' x 4' x 1" thick marine ply over the upstairs windows & doors. etc etc. Tnx for your concern. I'm far more worried about all the others in this very big area & hope when - the dust settles - they will call if I can assists. Especially Mico who I've not heard back from yet. Robin we (I) do hope you are safe and the boat is O.K. Give us a ring. Ciao, james

[Gallivanters]

I'm certainly no expert, but...

I threw away (rebuilt and sold, actually) one of the two crappers that came in our boat and installed a HAIER model HLP21E washing machine in it's place. And it goes without saying that you'll also need a high volume watermaker for this to work.

The machine is an appartment-sized top loader and has a 18 inch footprint, so it was quite easy to wrestle into place without needing to do any surgery in our boat. The water supply fitting is the same size & thread pattern common to many shower fittings and the discharge hose is the same size as the original toilet water supply hose. It's powered by the same 800 watt 120 volt inverter we use for every appliance on our boat.

Set it in place, plumb it up, strap it down, plug it in and enjoy fresh sheets and clean cloths anytime, anywhere!

The combo watermaker & washing machine make life aboard mych more civilized and saves us at least three days' of chores whenever we arrive in port by eliminating the need to lug laundry bags and water jugs back & forth in the dinghy.

I passed a fellow cruising sailor lugging four bags of laundry to his dinghy that he's just paid $160 USD to have washed & folded ... while I was lugging our new washing machine to our dinghy that I'd just paid $245 for! That was nearly three years ago in Grenada. The machine has performed flawlessly across the Pacific and I'm astounded that our little 800 watt inverter still handles the job!

A splash of vinagar certainly helps the final rinse. And unlimited hot showers are a constant source of enjoyment in any port AND at sea!

Come on, folks - we really don't have to rough it out here anymore! I'm certain that the cost of the watermaker & washing machine have been offset in the cost of having someone do for us ashore and the labor & indignity of having to do laundry with a bucket & plunger on deck... which also requires lots of water.

Eight 80 watt solar panels provide the power, running the engine-driven 50 gph watermaker supplies the juice, the 100 amp alternator backs it up AND engine heat provides us with hot showers. Six golf cart batteries balances the equation.

It works quite well for the three of us and makes life much easier. And we always smell good, too!

To Life!

Kirk

[MMNETSEA]

Originally Posted by Gallivanters

It works quite well for the three of us and makes life much easier. And we always smell good, too!

To Life!

Kirk

Kirk, I accept that two of the three will smell lovely ! Not so sure about the third!

Brenda, 100% cotton Pyjamas can be very eye-catching if not alluring on a long cruise !



Richard

[redbopeep]

Nighties and PJ's are everywhere which are much more alluring than scrubs, yes!

[MMNETSEA]

Originally Posted by redbopeep

Nighties and PJ's are everywhere which are much more alluring than scrubs, yes!

Somewhere in Cruiser Log's archive we have a topic on what to wear at sea, In the tropics specifically for and in countries with high UV readings (Australia for example) making sure that skin is hidden from the sun, 100% cotton 'pyjama type' apparel was discussed. We used to buy 100% white cotton kitchen 'uniforms' which were loose fitting, long sleeved and very comfortable to wear.

Quite good enough for Naomi Campbell to wear on the cat walk. Naomi should have got her boy friend to wear his cotton kitchen pyjamas :-

Naomi's Boyfriend Stung By Jellyfish

6 February 2011

Supermodel Naomi Campbell is nursing her billionaire boyfriend Vladimir Doronin back to health after he was reportedly stung by a jellyfish while on vacation in Thailand.

The British beauty and her Russian lover were wading in the Andaman Sea off the coast of Phuket this week (begs31Jan11) when Doronin emerged from the water with painful-looking red weals on his back.

Campbell was snapped wincing as she examined the injury, reports DailyMail.co.uk.

But the businessman refused to let the apparent sting ruin his holiday fun - he jumped back into the sea moments later. »

[Nausikaa]

Originally Posted by redbopeep

Nighties and PJ's are everywhere which are much more alluring than scrubs, yes!

When I was at university I met a girl from the same university at a dance. She looked gorgeous. I told her so and happened to mention that I thought her dress was fantastic.

My compliment was met by a burst of hysterical laughter.

It turns out that she could not find a suitable dress for the dance but did find a very fancy and suitable nighty which only required a little trimming to change it into a dress suitable, at least, for one occassion. Believe me, it looked nothing like my great grandmother's flannel nighdresses!

I know I was fooled and I know I am not always difficult to fool but that "dress" could have fooled anyone (at least any male).

It puts a whole new dimension of pyjamas parties!

Aye // Stephen

[caddyspanker]

Don't use Ammonia. Use Dawn. A lot safer to breath. The heat will make a bad combination with the ammonia and like mentioned before if you open it and breath it after it has been exposed to heat you can have problems.

[Gracy]

I think you can wash clothes and stuff with natural so called "soap nuts" while on board, they don't contain any chemicals and are easier to wash away. They are called Sapindus Trifoliatus or Acacia Concinna. Has anyone tried them?

[delatbabel]

Originally Posted by caddyspanker

Don't use Ammonia. Use Dawn. A lot safer to breath. The heat will make a bad combination with the ammonia and like mentioned before if you open it and breath it after it has been exposed to heat you can have problems.

What is Dawn? In my country it's a brand of chocolate, I can't see that making your clothes clean.

[JeanneP]

Dawn is a US brand of dishwashing liquid that works well in salt water.

I am suspicious of any product that is sold at a high price and is touted as not containing any chemicals, since everything contains chemicals. Soap nuts is just another one of those "natural" products with lots of nebulous undefined claims. Not as bad as some of the on line products touting what New Scientist Magazine calls "fruitloopery" however.

[JoshW]

I did my first sailing trip last year just off the coast of Panama and I'm hoping to get the time off work to go for a longer trip this year. One issue I had was how to do laundry while on board and thus how I came across this forum.

I may have found a good solution as I stumbled across a laundry device on IndieGoGo that is extremely compact and apparently washes clothes in just minutes.

I have ordered one as it should also double as a dry bag. I'm interested to know whether more experienced sailors think this will be sufficient to do laundry on board during a 1 month sailing trip.

[redbopeep]

This isn't a product, yet. It's a website for someone making a drybag into a washing bag. The concept would work fine, of course. People use contractor trash bags as wash bags--so why not a dry bag?

I've removed the link to the fund raising site. I assume that you're either associated with the product or you decided to help fund its development into a product (e.g. "I ordered one").

Fair winds

[mico]

Years ago some friends of ours picked up a little plastic bubble thingie with a handle and rotating frame. You stuffed your dirty clothes (pair of jeans, some socks and two T shirts were the limit I think) put in some washing powder and half a litre of hot water. You then sealed it up and turned the handle for 15 minutes. Apparently the combination of the rotating action, pressure from the hot water and the powder cleaned your clothes better than a washing machine. They swore by it although we have never used one ourselves and I can't recall the name of it. I only bring this up as I noticed a second hand one in the recycle bin at our local boat bits store going for $10. I think I might buy it

[redbopeep]

mico, many years ago while I was shopping for a washer for my house I read what Consumer Reports had in review on washers and on detergents. The bottom line of what I learned was that the longer the laundry was in contact with water, the cleaner things would be. Agitation didn't matter, detergents/soaps didn't matter (except that grease needs a bit of detergent to pull it away from the soiled item). So, I began the habit of doing a "pre-soak" on my loads of laundry and I cut back on detergent. Made a difference.

We have a washer aboard--mainly because w have room and because the wringer function (spin) works great to get things initially dry. If we didn't have room, I'd likely be doing what I used to do: Soak the laundry in a large bucket or cooler (my previous method) or a contractor bag as Trim suggests in this thread. Agitate by sticking my hand in it for a few minutes, drain, hand wring a bit, soak it again and then drain, wring out and hang to dry. No extra parts needed. I'd invest any extra time and space to a hand wringer --well worth it. JMHO.

[mico]

Oh for more room!

I think it's time for another catch up on your beautiful vessel Redbopeep! We have really enjoyed your posts about the work you've been doing on her in the past. How about a mini pictorial walk thru sometime? We'd certainly be very interested in an overview look

Fair winds,


Mico

[KenOceanGuy]

REI and most camping outdoors stores are now selling long term travel undergarments and shirts for men and women. They are treated with anti microbial and other treatments to extend the wear up to 2 weeks without getting nasty. Possibly a way around laundry if you only need undies or a shirt a few times during a voyage.

[redbopeep]

Originally Posted by KenOceanGuy

REI They are treated with anti microbial and other treatments to extend the wear up to 2 weeks without getting nasty. Possibly a way around laundry if you only need undies or a shirt a few times during a voyage.

I wonder what anti microbial treatments they have? This is an interesting idea.

However, I do love my clean, clean clothes

You all got me thinking about laundry and I decided to wash the duvet (comforter cover) as well as sheets today. The boat smells really nice since I use a lavender fabric softener.

Method has a great new biodegradable laundry detergent that is highly concentrated and tiny. 20 FL (600 ml) does 50 loads. It is a pump bottle about the size of what you'd see for a large container of dishwashing detergent. see the link here

Mico--nope. I like my messy boat interior to be my private, messy boat
I do appreciate those great people who share their pics and info online though.

[JeanneP]

Mico,

If the bubble thingy is a "Wonder Wash", we had one for about two months back when we were in Australia. I disliked it intensely because it had such a small capacity, I still had to wring the soapy water out and then rinse, and it took me so much longer than doing a whole lot in a 5-gallon bucket. It also was a miserably shaped object to try to stow anyplace.

A 5-gallon bucket and a toilet plunger will do a lot of laundry for very little effort and water. The trick is to keep washing and wringing out the laundry, starting with the whites, and adding new dirty clothes until they're all washed or the wash water has turned quite black. Then rinse and wring the laundry, starting with the whites again. If I worked carefully I could do two sets of linens and towels, and all our dirty clothes that had accumulated for two weeks, with just about 10 gallons of water.

On passages I'd wash a little bit of stuff at a time, using salt water for the wash water, then rinsing with fresh water. If it looked as if it was going to rain, I'd dump a lot of stuff in a bucket with soap and catch the water runoff to do the clothes.

If you use Napi-San soak, you can often get away with no soap and just a rinse.

[wilsonsdarrek]

Try to create your outdoor clothes less stinky. In other terms, don't perspire too much. Actually this is a wise decision for another purpose. If you get your outfits wet with perspire, later you may have a issue remaining heated.

[Auzzee]

I was told to put dirty clothes in a string 'onion' bag and tow them behind the boat for an hour or so. I'm not sure if it works. My favourite shorts, T shirt, and several other bits disappeared. I don't know if my knot was not knotty enough, or if a big hungry fishy decided it needed my clothes more than I did.
Either way, rinsing and drying was not needed...so, success..sorta!
I've since used a 20 ltr drum with a large screw top. Put in the dirties with a bit of dishwashing liquid and salt water. Sail a bit. Do a salt water rinse the same way (sans le detergent), wring the clothes and do a fresh water rinse the same way. Sometimes two. A decent offshore apparel wash can be done to the accompanyment of a pleasant day's sailing.
Drying hint: In an effort to keep drying clothes and linen away from salt spray, don't peg them to a spare halyard (Tied of course to a spare line attached to the deck) and haul them aloft. First, it looks stupid, and second, god didn't invent pegs strong enough to deal with flappers drying in the 'slot'.
As my mother used to say, 'David, sometimes you can be so bloomin' dense'.
Uh-huh!