The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

Steven Lake
Steven Lake Solar Expert Posts: 402 ✭✭
in Energy Use & Conservation #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl1Hqc1MGJk

I don't know whether to call that desperate, or ingenious, but if nothing else, it's definately a green way to do your laundry. haha.

PS: Yes, it's not solar or wind powered, but since it's human powered, it *is* powered by a renewable energy source. So it counts. ;) :P
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Comments

  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    Everyone knows front-loaders are more efficient than top-loaders. :p

    We actually do laundry in a tub at the cabin. Soaking alone can go a long way towards cleaning clothes; not much agitation required. You can also rinse twice to remove detergent residue, and hang on the line to dry: no fabric softener required.
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  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    Priceless! lol - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
    #4
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!
    Cariboocoot wrote: »
    We actually do laundry in a tub at the cabin. Soaking alone can go a long way towards cleaning clothes; not much agitation required. You can also rinse twice to remove detergent residue, and hang on the line to dry: no fabric softener required.

    But can you knit a sweater while doing it? ;)
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  • TheBackRoads
    TheBackRoads Solar Expert Posts: 274 ✭✭
    #5
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    OMG that would get so old! I'd much rather just use a real washing machine lol:roll:
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  • MiamiSunrise
    MiamiSunrise Registered Users Posts: 22 ✭
    #6
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    Interestingly, today I had a customer telling me about their amazingly good results with one of these:
    Rapid Washer Manual Washing Machine ... or fancy space-age turlet plunger... you decide

    Basically it's just a big louvered device you repeatedly plunge up and down and it circulates water through your laundry. The net effect of this would be the same as just soaking your laundry, then reaching in and sloshing it around for a couple of minutes before squashing out the soapy water and rinsing.

    Many antique washing machines just did the same thing that your modern home top loader do, an agitator would slosh back and forth, actuated by a big hand lever that you'd push and pull for a little while before unloading the laundry. One nice feature of these is that you can keep the same wash water and reuse it for several loads until it becomes gunky.

    One common design for early automatic washers was a sorta kidney bean shaped tub that rocked back and forth, creating a sloshing motion. Creative application of a gear reduction mechanism to the drive cam and a hamster wheel should work pretty well here.....
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  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    #7
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    I can remember my mom's old washer had a suds saver which pumped the wash water into a side sink basin. You then wash whites first and the really soiled stuff last. The washer would pump that soapy water back and forth reusing until to dirty.
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  • solarvic
    solarvic Solar Expert Posts: 1,071 ✭✭✭✭
    #8
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    Solar dave, My grandmother had a Kenmore washer you described. Also On hhk channel from Japan they had a show about how some conserve on water there. First the man and wife took a bath in the same water. Next the washer had a pump that pumped the bath water into the washer. The washer circulated the water to a rinse tub and pumped the water back for another load of wash. :Dsolarvic:D
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  • ggunn
    ggunn Solar Expert Posts: 1,973 ✭✭✭
    #9
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!
    solarvic wrote: »
    Solar dave, My grandmother had a Kenmore washer you described. Also On hhk channel from Japan they had a show about how some conserve on water there. First the man and wife took a bath in the same water...
    Who went first? ;^)
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  • solarvic
    solarvic Solar Expert Posts: 1,071 ✭✭✭✭
    #10
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!
    ggunn wrote: »
    Who went first? ;^)
    The husband was first.
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  • ggunn
    ggunn Solar Expert Posts: 1,973 ✭✭✭
    #11
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!
    solarvic wrote: »
    The husband was first.
    I can just hear all the women in the audience going "Ewwww!" ;^)
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  • TheBackRoads
    TheBackRoads Solar Expert Posts: 274 ✭✭
    #12
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!
    ggunn wrote: »
    I can just hear all the women in the audience going "Ewwww!" ;^)

    I can hear all the men going EWWW if it was the other way around too ;):p
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  • ggunn
    ggunn Solar Expert Posts: 1,973 ✭✭✭
    #13
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!
    TheBackRoads wrote: »
    I can hear all the men going EWWW if it was the other way around too ;):p
    Are you kidding me? Men will go into a peed-in hot tub and call it a bath!
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  • TheBackRoads
    TheBackRoads Solar Expert Posts: 274 ✭✭
    #14
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    hahahaha I suppose so...:D
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #15
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    i think you guys are going where this forum shouldn't.:blush:
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #16
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    What did Niel just say, guys?
    That's two posts I've just had to delete; do you want to try for closed thread?
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  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
    #17
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!
    Cariboocoot wrote: »
    What did Niel just say, guys?
    That's two posts I've just had to delete; do you want to try for closed thread?

    Seriously?? All I see is some humour on a thread that has no clear topic, why is it necessary to moderate this? :confused:
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #18
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    We try to keep the forum both professionally (funded by NAWS) and family friendly.

    Also keeps moderation easier and fewer misunderstandings on a forum with visitors from around the world.

    Nobody is going to get banned or anything marked in their permanent record over attempts at internet humor. ;)

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #19
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    I made double sure that there were no naked iguanas in the hot tub.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #20
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    :p

    -Bill "pushed the iguana photo limits years ago here" B.
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • ggunn
    ggunn Solar Expert Posts: 1,973 ✭✭✭
    #21
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!
    mike90045 wrote: »
    I made double sure that there were no naked iguanas in the hot tub.

    Uh-oh! ba-DUM ba-DUM ba-DUM...

    Sorry if I offended anyone.
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  • ggunn
    ggunn Solar Expert Posts: 1,973 ✭✭✭
    #22
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!
    Cariboocoot wrote: »
    What did Niel just say, guys?
    That's two posts I've just had to delete; do you want to try for closed thread?

    Hey, at least I left out the line about throwing your... (dang, there's no family rated version of that, is there?)... overboard, didn't I? ;)

    Sorry about that, chief.
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  • TheBackRoads
    TheBackRoads Solar Expert Posts: 274 ✭✭
    #23
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    My bad mods! :blush:
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #24
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!
    TheBackRoads wrote: »
    Still learning and having fun doing it. :cool:

    We are all here for that! :D

    -Bill "I would probably try something else for World Domination" B. :-)
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • morpho
    morpho Solar Expert Posts: 177 ✭✭✭
    #25
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    I remember seeing a washing machine attachment for the land Rover Utility vehicle.
    Basically a water tight bucket that mounted on the back...you drove along the crummy African road, bouncing along through the potholes. Probably not the "greenest" way to wash clothes, but if you had to drive anyway...

    I had thought about creating a bucket that I could give a push at the top of my hill and it would roll down and agitate the clothes. My wife put an end to that one.....sigh...
    11.5 kw array  -  3 - midnite solar classic 200's   -  Magnum MS-PAE Inverter  -  Magnum ME-RC50 remote  -  ME-BMK batt-monitor  -  2 simpliphi lithium (48v) - Yamaha ef3000ise - 1 confused look on face
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  • solarvic
    solarvic Solar Expert Posts: 1,071 ✭✭✭✭
    #26
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    I have seen the ultimate dryer at an Amish home in my area. They had a pully on the back of the house and a pully on the front of the barn about 20 ft highwith a closeline connected to both pullys. The pully was low enough at the house that the woman of the house could hang the clothes on the line. She could hang the clothes on the line and just pull on the rope as she needed more space to hang the clothes. It got the clothes high enough in the air that you could walk under the cloths without them bieing in your way. :cool:vic
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  • DavidOH
    DavidOH Solar Expert Posts: 112 ✭✭✭
    #27
    Re: The Ultimate Green Washing Machine!

    Yup, be sure and get the spouse a matched washer and dryer:

    http://www.lehmans.com/store/Home_Goods___Laundry___Washing___Breathing_Hand_Washer___1138390?Args=

    http://image.lehmans.com/lehmans/Images/products/large/1138390_2.jpg

    http://www.lehmans.com/store/Home_Goods___Laundry___Drying___Premium_Clothesline_Kits___clothesline?Args=

    http://image.lehmans.com/lehmans/Images/products/large/1142650_3.jpg
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