 Wonderfully Convenient |
| Review Date: August 8, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Sunkissed, Miami Beach |
Wonderwash is perfect for small places and for doing small laundry loads between laundromat visits. Can do almost all your laundry if single and just don't want to use community washers. See You Tube Video. Cost is reasonable at $50 including shipping.
Bought Wonderwash a while ago and this plastic barrel machine works well. It holds up to 2-3 outfits depending on garment materials & size. Ex: 1 dress, 2 pants, 2 shirts + a few undergarments all at once. Or 1 winter heavy knit sweater + 2 jeans or so. Maybe 1 full/Qn bed linen piece + 1 towel at a time, etc --while mindful not to mix whites with colors & to pre-treat heavily soiled pieces. I recommend filling up machine with laundry below 1/2 it's mark to then add enough hot (or warm water) + a couple spoons of detergent to the allow all to swoosh around. Gently spin handle for 4 mins, drain dirty water with tube attachment according to instructions. Pour clean hot or warm water to rinse. Close pressure lid. Spin handle. Repeat drainage + water pouring with softener, etc as desired. Voila. Pretty clean clothes & a workout to shape & tone arm muscles too. Use wrist weights for greater arm workout results!
I bought Ecover brand scented detergent & softener plus Maggie's Soap Nuts (to make a water softening rinse) prior to getting the Wonderwash. These are safer & gentler on sensitive hands & skin as I was doing simple small laundry loads by hand. But as soon as that Ecover set is done and if I get the Laundry Alternative's Spin Dryer, I'll be wonderwashing with a spoonful of Tide or Cheers & rinsing off with another spoonful of good ol' Downy or Snuggle! Surely these laundry products work better in getting clothes clean-er with lasting scent in less Wonderwashing spin sessions!
|
Have Used my Wonder Washer 5 months now GREAT
|
| Review Date: January 9, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Elizabeth Bennett, Seattle, WA |
I bought a Wonder Washer from Laundry Alternatives, actually I have purchased two. One for a friend who also loves hers.
Regarding the SPUTNIK 3 label - there may be some grounds for confusion over the labeling, but the machine is the exact same, I had them side by side and there is no difference. When the manufacturer changes labels it does cause some confusion.
Now: You put this little machine together, and the idea is for it to spin with the crank handle using warm to hot water and a pressure-sealed top that creates pressure inside, forcing the small about of detergent into the fabric of the clothing. To me, the handle was a bit "iffy," mine came with a screw to be driven into a plastic plug instead of a metal cotter pin. Judging the weight of water plus clothing and the flexibility of the stand, I just took it right back off. If you wash very small loads with no more than one-and-a-half quarts of water, you'll be just fine with the handle. But, I still didn't mark it down for that. I fill the machine about half-full of water, temperature depending on the clothing items, state of soil, etcetera. Then, I have my uppare workout. After the machine is properly loaded and sealed, I put on my 1-pound wrist weights and turn the machine by hand for a count of about 120 - 150 complete rotations, take off the weights, insert the drain and let it drain. Once the water has mainly run out, I remove the top and turn the tub to empty the contents. Quick double rinse in cold water and the wash part it done.
**Here's where the difference comes in. This machine does EXACTLY what it says it will do, clean your clothing and fabric items quickly and simply. They never said it would wring (please - get the spelling right, we don't "ring" clothes) the items for you. I use a SPIN DRYER - makes all the difference!
The soaking, dripping items are plopped right into my "Charming Spinner," spun for a couple of minutes until the water has stopped coming from the spout and then they are ready to be hung up to dry. That's it.
CAPACITY: In my Wonder Washer, I can get one flannel queen-sized bed sheet and one pillow case at a time, meaning my bed clothing takes two cycles to get done.
OR - I can get one pair of flannel lined jeans, two underwear, and a pair of socks.
OR - Regular jeans, one pair plus 3 or 4 men shirts.
OR - One large bath towel plus two T-shirts
Any way, all this to say, I have used the Wonder Washer SOLELY for the last five months to process laundry for two people, only once using the pay washer-dryer for a comforter which is too large to wash by hand and also to large to go into the spin dryer. It has worked for me, and by my nearest calculations my initial out for the Wonder Washer washer and the spin dryer were recouped in 10 weeks.
Now I am shopping for a portable washing machine, electric-style since my new job requires me to commute and I won't have the time to do laundry by hand.
Bottom Line: To me, clothing is personal and processing laundry by hand is very satisfying. The Wonder Washer will be put away for use on weekends when I don't have a daily commute that takes time away from home where I do enjoy housework style working at home. I highly recommend it, treat it gingerly as it is a small hand powered laundry machine, and you'll get good use of it. |
Meets its claims
|
| Review Date: February 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Bradley E. Larsen, |
My wife bought the Wonder Wash and took it camping in the Colorado mountains. It lived up to its claim. Our family consists of a husband, wife, and two sons. Each evening we did laundry duty. It took 30 - 45 minutes to wash 3 - 4 loads and line dry them. Not bad considering the local laundromat costs us $5 per load!
The only draw-back is that the stand is less sturdy than I'd like. (The youtube video mentions this too.) Luckily I'm a handy person. It wouldn't be too difficult to build a new stand if (or when) this one breaks.
The actual cylinder works quite well. Very good alternative if you find yourself without power and in need of a set of clean clothes. |
More Durable Than I Thought
|
| Review Date: June 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: G. M. MCNAIR, Portland, OR United States |
I bought the Wonder Wash two years ago from The Laundry Alternative, along with their larger spin dryer.
As other reviewers have said, instructions are poor and advise using too much detergent. Apart from that it works well, especially for such an inexpensive device. I initially felt a little dubious when cranking that first load. I thought "This isn't going to get the clothes clean at all, and it's going to last a couple of months." I was wrong on both counts.
I have put many small loads through it in the past two years, and the worst thing that's happened is a small crack in the stand (fixed by super glue, and a slight drip when draining (I put a biscuit pan underneath the drain now and it's fine).
I have washed queen size knitted sheet sets, dog blankets, bath towels, jeans (one pair at a time of course), underwear, work shirts, delicate items, kitchen towels...pretty much everything except big stuff that wouldn't fit in the small drum. Everything comes out clean, smelling good, and ready to wring (or spin) out and hang to dry. I have even washed silk flowers in it before (I had an arrangement I loved but was greasy and nasty), and they came out clean and fresh, and drip dried beautifully.
I find it especially nice for business casual clothes. Drop in an outfit after wearing, crank for a couple of minutes, rinse, spin, and hang to dry. Easy peasy, and next to no lint on stuff (unlike the full sized washer). I also like it lots for kitchen towels for the same reasons. It's very easy to just crank your stuff through really quick and none of it piles up.
Granted, it's not my only washing machine--I do have a full size automatic for larger loads, but it's a great supplement to the major appliance. If you're single and do smaller loads, it may work well as your only machine. It certainly beats carting stuff to the laundromat. I used it exclusively while I was waiting to get my new automatic, and it was a real lifesaver. |
Best little washer in town.
|
| Review Date: June 17, 2010 |
| Reviewer: MES, Dallas, TX United States |
This washer is ingenious and simple, and by itself, manages to wash ALL of my, and my husband's clothes, every single week. Our clothes have NEVER been so clean. I attribute that to it's simple, yet highly effective pressure system. I know it takes a bit of fumbling around at first to get this thing to working as ideally as it is intended, and I've read where other reviewers have maybe gotten fed up or didn't have the patience. I wasn't perfect at it at first. But I've perfected my method, and I now can wash five to seven loads of our clothes in under two hours (including pauses for rinsing, spin drying in our centrifugal spin dryer, and hanging). It's astounding (to my husband - I had a hunch all along, haha) just how many clothes you can wash in the thing! I don't recommend overfilling, but you truly can get away with several shirts (I'd say 3-4), a pair of jeans (my husband's over 6 foot, and wears some pretty substantial jeans), and a week's worth of boxer shorts and underthings, in ONE load.
Nowdays, I've got my method so fine-tuned that I just pile all our clothes beside our (clean) bathtub, the Sputnik 3/Wonderwash in the center, my buckets (I use two standard size buckets to alternately fill with water) on the side with the water faucet. I fill S3 with water and the little soap it requires to do its job, agitate the water briefly with my hand, toss in one load, watch the clock for a couple (and I really mean TWO here) minutes while I get a nice little arm workout cranking (if you fill the load right, it's actually not that good of an arm workout - you'll learn the right balance of clothes/water after a few trials). Release the pressure lid, being sure to unscrew almost completely, so that the next time you put it on, you'll get a nice snug fit. I remove the clothes and place them in my prepared buckets with clean water and give them a good squeezing out. I've gotten to where I really don't use the draining spout. I find it's quicker just to turn S3 over and empty the water that way, into the bathtub. But if you're not in the bathtub, obviously, you'll want to drain more neatly. Usually I replace my clean load into the S3 for a rinsing round, filling up another bucket with water as I go. I flop the wet clothes to the other side of the bathtub, and move to the next load. I continue til I'm done. It truly takes fractions of the time standard washer units take to wash clothes. Our clothes are ten times cleaner I feel, and not nearly as distressed at the end of washing. Our delicates are in heaven, and the rest of our clothes are lasting way longer, looking far newer, than they would otherwise.
I've been amazed at how clean our sheets are - and how easy it is to clean sheets with S3. We've got high threadcount sheets, and they apparently LOVE being treated with such care. They are literally shiney when they've finished drying.
[...] has the corner on this alternative to standard clothes washing and drying and bravo for them! Their customer service has treated me with impressive speed and have been very personable and professional.
My only critique of the Wonderwash is that the base is not as finely crafted as the unit itself. Mine is working fine, and it's imperative that you install all its parts correctly. However, I feel that it could be sturdier. It's not losing a single star over that though. It's an ingenious piece of equipment. I THOROUGHLY recommend it. |
|
No video reviews found for this product.
These portable washers are useful for small laundry loads or for emergency clothes washing. If you have to wash extra undergarments, this will be useful. Washing smaller laundry loads in full washing machine cycle is a waste. To dry out your clothes, you can hang them at the back of your refrigerator to conserve energy.
where can i buy one in the uk?