# Clothes Washing



## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

Ok we have been talking about bathing. What about washing clothes? I’ve actually been trying out some ideas. 

First is water. Drinking quality water is not required to wash clothes in. Clean water that is debris free will work fine. I have tried out rain water and it really works well. I have a homemade sand filter and coffee filter and it gets the water in good shape for washing and bathing.

I have tried out two 5 gallon buckets, one for washing and one for rinsing. Yep, bought a wash board, only used it once, but worked well. I made a paddle from a piece of cypress. Works great. 

Soap. Actually it’s as important as the water, even more. Suds are your enemy if your trying to conserve water. Besides suds are not what cleans your clothes. Modern washing soap is made for washing machines, not hand washing, it suds up a bunch. I now use a homemade combo. It’s actually old school and can’t believe I never tried it a long time ago. 

20 mule team Borax
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
Fels-Naptha bar soap

I use the dry mix version. There is a gel/wet version, but it suds more than my liking.

The dry mix is:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
½ bar of Fels-Naptha graded with cheese grader.

I just mix ‘em together and keep in a plastic tub. 1/8 cup per load does great. Does not suds up and makes rinsing very easy. Works very good for the manual washing in the buckets. I use it in the washing machine all the time too. I hang out my clothes and so they always smell so good. And they are clean. AND when you do the math, it’s big $$$ saver!!

All the ingredents can be purchased at Wally World. In fact they are right beside each other. 

Just food for thought. 

Share your plan or hammer mine. Lets talk.

Jimmy


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## oldvet (Jun 29, 2010)

Jimmy24 said:


> Ok we have been talking about bathing. What about washing clothes? I've actually been trying out some ideas.
> 
> First is water. Drinking quality water is not required to wash clothes in. Clean water that is debris free will work fine. I have tried out rain water and it really works well. I have a homemade sand filter and coffee filter and it gets the water in good shape for washing and bathing.
> 
> ...


Jimmy, that is some excellent info and I certainly do appreciate you sharing it. I am going to give that soap mixture a try.

Emergency Essentials sells a plunger looking outfit that you use with a bucket. They call it the "Mobile Washer" that sells for $12.99.
They also sell a 15 quart capacity hand cranked tumbling washer they call the "Wonder Clean Washer" that sells for $46.95. 
I am going to buy the Mobile Washer and use your soap mixture and I betcha it will do a fine job.

Thanks again. :wave:


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Jimmy24 said:


> Ok we have been talking about bathing. What about washing clothes? I've actually been trying out some ideas.
> 
> First is water. Drinking quality water is not required to wash clothes in. Clean water that is debris free will work fine. I have tried out rain water and it really works well. I have a homemade sand filter and coffee filter and it gets the water in good shape for washing and bathing.
> 
> ...


 Do you think I could replace the Fels with Mupheys Oil Soap? I know when I was a kid we used Octogon bar Soap with scrb boards .It was a brown oil type soap,if my memory serves me it smelled a little like the Murphys Oil . 
I have the wash soda,murphys and borax here now .


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

oldvet said:


> Jimmy, that is some excellent info and I certainly do appreciate you sharing it. I am going to give that soap mixture a try.
> 
> Emergency Essentials sells a plunger looking outfit that you use with a bucket. They call it the "Mobile Washer" that sells for $12.99.
> They also sell a 15 quart capacity hand cranked tumbling washer they call the "Wonder Clean Washer" that sells for $46.95.
> ...


 We use to use clothe diapers .Hard times I used my feet to wash clothes in the bathtub. Like stomping grapes.Stomp em clean,then push em back fill up tub,rinse em the same way.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

I have several 5 gallon buckets with the hammer on lids(no hole in yet)..and two plungers waiting for holes to be drilled..just for washing..I use the cheap $1 and $2 detergent and it doesn't soap much...and ye old Classic Purex powdered det.

I don't think we'll be so focused on 'clean' like before TSHTF.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

Here's the links to some of the previous threads on this subject, for more information:
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f2/washin-duds-3661/
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f2/washboard-7042/
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f35/laundry-561/

I saw a few others in passing, but some of them related more to making laundry soap after TSHTF, rather than actual laundering processes.


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## oldvet (Jun 29, 2010)

Meerkat said:


> We use to use clothe diapers .Hard times I used my feet to wash clothes in the bathtub. Like stomping grapes.Stomp em clean,then push em back fill up tub,rinse em the same way.


So I take it you didn't worry about the poop between your toes.


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

Meerkat said:


> Do you think I could replace the Fels with Mupheys Oil Soap? I know when I was a kid we used Octogon bar Soap with scrb boards .It was a brown oil type soap,if my memory serves me it smelled a little like the Murphys Oil .
> I have the wash soda,murphys and borax here now .


Hey, give it a try. I'm sure it would, but don't know for a fact. I use Ivory bar soap to make a more gentle soap.

Jimmy


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

JayJay said:


> I have several 5 gallon buckets with the hammer on lids(no hole in yet)..and two plungers waiting for holes to be drilled..just for washing..I use the cheap $1 and $2 detergent and it doesn't soap much...and ye old Classic Purex powdered det.
> 
> I don't think we'll be so focused on 'clean' like before TSHTF.


Cool, thanks for that. And I'm sure clean won't be the same, but I feel certain that we will want some sort of clean for what we wear. Just rinsing mine out may be ok to some extent, but as bad as I sweat.....

Jimmy


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

oldvet said:


> Jimmy, that is some excellent info and I certainly do appreciate you sharing it. I am going to give that soap mixture a try.
> 
> Emergency Essentials sells a plunger looking outfit that you use with a bucket. They call it the "Mobile Washer" that sells for $12.99.
> They also sell a 15 quart capacity hand cranked tumbling washer they call the "Wonder Clean Washer" that sells for $46.95.
> ...


Your welcome, hope you like it as well as I do. Just look at the water after washing verus before you begin....you'll see there it's working...I gonna take a look at those washers for sure. Thanks for that info.

Jimmy

Jimmy


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

oldvet said:


> So I take it you didn't worry about the poop between your toes.


 Hardy har har har,The poop was washed out in a bucket of ammonia then dumped into the toilet before the diapers hit the tub.
We also would stomp em out in the creek over the rocks along with other clothes .We lived in Stone Mountain Ga.full of rattlers and moccasins. i was washing a rug with the Lords Last Supper on it one day and while washing I sang"stomp the bread but don't stomp the wine"when 2 cotton mouths came out from under the rocks and looked me right in the eyes'I knew not to move but mama told me to be still,so she pulled out her pearl handle 38 S&W and shot one but the other tried to attack her,finally she shot that one too.Then she beat the hell out of me for blasphemy with a switch.
I had some really nice legs from all that leg work ,got compliments on my legs all the time.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Jimmy24 said:


> Hey, give it a try. I'm sure it would, but don't know for a fact. I use Ivory bar soap to make a more gentle soap.
> 
> Jimmy


 Thanks Jimmy for recipe. I'll see if i can get the soap at Wal Mart . If not I'll use ivory or try the murphy oil soap.


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## LilRedHen (Aug 28, 2011)

Meerkat said:


> Do you think I could replace the Fels with Mupheys Oil Soap? I know when I was a kid we used Octogon bar Soap with scrb boards .It was a brown oil type soap,if my memory serves me it smelled a little like the Murphys Oil .
> I have the wash soda,murphys and borax here now .


I have the feeling that Murphey's Oil Soap would leave a residue. I use Murphy's to mop the floor sometimes and it leaves a shine. I also use it to soak old nasty wood and leather items to get the grunge off. You then have to wash the items in something else to get the oily residue off.

I made laundry detergent for the first time this spring. I used 1/2 of a bar of Octagon soap instead of the Fels Naptha, cause I couldn't find it. I'm not entirely happy with it and finally found Fels Naptha. The ingredients for the dry mix plus water made 3 gallons of a liquid/gell type detergent. It hardly has any suds. I had saved the bottles that I had previously purchased detergent it, and also used a gallon milk jug with a screw on lid. I probably use too much, but it lasted 8 months. I will be making more next week. After you buy the boxes of Washing Soda and Borax and a few bars of soap, the savings is tremendous. I am allergic to most scents and had to buy the expensive kind that was free of scent. I can use the homemade, no problem.

I have been contemplating the new plunger and five gallon buckets method, but haven't tried it yet. One account I read was to use one bucket for washing and two for rinsing, but I believe that was done with purchased detergent. It would be awful hard to wash sheets, though.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Jimmy24 said:


> Cool, thanks for that. And I'm sure clean won't be the same, but I feel certain that we will want some sort of clean for what we wear. Just rinsing mine out may be ok to some extent, but as bad as I sweat.....
> 
> Jimmy


~~~I don't think we'll be so focused on 'clean' like before TSHTF.~~~

I must explain..dh's undies are not included in that assessment. I repeat---dh's undies are not included in that assessment.:gaah:

Over and out!!


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

In a pinch ya can use a plunger in them buckets ta clean yer clothe's. However Lahemans sells a metal plunger what is designed just fer washin clothes an works real well.

Ya can get all the stuff listed at walmart er most farm stores. Ivory bar soap would prolly work but perty sure murphy's gonna leave a residue what will attract dirt.


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## whome (Oct 6, 2011)

I'm almost set to be able to do all my laundry by hand. I've done it before (including diapers) and the worst part was wringing the laundry out. It's almost impossible with jeans and really big stuff. When the weather is good here I hang my laundry on the clothes line. I have an assortment of washboards, big and small, I have an antique wash plunger, a antique wringer, twin washtubs, and sad irons to iron with and a wooden clothes dryer to use inside the house. The only thing I lack is a modern wringer, I was going to order one from Lehmans but I had read a review on them and people were saying they weren't very well made. Has anyone bought one and if so, are they any good? I'd really like to have a new one to go with my other laundry items because I don't trust the antique one to last. I also have an old fashioned wringer washer, it's electric. I would like to be able to convert it to hand powered, but am not exactly sure how to go about doing it.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Yall have convinced me the Murphys oil soap is not a good idea.
Far as a wringer to get water out,the stomp works fair for that too,but a mop bucket wringer would do better for us older people. But get a good one made of steel parts or a really good hard plastic,or you can slip and bust a rib or something. I have a commercial janitors mop wringer about 40 years old given to hubby at work when it was replaced. of course they don't make anything like they use to.
I bet we could made one if we tried.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

I've been using the home made laundry soap for years now and we love it.. but I did have to change the recipe a bit... 
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
1 cup baking soda
1/3 bar fels 
1 cup salt.
grate the fels and simmer in one gallon water with the salt. then add the powdered stuff and make sure that everything dissolves and then add three more gallons hot, hot water and mix it all.. make 4 gallons of soap.
I use the water conditioning salt as we have super hard water.. it's great for drinking and cooking and such but hell on clothing and all my glasses and faucets need to be vinegar-ed to remove the white film.. anyhoo the salt helps the clothing let loose of the dirt. The baking soda helps take out the extra "manly" smells from hub's clothes.
There is a fabric softener that I can use so I put a half amount in with a good glugg of white vinegar.. helps everything rinse clean.
Works super well for me. 
rubbing stains with just the wetted bar of fels works great as a spot treatment.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Home made lye soap works pretty well, it doesn't lather much and cleans great. If you let it cure good before you use it, it is as gentle as Ivory.

Its is easy to make and can also be cheap to make although some people use Olive Oil, tropical oils, and a neighbor even uses goat milk in hers. 

Me, I just filter used cooking oil(the lye completely breaks any leftover particles) and commercial lye. I have a setup to make lye from wood ash but havn't used it in years, got lazy with commercial lye available.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Emerald said:


> I've been using the home made laundry soap for years now and we love it.. but I did have to change the recipe a bit...
> 1 cup washing soda
> 1 cup borax
> 1 cup baking soda
> ...


 Been out of washing liquid for 3 days,just been using wahig soda and or borax.
I have soda,washing soda,borax and salt,also Ivory on hand now. How much Ivoey do i add to this in place of Fels?


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Meerkat said:


> Been out of washing liquid for 3 days,just been using wahig soda and or borax.
> I have soda,washing soda,borax and salt,also Ivory on hand now. How much Ivoey do i add to this in place of Fels?


I would use at least half the bar if not all of it.. Ivory is much milder.. I would use it but I don't care for the smell of it.
We used to take it camping cuz if you dropped it in the lake it floated!

I make my own soaps too.. I have the stuff for two, two pound batches just gotta find the time!


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Emerald said:


> I would use at least half the bar if not all of it.. Ivory is much milder.. I would use it but I don't care for the smell of it.
> We used to take it camping cuz if you dropped it in the lake it floated!
> 
> I make my own soaps too.. I have the stuff for two, two pound batches just gotta find the time!


 Thanks Em, I'll make it tomorrow.:wave: And next trip to town will se if i can find the Fels soap.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

whome said:


> The only thing I lack is a modern wringer, I was going to order one from Lehmans but I had read a review on them and people were saying they weren't very well made. Has anyone bought one and if so, are they any good? I'd really like to have a new one to go with my other laundry items because I don't trust the antique one to last. I also have an old fashioned wringer washer, it's electric. I would like to be able to convert it to hand powered, but am not exactly sure how to go about doing it.


We have a Lehman's hand-cranked wringer and it's been our full-time wringer for 8 years. It works okay, better than hand-wringing. The adjustment screw on top got really hard to turn after the first year, so we just found a good setting and left it. The wringer is kind of wimpy and we don't put blue jeans or other big items through it. We just hang them to drip. Sad, because we paid $175 plus shipping for it.

The worst thing about Lehman's hand-cranked wringer is that the drip tray doesn't have anything to hold it in place. Clothes hang up on it and tip it the other way and you end up with water running onto the clothes you've just wrung.

Our son-in-law converted a wringer from an electric wringer washer. He took apart the wringer mechanism and used half of a pedal assembly from a bicycle. He cut the pedal spindle off right where it goes through a bicycle frame, leaving the pedal screwed onto the rod. Then he and my husband welded it onto the wringer, and now they hold the pedal and crank the wringer.

oldcoot, you mentioned using a plunger to wash clothes, and I assume you mean a regular rubber toilet plunger. We tried it. It works for a while but before long the rubber starts tearing around the center. The metal or plastic laundry plungers from Lehman's and others are a worthwhile investment.


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## Ur5hittingMe (May 1, 2011)

I use Dr Bronners soap in our laundry detergent along with Borax and Washing Soda. I have noticed that Borax is cheaper at Target than Wally.


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

Wow, this has been a very informative thread. Thanks all for all your info!!! Learned a lot. I have tried the gel verison. The dry mix works better for me, as far as storage. I couldn't tell any difference in cleaning power.

Thought I'd add this about Murphy Oil Soap. It can be used to help get stains out of clothes, amoung lots of other cleaning jobs.

Uses for Murphy Oil Soap | eHow.com

Cleans Hardwood Floors, Paneling, Tables, Ceramic Tiles - Original Formula | Murphy Oil Soap

Keep 'em coming!!

Jimmy


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

To wring out clothes you can use the mop ringer from a mop bucket. I plan on washing underwear and socks regularly. I'll be washing shirts and jeans less often.


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## prairie (Jun 11, 2011)

Jimmy24 said:


> Ok we have been talking about bathing. What about washing clothes? I've actually been trying out some ideas.
> 
> First is water. Drinking quality water is not required to wash clothes in. Clean water that is debris free will work fine. I have tried out rain water and it really works well. I have a homemade sand filter and coffee filter and it gets the water in good shape for washing and bathing.
> 
> ...


Oh I really like the idea of the dry mix instead of the gel version! I've been storing the ingredients, now you've made my job even easier.


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## Sourdough (May 22, 2010)

I just wash them in the creek. Don't do laundry in the winter.


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## whome (Oct 6, 2011)

gypsysue said:


> We have a Lehman's hand-cranked wringer and it's been our full-time wringer for 8 years. It works okay, better than hand-wringing. The adjustment screw on top got really hard to turn after the first year, so we just found a good setting and left it. The wringer is kind of wimpy and we don't put blue jeans or other big items through it. We just hang them to drip. Sad, because we paid $175 plus shipping for it.
> 
> The worst thing about Lehman's hand-cranked wringer is that the drip tray doesn't have anything to hold it in place. Clothes hang up on it and tip it the other way and you end up with water running onto the clothes you've just wrung.
> 
> ...


Thanks GypsySue, I think I'll see if my son in law will turn my wringer washer into a manuel wringer.


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## ashley8072 (Apr 26, 2011)

*Only read the first few posts and had to post. hehe*

During summer camp every year (for 9 days in the mountains), I take 2 buckets with me. 1 white, 1 home depot orange. Lids both have holes in the center of them. 1 new plunger that has only ever been used in them. lol! These work way better than the usual, wash my clothes while wearing them in the river. loL!

As far as soap goes...At first I took Powdered Laundry soap to keep it from spilling all over my backpacking equipment during the trip down, but after 11 years of doing this, I take a small to go bottle of liquid detergent that I keep refilling with my own. I aquired the bottle from a laundry cleaner place (can't think of the name atm. lol) years ago. I have learned to use small amounts of liquid. I use about half a teaspoon and do 3 days worth of clothes. With the powder...I dissolve it first. Either by warming up the water or making it into a paste over the bucket and adding it.

At home, I'm big on liquid laundry soap since dry is so messy and never seems to get my daily clothes (waterproof) clean. But my laundry soap is made up of Natural Ingredients and is non-scented and no softener in it. I use half of a cap on ALL laundry unless for some reason it's muddy. People don't realize that clothes really don't get that dirty...and I work at a muffler shop. lol! Every other week I add a dry detergent of ColorSafe Bleach to get out any pesky stains.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Emerald said:


> I would use at least half the bar if not all of it.. Ivory is much milder.. I would use it but I don't care for the smell of it.
> We used to take it camping cuz if you dropped it in the lake it floated!
> 
> I make my own soaps too.. I have the stuff for two, two pound batches just gotta find the time!


 What about grease? I can't seem to get it out of dish towels without a lot of effort .And napkins too,they are hard to clean,any suggestions?


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

gypsysue said:


> We have a Lehman's hand-cranked wringer and it's been our full-time wringer for 8 years. It works okay, better than hand-wringing. The adjustment screw on top got really hard to turn after the first year, so we just found a good setting and left it. The wringer is kind of wimpy and we don't put blue jeans or other big items through it. We just hang them to drip. Sad, because we paid $175 plus shipping for it.
> 
> The worst thing about Lehman's hand-cranked wringer is that the drip tray doesn't have anything to hold it in place. Clothes hang up on it and tip it the other way and you end up with water running onto the clothes you've just wrung.
> 
> ...


Yup, plunger works in a pinch, but the metal ones be much better if yer gonna use it alot. Like ya say, soonter er later the rubber ones give out.

Should be able ta find good ringers online, someplace what sells supplies fer a carwash will have heavy duty ones. I got one from dads fillin station in the 50's an it be mounted to a nice enamel tub. Worth it's weight in gold!


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Meerkat said:


> What about grease? I can't seem to get it out of dish towels without a lot of effort .And napkins too,they are hard to clean,any suggestions?


When I degrease my kitchen towels and washcloths I usually get a few big pots of water to a good boil and put all the towels in the sink and put in a good 1/2 inch of the bar(fels) grated into sink with the towels and dump that boiling water in.. I only use the bar mop type towels so that I can bleach them white when needed..and it is time to buy another bunch tho as the ones I have are starting to get ratty and not bleach clean and a few have holes in them.. I'll use them in my earth oven for cleaning the baking surface, that really ruins them anyhoo. (oh it is like $12 something for a huge bundle at Sams and Gorden foods like 4 dozen)
Another thing if you want to use it is a nice soak in boiling water that has a bit of ammonia in it. After the water has cooled I then run thru the washing machine.
Dish soap like dawn or joy works wonders on greasy towels. I know that we are trying to make things cheaper but I haven't found anything I like for dishes as much as dish soap so I still keep it around. 
Some folks say that they like home made Castile soaps for grease cutting also.(Castile is no animal fats, just veggie.. used to be only olive oil but now is used for any all veggie soap.) I am planning on making some for holiday gifts by using the hot method.. but that is a thread for another day. lol


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## sea_going_dude (Dec 7, 2011)

JayJay said:


> I have several 5 gallon buckets with the hammer on lids(no hole in yet)..and two plungers waiting for holes to be drilled..just for washing..I use the cheap $1 and $2 detergent and it doesn't soap much...and ye old Classic Purex powdered det.
> 
> That bucket and plunger works great and takes little room too. I guess you are going to drill the holes in the plunger cup so it wont suck itself to the bottom of the bucket. :2thumb:


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## Harv2 (Jun 7, 2011)

*Manual Washer*

Home Made Washing Machine | Preparedness Advice Blog


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