Tour of manual machines in Lee Maxell's Washing Machine Museum in Eaton, CO: www.oldewash.com Check out other videos in the Washing Machine Museum playlist: • Washing Machine Museum
Dear Dave, I love that you show us all these manual washing machines and electric washers. I wish we could make such machines today. I would make one in a heart beat if I could find the parts. I am tired of spending my hard earned money on washing machines that require constant repairs and die after a few years and don't even get my clothing clean! I also hate that I have to wash my clothing three times to get it as clean as my mom used to get it in one load. I also hate that I have to Jerry rig things to get truly hot water and full tub of water. My current heavy duty Whirlpool piece of crap barely agitates, barely fills and shreds my clothing. I find it ironic that people are allowed to purchase multi-head showers that use 45 gallons a minute but we can't get decent clothes washers that use the proper amount of water and hot water. Clean clothing is a public health issue. We all need to have clean clothing and be able to wash our clothing and bedding in 160 to 180 farenheit to kill germs. No one needs a multi-head shower using 45 gallons in order to get clean. My mom did five loads a day for 20 years on old washing machine from the 1980's and I only remember one repair.
@ 4:20 -- I'm *amazed* that ''up and over'' gearing works as smoothly as it does once you get it going. A remarkable piece of engineering from way back in the day.
There really should be more manual clothes washing machines similar to ones from back then. I searched everywhere for a hand crank/manual clothes washing alternative, and there are only a handful on the market. They are quite pricey for only having the capacity to wash a micro-load too. A lot of the manual washing machines can't wring out clothes as well, so you're left buying another machine to wring out your clothes or waste time twisting them one by one with the help of another person. I really think an all in one (reasonably sized) manual crank, shake, or scrubber type of clothes washer that wrings the clothes and fits in a bathtub would be a better alternative to things like the Wonderwash or Laundry Pod. With the Wonderwash, it's like 45$ and it does not even wring out the clothes, the Laundry pod is around 100$, not to mention it has a small load capacity. The whole reason I am even considering getting these things is out of frugality. I do not want to pay a couple hundred dollars for a device that only lets me wash a few shirts and a handkerchief. Anyways, I absolutely love these old washing machines! :) So cool!
Agreed! I have been trying to find a human-powered machine and there is nothing but micro machines that can't even handle a single pair of sturdy jeans.
I didn't know there was so many ways to wash your clothes back in the day. People today generally use electric contraptions. Some still wash by hand and some use home built devices. I've personally washed clothes by hand, by foot, and with a bucket and modified plunger (unused of course). Washing with the bucket device gets my clothes cleaner than a modern washing machine. However it's a lot of work and a lot of time. I've been tempted to try making an automated device similar to the bucket and plunger just for the heck of it. I hate washing clothes in a modern washing machine then finding them still dirty when they come out. You can try this. Wash clothes in a modern washing machine then take them out and wash them in a bucket. The water will get dirty unless you happen to have a decent enough modern washing machine. What I really want is one of those old washers that let you agitate the clothes however long you want via an electric motor. A good half hour or so of agitation in hot soapy water will do wonders.
The German machine which can have a fire built under it. The rack and pinion machine is great. The fly wheel, man I wish I had something like this to work on when I was young or learned about it. Instead I was an English major..
I started doing it long ago when our apt building upped the price of the washers. I still use the machine for sheet/towels, but hand was a lot of our clothes and they really do come cleaner, and they don't ware out as quickly.
Great video and very interesting subject. I live in Walnut, Iowa, where one could be forgiven for thinking the town was built around antique shops, because they comprise about 90% of the local businesses. Walnut is euphemistically called The Antique Capitol of Iowa. We have an annual Antique Walk on Father's Day weekends where people from around the country bring their antiques to sell. Several streets are closed off to traffic and "stalls" are allotted for vendors. Thousands of people flood into our little town every year for the event to sell or purchase antiques. Your shop would be a major attraction if you relocated here. (hint!) LOL Thank you for sharing a wonderful look at an important and relatively unknown part of our history and culture. Personally, I believe your video is comfortably anchored within the Top 5 videos I've ever seen on RU-vid.
... and you get some exercise in the process. Unfortunately, the typical "consumer" doesn't like hard work or exercise, and they would prefer that a machine wash their clothes.
In the past these would have been handy before electricity etc. I'm sure only the rich 😂 also I'm assuming that in the past it was more of a house chore for the clean clothes. House work. Very low standards and then hang them out to dry would take about a week.
All you need is a five gallon bucket an a new dollar store plunger you lift the plunger up an down to agitate the clothes an they will come clean an you will save dollars every wk. an or quarters for machines.
Washing clothes were not an easy task in the past, it was a hard duty for mothers, I remember my mother sitting in the snow and mixing some hot water and soap in the laundry basin and washing them by hand then cleaning them with very cold water! every week, her hand was injured
Lots of good ideas for survivalists. Clothes washing after the zombie apocalypse doesn't have to be 100% "acoustic'". You can add a spring or whatever in order to return motion. IMHO, agitation, that is, reciprocating motion is ESSENTIAL to any young inventor seeking to create the human powered machine of tomorrow. Simply putting vanes inside of a drum and spinning the laundry doesn't make the cut in my view. If you can't create a back and forth mechanism, don't even try. Anyway, every iteration of the agitation idea is right here. Go crazy, young Edison da Vinci's.
I been washing clothes by hand since 2003 and I have to say it's a pain sometimes, but I notice my arm muscles and hand grip are a lot stronger from squeezing out the water and scrubbing the clothes by hand.
This is where the bicycle needs to come into 'play'....most of the machines here need an adapter...and a 'gym'...do your workout and clean your clothes...
