Hiram M. Hamilton graduated university with a BA in Journalism but became a trusted employee at his father’s HVAC company. With 20 years of experience under his belt, Hiram is a specialist in the industry and a self-thought plumber. However, his passion for journalism prompted him to pick up the pen again. Now, he is writing informative articles related to HVAC issues, home services, and plumbing tips and tricks to educate the public and help people become more self-reliant.

Washing Machine Broken? How to Hand Wash Your Clothes

A broken washing machine can mean that you have to hand wash at least a couple of loads of laundry. This is both a time-consuming and physically demanding process. Before you start, make sure to have all the items that you need. Read on to find out more.

What You Need for Hand Washing Clothes

If your washing machine broke down, contact washer repair services in San Diego. They are quick to reply and fix the problem. However, for more serious situations it might take a while. Do not worry, if you need clean clothes you can wash a few loads by hand. There are a few basic items that you will need to hand wash your clothes:

• Water and soap or any other cleaning product to get the laundry crisp clean. Use warm water (if you have) on dirtier items.
• A tub for washing the clothes.
• One or more buckets for rinsing and gathering the laundry.
• Your hands.

Once you have all of the above, you can start washing. Using your hands to wash laundry is a physically draining process that takes up a lot of time. Make sure you have a generous time slot allocated for it.

Separate the laundry based on color. Place the water in the tub and add the cleaning product. Then put in a load and let it pre-soak. This will give the cleaning product more time to act. The cloth can absorb a lot of water, so feel free to add more to ensure they are covered. Use the cleaning product cautiously. The more you use, the longer time you will have to rinse.

Move the clothes around and scrunch up each item separately in the soapy water to make sure that no dry spots are left. Then, rinse them thoroughly with clean water. Keep repeating the action until only clean water comes out of your laundry.

Outside versus Inside

You can wash your clothes by hand both inside and outside if you have a garden. Now that the weather starts warming up, it is a great opportunity to get some fresh air while tending to your errands.

Before you start, make sure that you set up a space dedicated to this action. Take out all the items that you might need and place them however they come in handy for you.

Don’ts

When handwashing clothes, never use your knuckles to rub out stubborn stains. Rubbing your skin against the soap or detergent-filled cloth can cause damage to your skin. Instead, use any hard object to gently rub the spot. If you put too much pressure on the area, you might damage the material. When you have to deal with a stain, the best thing to do is to let the clothing item soak.

Drying Clothes

If your dryer is not broken as well, you can throw in the clothes. One cycle might not be enough since the clothes will not be drained as well as they would be in a washing machine. So leave the laundry in for two, or even more cycles, if needed.

If you dry your clothes by hanging them up, be patient, it will take a longer time for them to dry than usual. To speed up the process, space out the items so they do not cover each other or touch. In the first couple of hours after hanging them up, the laundry may drip the excess water. Consider placing some containers under your clothes if you do not want puddles to build upon the floor. Of course, if you dry the laundry outside, this should not be a problem.

Protect Your Hands

Hand washing your clothes can leave its mark on your skin, but there are ways to avoid that. Do not expose your skin to strong chemicals, make sure to use mild cleaning products. Do not worry about these not being efficient enough to get out the more stubborn stains allow the products to act for a longer period.

If you are aware of having any allergies, read the ingredients of the cleaning products you are using. Stay away from any allergens that trigger symptoms. There are plenty of cleaning product options to choose from on the market.

You could also opt for some natural cleaning soaps. This is a great option to protect the environment from the damage that some chemicals found in standard cleaning products may cause. What is more, you could also prepare a homemade natural soap for cleaning clothes. Go here to learn more about homemade laundry solutions.

After you have finished hand washing, use moisturizer in abundance on your hands. Even if you have used mild cleaning products, these will still dry out your skin following a long exposure.

Contact a Local Repair Service

The sooner you get your washing machine fixed, the sooner you can spend your time and energy washing your clothes by hand. It is best to contact service as soon as the machine shows problems, this can prevent the breakdown altogether.