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How to wash clothes by hand? Best way to wash clothes by hand? If you’re wondering how do you wash clothes by hand? Rest assured because I am going to show you how to wash your clothes by hand in a simple and easy way.
To wash your clothes by hand or wanting to know the best way to wash clothes by hand shouldn’t be a hard thing to do.
But of course, not many people know how to do it the right way.
I have been washing my clothes by hand my whole life since childhood to be precise.
Because that’s the only way my family and the whole village can get our dirty clothes washed.
We live in a village a farming community, with no light, no potable water, only one borehole which we pump with manpower.
The whole village depends on rainwaters and wells for our basic needs.
I never knew what a washing machine was or a dryer was. I never knew how to use one until I came to the States.
Even then, I had to learn how to use the washing machine and dryer, what an amazing thing it is to just throw your clothes in a machine, and in 30 minutes laundry is done!
Well, that wasn’t my life about 13 years ago before I moved into the states.
Life can be tough on the other side but I’m always grateful for the opportunities I had because it has thought me how to be patient,
appreciative of others, respectful, understanding, humble, sympathy to others, and above all, to be thankful for every day in my life.
In this post and video, you’ll learn how to wash clothes by hand, the best way to wash clothes by hand,
how do you wash clothes by hand from someone who has been washing clothes by hand my whole life!
Best Tips and tricks on how to keep your hands moist after hand washing your clothes.
This post is all about how to wash clothes by hand, the best way to wash clothes by hand, and how do you wash clothes by hand?
The rule of washing clothes applies whichever way you chose to wash your clothes, whether by hand or in a washing machine.
The Rules:
- All like color clothes go together
- All white color clothe goes together
If you keep this rule in mind, then you can never ruin your clothes whenever you do your laundry or hand wash clothes.
Best washing by hand essentials you:
- Detergent
- Bar soap
- Bucket/ white tote or container/Basement sink
- Laundry Basket
- Drying line/Drying rack
- Clothespins
I used many different detergents but for some reasons, I tend to use 2in1 Tide simple clean & fresh more often because of the fresh smell and how clean it washes my clothes.
Using bar soap to wash my clothe by hand is something I’m used to because in Ghana, we don’t use liquid detergent to do laundry
but rather bar soap and powdered soap. ZoTe bar soap have a great smell delicate and gentle on clothes.
I choose to hand wash my clothe in different containers. I normally use the basement sink, a bucket, storage tote.
Any of this choice makes it easy to get your washing done easily and in a timely manner.
Laundry basket have so many use and I use mine for carrying my dirty, washed wet, and dry clothes.
This Rubbermaid laundry basket is easy to handle and hold against my side.
Whether you use a drying line or drying rack all depends on your choice of preferences. I use the cotton rope drying line
because I found it to be soft and easy to wipe off same as the nylon drying line which I use outside during the summer for drying my clothes.
Clothespins is a must-have for holding your clothe on the drying line especially if you don’t have a drying rack.
I found to like the wood pegs much better because it last last for a long time. I can’t remember when I bought mine and it’s cheap too.
Vaseline gel helps keep my hands from drying out after hand washing my clothes.
As you would experience, once you finished hand washing your clothes, you’ll realized how dry and whitish your
hands looked. So I apply Vaseline gel to keep it moist and fresh.
You can use a basement sink which I always used, and in this video. You can use anything that will be convenient for you.
Some people use their bathtubs and for personal reasons, I wouldn’t but the choice is all yours.
How To Wash Clothes By Hand:
Steps #1: First Wash –
- Read label, fill the sink, bucket, or container with lukewarm water halfway.
- Add your favorite detergents to the water according to how much load you have.
- Add clothes and soak them for 30 minutes – go and attend to other things.
After 30 minutes, you can now start washing the clothes by hand.
- Unwrapped the bar soap – this soap is good for gentle and delicate clothes and smells good. I love it and use it every time when handwashing my clothes.
- Start one by one with each piece of clothing, start from the armpit rob the bar soap to the armpit and
scrub it between your hand, do it for both armpits, then the same process to the neck collar and scrub.
From there, you can now wash the whole clothes once you know it’s well clean, you just squeeze the water out,
and start on the next piece of clothes until you finish all the clothes in the water. Drained the water out.
Best Way To Wash Clothes By Hand:
Steps #2: Second Wash
Fill in freshwater halfway again, add detergent, add the clothes. This time, you’re just going to give it a rough wash
since you already gave it a good clean wash the first time. Once you finish each piece of clothes, drain the water out again.
How Do You Wash Clothes By Hand:
Steps #3: Third Wash-Rinse Time
Rinse Time! This time, you’re just going to rinse so add the ¾ water a little more than the other two steps.
Add all the clothes and just rinse them. When you’re squeezing the clothes, do it gently so you don’t stretch them out too much.
How To Dry Your clothes by hand:
Steps #4: Final -Drying Time
You can choose to dry the clothes outside if you have good weather, or dryer if you have one, or dry it inside on a drying line.
If you don’t have a drying line or a place to hang it, you can then get a drying rack at your local store, it works the same. And you can get it from here
To Dry your Clothes:
-
Take one piece of clothing at a time, shake it once to twice, hang it from the bottom up for quick dry use pegs
-
If you run out of space for small items to hang, a trick I use is to hand them around the edge of my laundry basket and it dries within a day to two days.
or clothespins to hold the clothes on the line. Do the same process for all the clothes.
So, this is a simple, easy, and best way to wash your clothes by hand. You shouldn’t be spending more than necessary time washing your clothes.
Depending on how many loads of laundry you have to wash, you can wash them in a timely manner by using these steps.
This is how I wash my clothes by hand for many years in Ghana, West Africa.
I use the same steps to wash my bed sheets, towels, pillowcases, everything that has to do with laundry, and more.
Follow these steps to have your hand-washed clothes clean and smells fresh.
Tips:
-
To learn how to wash any clothes at all, look at the tag inside your clothing, it has instructions on how to wash, iron, fabric type, size, and more.
-
Use mild soap or detergent to keep the colors bright and natural.
-
wash armpit & neck color of your clothes very important part of handwashing clothes.
-
Know that when you dry the clothes inside your basement or the house, there will be dripping of water from
the clothes onto the floor, so make sure you don’t have any rugs around that will get soaked with water.
-
After the wash, your hands become dry and whitish looking, use original Vaseline petroleum gel to rob
all over your hand for moisture before using your regular hand cream. Protect your hands from drying out.
Vaseline gel is what I use after each time I hand wash my clothes, it works like magic, keeps my hands looking healthy and fresh.
Frequently Ask Questions:
Handwashing Clothes Tools:
There are a few tools for handwashing clothes and these are:
washboard– I have not used a washboard to hand-washed my clothes before but I’ve seen many people have used it. Mostly in third world countries
Portable mini washing machine: This is something that most people use for their convenience instead of actually using their hands to wash.
I have not used any of these before but you can check them out. There’re others in the market and has different ways to use them
How To Hand Wash Clothes In Sink:
It depends on what kind of sink, Is it a kitchen sink, bathroom sink, or basement sink if you have one.
If you’re going to use either kitchen sink or bathroom sink since these sinks are small know that it will take you longer to wash them.
To hand-wash your clothing in the sink, the process is still the same as I’ve explained in the above process step by step for you.
How To Wash Clothes By Hand With Bar Soap:
It is simple, read label. fills water halfway in a sink, plastic tote, or a bucket. Soak your like-color clothing in the water for about 30 minutes,
by following washing instructions from the tag inside your clothes. one by one, pick a piece of clothing in your left hand and rob the bar soap with your right hand on the clothing,
set the bar soap down and scrub the clothes with both your hands starting from both armpit to the neck color and the
whole clothes until clean and do it for all the clothes until all is done for the first wash.
For the second wash, use the first step and this time just wash roughly until all clothes are done.
The third wash is to rinse. This time, the water should be more than the first two steps. No soap just rinse and dry.
How To Wash Clothes By Hand In The Bathtub:
Read the label, fill in the tub with water, add your favorite detergent, add your clothes to soak for 30minutes,
then start to wash your clothes and follow the three steps listed above to wash your clothes by hand in the bathtub.
Note:
By using the bathtub to hand wash your clothing, remember that you have to bend forward so much that you put so much
pressure on your back which can be painful, or when knelt on both your knees which can also be painful and uncomfortable.
Do This:
Put a pillow on the floor before kneeling on it to give you some base, cushion and comfort.
And rest both of your arms on the edge of the bathtub for some relief for comfort as well.
How To Hand Wash Clothes In Washer:
I don’t really see how easy that can be to hand wash clothes in washer. You just add water, add detergent,
soak for 30 minutes, and start scrubbing the clothes with both hands to get them clean, rinse, and dry.
To make your clothes smell fresh and still maintain their colors and forms you have to use common sense while washing your clothes by hand.
Benefit For Handwashing Clothes:
*Hand washing your clothes saves you a lot on your electric bills
*Expand longevity for your washing matching and dryer
*Keep your cost low for the monthly expenses
*You use less detergent and bar soap when you hand wash clothes.
And I hope this has helped you to now finally have the courage to hand wash your clothes in confident.
This post was all about how to wash clothes by hand, the Best way to wash clothes by hand, and how do you wash clothes by hand and save time.
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