Have you ever heard of The Wonderwash?

I tend to have a preparedness mindset, so the thought of laundry alternatives has crossed my mind more than once.

Such as:

• If the power is out for several days, how would we have clean clothes?
• If the economy continues to tank and we have a deflation/hyperinflation state, could we afford to wash our clothes?

The idea of a major disaster that lingers for days or weeks doesn’t sound fun.  Add 3+ small children into that scenario with no clean clothes and I have a feeling things would turn south fast.

One of my new favorite reads is The Survival Mom.  She focuses on how to prepare your family for a major catastrophic event, such as a hurricane or other natural disaster.  And she includes laundry in her preparations too!

Recently, The Survival Mom had a guest poster use and review the Wonderwash.  I loved reading about her first-hand experience and her list of pros and cons.

Amazon also offers great reviews on the product.

I don’t have any laundry alternatives in place at the moment, but it is definitely on my to-do list.  While I’m working all of that out, I will definitely be prepared in my Laundry Life!

What are your thoughts on alternative laundry methods? Do you think it is worth thinking about?  Do you already have an idea in place?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Hmmm.  By the initial look of things, this can’t possibly be a good thing.

This is the top left corner of my washing machine, which houses the detergent/Oxi Clean/bleach/fabric softener dispenser. Imagine my surprise when I pour in my detergent and it immediately starts running out the front of the dispenser.

That does not make for a happy Mama.

And the words Laundry Fail come to mind.

So what could possibly be the cause of this messy disaster?

A build up of Oxi Clean seemed to be the culprit.

If you’ve read here long at all, you know I love the Oxi Clean.  So I wouldn’t dare lessen or (heaven-forbid) discontinue my use of the beloved stain remover.

So it seems that I must step up my game in washing machine maintenance.  I typically wash down and sanitize my machine on the 1st of every month.

Rest assured that will now include pulling out the dispenser tray and giving it a through cleaning.

Sigh.

Have you had any laundry fails lately? Tell us all about them…

I mentioned that I sanitize my washing machine on the first of the month, and I got several emails about how to do that.  And why you would do that.  And who has the time to do that.

I’m so happy you asked.

Honestly, I am blessed to own a washer in which I can run a ‘Clean Washer Cycle.’  I literally put in bleach, turn the dial, and then push start.  It’s so simple.

But how do you sanitize if your machine doesn’t offer that feature?  Let’s first start with why you need to occasionally clean your machine.

Why do I need to sanitize my machine?

• You know the ‘ring around the tub’?  (I’m sure this is never in your tub as it is in mine…).  This is often the case with a top-loader.  Water only goes so high in the tub of a top-loader (as in a bathtub) and often a soap scummy substance can build up there.  And soap scum does not lead to clean clothes in my opinion.  Front loaders rarely have this issue since the drum continuously turns and water does not just sit at one level.
• If your house has endured the stomach bug and you have little kids that can’t hit a bucket.  This produces a lot of gross laundry.
• You have some type of varmint issue: lice, red bugs, fleas, bed  bugs
• Machine maintenance.  It is so much easier to maintain something than fix it.

The only product needed to sanitize a washer is bleach. Bleach is the only product that can adequately kill viruses, germs and bacteria.  There is a reason the hospitals rely on a 10:1 concentration of bleach.  It’s extremely effective when used in the correct concentration.

When diluting bleach, wear gloves and dilute it in a well-ventilated area.  Bleach may seem harmless since it’s a product all of us have on our shelves at home.  But be extremely careful – it can be caustic and can seriously hurt your airways, skin, eyes and mucous membranes.  Don’t ever use bleach casually – always be extremely cautious and alert.

Bleach must be in a 10:1 concentration to be effective in killing germs.  10 parts water to 1 part bleach.  In a well-ventilated area while donning gloves, measure 10 Tablespoons of water to 1 Tablespoon of bleach or 10 cups of water to 1 cup of bleach, or 5 cups of water to 1/2 cup of bleach.  The concentration is important here, so be careful when measuring.  You can store this in a spray bottle that is clearly marked with the solution concentration.  Don’t assume everyone knows what’s in the bottle or that you’ll remember what solution is in there.  Even if you live alone it is necessary to label hand-mixed solutions.

How to sanitize a top-loader:

• Using your newly mixed solution, heavily spray down the inside of the washer’s tub, ensuring you spray down the agitator also.  Let the solution sit a few minutes to loosen the grimy areas.
• Use a lightly abrasive substance to scrub and remove the grime build-up.  I would use a dishcloth that has a mesh backing to scrub or a Scotchbrite pad that is extremely mild.  Your top-loader either has a stainless-steel drum or one coated in enamel.  If it is coated in enamel, be extremely careful not to scratch it.  Once scratched it will rust and rust on clothes is a whole other post.
• Scrub every surface of the inside tub and agitator and respray your bleach solution as needed.  Scrub up under the lip of tub as it is usually pretty gunky.
• When you are satisfied with your scrubbing job,  move onto the lid of the machine.  Spray down and wipe everything – inside, outside, lip of the lid.
• Close the lid.  Spray your solution on the entire outside of the machine surface that is accessible and then wipe down with your cloth or scrubber.  If you are able to remove the knobs, you can rinse those in warm, soapy water.  Once you look at it closely, you’ll see that there is probably more gunk on there than you realized.  It’s easy to spill a drop or two of detergent and those few drops make things sticky in a hurry.
• Finally, you need to run a regular wash cycle in your machine using a cup of bleach using hot water.  It may seem wasteful, but set the water level on the highest setting.  You want as much of the inside drum to be ‘washed’ as possible.  You can even throw in your rag/scrubber that you used to clean your machine.

How to sanitize a front-loader:

• Using your newly mixed bleach solution, heavily spray down the inside of the washing drum and let the solution sit a few minutes.  While the drums of front-loaders usually don’t have grimy build-up, they still need to be washed out.
• Using a rag, wipe out the entire interior of the drum, including the fins (agitator paddles) that are molded to the drum.
• Heavily spray down the rubber seal around the door – the inside and outside portion – and again let the solution sit a few minutes.  Using a slightly abrasive scrubber, scrub down every portion of the rubber seal especially if there is mildew or mold there.  You might need to spray several more times and repeat.  If there is mold on your seal, bleach is the only substance that will kill it.
• Move onto the door of the washer and spray down the inside with your bleach solution.  There is often a grimy substance on the door, so be thorough.
• Close the door and spray every available surface of the outer part of the machine and wipe down with a soft cloth.
• Lastly, throw in your cleaning rags and run a normal wash using hot water with 1/4-1/2 cup bleach in your dispenser.  Remember that most front loaders adjust the amount of water based on how full the drum is, so throw in all of your dirty rags – not just one or two.

I use a bleach solution to clean out the inside of my washer on the first day of the month.  It’s an easy time to remember and I wrote it on my calendar until it became a habit (that may or may not have taken 9+ months to form…).

I only use a bleach solution on the outside of my washer if I think it has had gross things touch it such as little kid vomit bedding, etc.  Otherwise I use soapy water.  I don’t like to use something more harsh when a milder solution will do a fine job.

Do you have specific questions about how to sanitize your washer? Feel free to leave a comment.

Is the saying ‘Go big or go home?’

Well, this gift idea is definitely big…and they certainly carry a big price tag.

If you are sick of doing your laundry at the laundrymat or just need to seriously update your equipment, then a new washer and dryer may be the best items to put on your Christmas List.

Need some suggestions?  I have lots of opinions on “good” washers and dryers.

Instead of featuring specific models of washers and dryers, I’ll highlight specific features.  I’ll preface this with saying that these are for Front-Load washers only.  Now that I have a front-loader (FL) I will never be bothered with a top-loader again.  But that is a post for another day!

Washer Necessities:

• Load Size Sensor – why waste water?  A machine with a load sensor only uses the amount necessary.  Save the environment and your water bill too! Almost all FL now have this feature.
• Sanitizing Cycle – Especially helpful if you use cloth diapers. Or you need to wash sick bedding/clothes.  Or your man physically works hard every day and his clothes prove it.
• Energy-Star Certified – this goes without saying.  If you’re going to spend the big bucks for a top-of-the-line washer, it needs to drastically reduce your water and electricity bills.
• Oxi Dispense Option – I’m one of the biggest Oxi-Clean fans that there is.  Not having an Oxi dispenser would definitely be a deal-breaker for me.  It dispenses your Oxi product at just the right time in the cycle in order to maximize its boosting power.
• Steam Option – This seemed like a needless option to me when we purchased our current washer.  I wasn’t convinced it would work any better than just plain Oxi-Clean.  I was so wrong.  The steam option is a must for our family.  It gets rid of really tough stains like mustard, tomato sauce, blood, baby poop.  It certainly upgrades the price, but it does really work, in my experience.  It is the ultimate in stain removal.
• Size – We currently have a family of 5.  I would never buy smaller than a 4.2 cu. ft. machine.  Honestly, I’d buy the biggest machine I could afford.  Even if you’re a smaller family, there will occasionally be either large items you want to wash at home or laundry is piled up and you have large loads.  Trust me – you won’t be disappointed by buying the largest capacity machine you can afford.
• Multiple Washing Programs – I make a concerted effort to wash our clothes on the cycle that is best in order to prolong the life of them.  I need a good sanitizing cycle for dipes, an ultra delicate cycle for lingerie, hosiery, and the like and a heavy duty cycle for towels and such.  And of course  a Normal cycle for everyday washing.  All of the other cycles are just icing on the cake in terms of clean clothes.  I love having options.
• Self-Cleaning Cycle – I also thought this was a useless feature prior to my education on FLs.  I’m so glad I was wrong about it also.  I use it several times a month since I own a laundry business, but the normal household only needs to run it once a month or so.

Dryer Necessities:

• Size – If you bought a large-capacity washer, make sure not to skimp on the dryer.  If the clothes don’t have enough room to tumble, they’ll take longer to dry.  And that’s no good.
• Wrinkle-Shield Option – Allows clothes to tumble at intervals until you can take them out.
• Multiple Cycles – A variety of options is ideal.  The goal is to easily select a cycle that is specific to the wet garment.  A manual cycle is mandatory for garments that don’t fit the mold.
• Steam option – This is my favorite by far.  Have a load of clothes that you threw on the bed but never got around to folding?  Put them back in to tumble with the steam option and they look freshly laundered.  Knocks out wrinkles and odors.  I could talk about this option for hours.
• A reversible door – Sometimes plans don’t proceed as you think they might.  If that’s the case, you’ll be happy the door can be moved.

My biggest piece of advice?

Buy the warranty.

Today’s washer and dryers have a tremendous amount of electrical components.  Which means there are lots of opportunities for malfunction.

I am definitely not one to buy a warranty, but was so relieved last month when my washer had to be repaired.  A $250 part is not fun to pay for out of pocket!

Do you own a front-loader?  What is your favorite feature?

Have you run out of Christmas Gift Ideas?  Need some practical suggestions?

If you have a laundry lover on your Christmas List, stay tuned.  Most days between now and December 24th, I’ll feature an appliance, gadget, detergent, or product that can ease the laundry burden.

We’ll start with a…

Jiffy Steamer J-2000 from Amazon.com

Clothes Steamer:

Clothes Steamers are fabulous appliances.  For those of you don’t have a Steam dryer, it is difficult to easily refresh your clothes or knock the wrinkles out.

An old-fashioned iron just doesn’t really do the job.  And I wouldn’t say that it really refreshes clothes either.

Enter the Clothes Steamer.

You’ll often see these in clothing stores to make garments look newer after they’ve been tried on by customers.

How would this help you at home?

Let me count the ways:

- refreshing clothes after they’ve been worn once or twice – but aren’t really ‘dirty’

- can quickly smooth clothes that have been left in the dryer too long

- safely improves the appearance of garments that can’t be traditionally ironed (think velvet, sequins, etc)

- it’s faster than ironing

- works well on draperies and curtains

Like any appliance, there are several brands and price categories.  I pulled these from Amazon because I like having reviews to help guide my decision-making when purchasing an appliance.  Here are just a few to get you started.

Conair

Jiffy Steamer

McCulloch

If you’re in the market for a clothes steamer, there are several things you might want to review  before purchase:

• Will it take regular tap water?  Or does it need distilled/purified?
• How large is the water reservoir?  If it’s too small, you’ll have to fill often which is a pain.
• How long does it take to heat up?
• How large is it?  Do you have enough room for it?
• Does it roll so you can easily retrieve it from the closet/laundry room/mudroom?
• Do you have to drain the water when not in use? If so, how and is it easy to do so?

And there are even some fabulous travel versions!