Product review (4 stars): Get's the Job Done!
Before I begin, let me just say that its a 60 mile round trip to visit the laundry mat, at a cost of $40 each time (including gas to make the trip. So I was desperate when I ordered my Wonderwash, even though I have to collect rain water or haul it in to wash clothes. Okay, here goes; Few products have such varying reviews as this one. You have to conform to the machine, not the other way around. There are no written assembly instructions, just a few drawings at the bottom of the paper that comes with it. However, its not at all complicated to figure out and assembles in 5 minutes. Use steaming hot water but not boiling hot. Add water first, then detergent, then clothes, in that order! There is a learning curve to the cranking speed and it varies from load to load. If you crank too slow, it won't agitate the clothes properly. If you crank too fast, it won't agitate the clothes at all. Vary your cranking speed until you hear and feel that distinctive "plop" with each rotation, then continue for 2 minutes. Longer cranking time does NOT get the clothes any more clean. Its's better to wash the clothes twice at 2 minutes each than to crank the washer for 4 minutes. I have only done full loads. I fill the unit to the half way mark, then add 1-2 tablespoons of detergent, then add 5 lbs of clothes (yes I do weigh the dirty clothes before putting them in the washer). And 4.8 to 5.0 lbs is a full load, you can fit more but they won't get as clean. After washing, I attach the drain spout first, then remove the lid to let it drain faster. After clothes are removed and wrung out by hand, I rinse the washer with a cup of water before filling half way with new rinse water and adding clothes. Only 1 minute of cranking is necessary to rinse. Then drain as before, wring out the clothes and hang on the line to dry. The instructions say 1.5 gallon of water to wash a full load, I just fill it to the center mark which is just about 2 gallons, use the same amount of water to rinse. Five lbs of clothes is more than you might think. After washing and wringing them out, they will fill a metal dishpan level to the top. You can wash 2 pair of jeans no problem. One last bit of advice here, this thing is made of plastic, so you have to treat it fairly easy. The tub itself is pretty strong but the frame and crank handle won't take much abuse. I may even build my own base out of plywood to strengthen this thing up some because the base is really flimsy.