Product review (5 stars): Best investment for more self sufficient and small space living
I love this washer! My boyfriend and I have been living on our beautiful boat for the past year, it has given us great joy to live a life of such peace and relaxation!!! The only convenience I have missed on this boat is having a washer and dryer. We have been hauling our clothes every week to the laundromat around the corner from our marina - which isn't awful, but rather a larger activity than it could be. So to I recently started searching for alternatives that would be feasible on a boat, meaning it can't take up large space and be very heavy for weight distribution. This more than fits the bill! For $40 this washer has already paid for itself in a month! Now I wash everything but the bedding and towels, those I still take to the laundromat, but now only twice a month and spend 1/3 the amount I would be otherwise. Water is included in our slip fee, so I utilize what we already have. I also invested in a garment rack to hang dry the clothes on our back deck and have figured out how to really wring out all that water to have clothes dried within a day or two (with the cold winter and rain it generally takes a day longer, but on a sunny warm day it goes very quick!)
With limited counter space, it fits perfectly next to the sink. I fill up with water about half way with a tablespoon of detergent and can get so much washed and hung in the time it would other wise take me to pack up, haul over, load and unload - it's very convenient for me! I generally spin it for 1-2 minutes then let clothes sit for 5 minutes and spin again for another 5 minutes before rinsing and I typically rinse everything twice to get clean.
If you live in a small space, looking to conserve money, want to be in better control of the chemicals your clothes are in contact with, etc this is definitely a great option! Even though it is plastic, it's actually sturdy and we'll designed - if we had more space I would build a place to permanently mount it like other reviews had done. Works on tough and gentle clothes. For my delicates that don't take up much space but need a good tumble, I pop in a wash ball to help shake it up and get it even more clean.
Overall I am very happy with this purchase - it saves me money, time and worry about other dtergents used at the laundromat!!!