Frequently Bought Together
Product Features
|
Product Details
Would you like to give feedback on images?
|
Product Specifications
Brand NameGetPreparedStuff
Model InfoRapid-Washer
Part Number Hand-Washer-Machine
Item Dimensions
Depth24 inches
Width8.50 inches
Height7 inches
Product Description
For hand clothes washing, this simple hand clothes washer is more effective than hand washing laundry alone. The hand powered up and down plunger washer action uses the pushing and pulling of water through the clothes to get them clean without a lot of wear and tear on clothes or your hands. This non-electric washer uses minimal water and because of the agitation motion, less soap. It sounds like it's breathing with every clothes washing motion. Save a trip to the laundromat and use it in your sink, 5 gal. bucket, pail or tub to quickly and simply hand wash soiled and dirty clothes. More compact than a hand crank washing machine, the portable rapid washer hand washing machine is a great item to have included with your emergency preparedness kit or 72 hour kit and for those week long outdoor camping expeditions with scouts or hunters or just working on the homestead where a DIY washing machine is needed.
This modern breathing mobile washer version of the old rapid washer doesn't use tin plated steel in it's plunger style funnel cone construction so rust will never be an issue yet it's as durable to last and work better than those made in the 1800's. It's a great item to help you get prepared or just make your daily DIY laundry chores easier.
MADE IN USA
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
75 of 77 people found the following review helpful
This item is actually the Breathing Mobile Washer, not the Rapid Washer that GetPreparedStuff misidentifies it as. The Rapid Washer is the original 19th century design made out of tinned steel, not plastic. That's prone to rust and dents and can damage clothes with its sharp edges.
I was looking for an inexpensive clothes washer because I was sick and tired of hauling clothes to the laundromat, and being in an apartment, I don't have room for a washer and dryer. Electric or hand-powered really didn't matter. What did matter was that hooking up to the faucet would be extremely difficult if not impossible since I already had a Clear2O filter connection on the spout. That ruled out things like the small Haier washers, which were too expensive as well. The electric Wonder Washer looked like an option, but had some bad reviews for its low capacity, sometimes poor reliability, objectionable noise and what looked like rather weak agitator action. Video reviews showed that it just swirled clothes around for a few seconds each way, not back and forth like a regular top-load washer. Think of an oversize stand blender. I considered the Wonderwash hand-powered washer, which received good reviews for its cleaning, but that seemed like it was rather tedious, with screwing and unscrewing the lid and installing and removing the drain tube and watching water drain in a thin stream. I settled on the Breathing Mobile Washer, which as a bonus was the least expensive option of all. (Just buy it direct from the manufacturer's website - breathingwasher dotcom - as mentioned in other reviews. Better to support the manufacturer and save yourself a little or a lot of money by cutting out the middleman. Don't mind their website. It's rather badly designed, but you're only going there to order.)
In my experience, the Breathing Washer works pretty well. For really dirty laundry, just pre-soak the clothing by pushing it down into the water/detergent with the Breathing Washer (15 seconds of agitation should do it) then let it sit for 15-30 minutes before doing the regular agitation cycle. A minute or two of agitation really does do the job. Again, really bad loads may need extra rinse cycles, but unlike a regular washing machine, you can repeat fill-agitate-empty rinse cycles until you can see the water is clear, rather than trusting the machine. It's quick enough that I don't really mind doing laundry now, instead of wasting over an hour at the laundromat. The plunging action is surprisingly easy. No strain at all. At the end of two minutes, I'm not winded, thanks to the action using two arms rather than one. Users of the Wonderwash have complained of having a tired arm after two minutes of cranking. But who couldn't do with a little bit of exercise? I've done several consecutive loads without getting tired. It's quiet enough that I can do laundry late at night without disturbing my neighbors. All you hear is a little sloshing and the "breathing" noise as the air rushes through the small top vents. Put on your iPod and a little music and you'd be surprised how quickly and easily the process goes. Wow, it feels like I just started plunging but that 2:35 song has finished!
Because it's so adjustable in terms of the amount of water and clothing, it's great if you need to do some "emergency" laundry, like if you need a certain garment clean for tomorrow or if you spilled something on your favorite shirt. No need to wait for a full load for the washing machine.
In terms of reliability, this is as simple as it can get. No moving parts at all. The blue parts appear to be made of heavy gauge polypropylene almost 1/8" thick. I can't imagine this ever breaking short of being run over by a truck. There are some reports of the Wonderwash having problems with its construction, which is one reason I decided against that. The only other thing you need is a bucket, and buckets also last pretty much forever. The square plastic buckets that 22 pound clumping cat litter comes in are a good fit, just a little wider than the 8" diameter of the blue cone.
A couple of tips: The first thing I would recommend is replacing the handle if you intend to use it on the floor. Your local hardware store or home center should have longer screw-in broom handles. I got a 4-1/2 foot tubular steel handle from Lowe's for $5, which should last the rest of my life. The longer handle lets you stand upright and close to the bucket rather than having to stoop down. This eliminates stress on your lower back. With the longer handle, the power comes from your arms, not your back. Or put the bucket on a platform to raise it up if you want to use the included handle (which is a few inches longer than your average toilet plunger). The first few loads I did without the longer handle, I just put the bucket on my bathtub rim, which also made it quick and convenient to fill with water and tip to dump out when I'm done. The bucket can't fall off the rim. If it slides towards me, bending my knees slightly stops it from falling. If it tilts away, the handle of the Breathing Washer gives me enough leverage to easily pull it back. In fact, even with the longer handle, I prefer to work with the bucket inside the tub, so any splashing is contained and, again, I have easy access to the tub faucet and drain. I can also wash larger items directly in the tub thanks to the longer handle.
Don't go overboard with detergent. The manufacturer recommends only a couple of teaspoons per load. Using too much doesn't get your clothes cleaner. It's just extra detergent you'll have to spend extra time and effort to rinse out of your clothes. The easy way to know if you're using enough is to look for suds at the end of the wash cycle. If there's a just little bit of suds left, the water still has a bit of cleaning ability, which is perfect. You don't want no suds because that means you didn't use enough and the washwater is spent. Lots of suds means you used too much detergent. A regular washing machine doesn't let you see if there's any residual detergent anyway. Once it's finished with the spin cycle, you just don't know how detergent-free the clothes are. In fact, there's a video demonstration that shows machine-washed and -dried clothes being put into a bucket of water then a few strokes with a Breathing Washer pulling enough detergent out of the fabric to create suds. Tweaking the amount of water also takes a bit of experimentation. I've found that too little water means the strong suction action on every upstroke tends to lift the entire bucket. That leads to more splashing and banging as the bucket falls back down. At least a two to two and a half gallons seems to be the minimum in my bucket even if I'm just washing one garment.
Also, other users have complained that the handle loosens during use. I haven't had that problem. Just screw it on tightly the first time. Grip the "strainer" part, not the cone, when tightening. That's the part that's actually screwing into the handle, after all. Hold the cone and it'll just spin around the handle before it fully tightens. If you do have trouble with loosening, try winding a layer or two of Teflon tape around the threads before assembly (an old "plumber's trick" to keep threads from loosening; pick it up at the hardware store when you buy the longer handle), or smear some toothpaste on the threads before screwing the handle in, then let it harden for a few days before using again. This acts as a threadlock compound. (Ever notice how tough it is to re-open a tube of toothpaste after the cap gets dried on?) This last may make it harder to unscrew if you ever need to disassemble it, but the Breathing Washer doesn't take up much space, so I don't expect to ever have to anyway. It's only a little bigger than a broom or a mop. Superglue or Gorilla Glue should also work, if you already have them, but that will definitely be permanent.
Paired with a drying rack over the tub, I now have a very "green" (economical and environmentally sound) laundry setup that costs me only pennies a week in detergent to run. Especially important with the insane prices of name-brand detergents nowadays. If you don't want to hand-wring your clothes before hanging up to dry, one of the commenters on this review suggested a restaurant-grade hand-cranked salad spinner (search for "commercial salad spinner" on Amazon). They cost a lot more than the home models (currently starting at $100 plus shipping) but handle much bigger loads and are more durable. They would be good for camping because they don't need electricity, just like the Breathing Washer. If you need faster drying at home, aim a fan set at low speed at the drying rack. It doesn't use much electricity and can reduce the drying time to slightly more than overnight. For those of you who care about this, the Breathing Mobile Washer is made in the USA (Idaho, to be precise) unlike the Wonderwash and Wonder Washer (and nearly every regular washing machine), which are imports. Finally, clothes should last longer, as well. Unlike washboards and top-load washing machines, this doesn't rely on friction to scrub dirt off. You're actually pushing and pulling water and detergent through the fabric, which means a lot less wear and tear on the garment. Although I do have to admit that really tough dirt and grime (you've got ring around the collar!) may occasionally need a little extra attention with a nylon brush, but only rarely.
I was looking for an inexpensive clothes washer because I was sick and tired of hauling clothes to the laundromat, and being in an apartment, I don't have room for a washer and dryer. Electric or hand-powered really didn't matter. What did matter was that hooking up to the faucet would be extremely difficult if not impossible since I already had a Clear2O filter connection on the spout. That ruled out things like the small Haier washers, which were too expensive as well. The electric Wonder Washer looked like an option, but had some bad reviews for its low capacity, sometimes poor reliability, objectionable noise and what looked like rather weak agitator action. Video reviews showed that it just swirled clothes around for a few seconds each way, not back and forth like a regular top-load washer. Think of an oversize stand blender. I considered the Wonderwash hand-powered washer, which received good reviews for its cleaning, but that seemed like it was rather tedious, with screwing and unscrewing the lid and installing and removing the drain tube and watching water drain in a thin stream. I settled on the Breathing Mobile Washer, which as a bonus was the least expensive option of all. (Just buy it direct from the manufacturer's website - breathingwasher dotcom - as mentioned in other reviews. Better to support the manufacturer and save yourself a little or a lot of money by cutting out the middleman. Don't mind their website. It's rather badly designed, but you're only going there to order.)
In my experience, the Breathing Washer works pretty well. For really dirty laundry, just pre-soak the clothing by pushing it down into the water/detergent with the Breathing Washer (15 seconds of agitation should do it) then let it sit for 15-30 minutes before doing the regular agitation cycle. A minute or two of agitation really does do the job. Again, really bad loads may need extra rinse cycles, but unlike a regular washing machine, you can repeat fill-agitate-empty rinse cycles until you can see the water is clear, rather than trusting the machine. It's quick enough that I don't really mind doing laundry now, instead of wasting over an hour at the laundromat. The plunging action is surprisingly easy. No strain at all. At the end of two minutes, I'm not winded, thanks to the action using two arms rather than one. Users of the Wonderwash have complained of having a tired arm after two minutes of cranking. But who couldn't do with a little bit of exercise? I've done several consecutive loads without getting tired. It's quiet enough that I can do laundry late at night without disturbing my neighbors. All you hear is a little sloshing and the "breathing" noise as the air rushes through the small top vents. Put on your iPod and a little music and you'd be surprised how quickly and easily the process goes. Wow, it feels like I just started plunging but that 2:35 song has finished!
Because it's so adjustable in terms of the amount of water and clothing, it's great if you need to do some "emergency" laundry, like if you need a certain garment clean for tomorrow or if you spilled something on your favorite shirt. No need to wait for a full load for the washing machine.
In terms of reliability, this is as simple as it can get. No moving parts at all. The blue parts appear to be made of heavy gauge polypropylene almost 1/8" thick. I can't imagine this ever breaking short of being run over by a truck. There are some reports of the Wonderwash having problems with its construction, which is one reason I decided against that. The only other thing you need is a bucket, and buckets also last pretty much forever. The square plastic buckets that 22 pound clumping cat litter comes in are a good fit, just a little wider than the 8" diameter of the blue cone.
A couple of tips: The first thing I would recommend is replacing the handle if you intend to use it on the floor. Your local hardware store or home center should have longer screw-in broom handles. I got a 4-1/2 foot tubular steel handle from Lowe's for $5, which should last the rest of my life. The longer handle lets you stand upright and close to the bucket rather than having to stoop down. This eliminates stress on your lower back. With the longer handle, the power comes from your arms, not your back. Or put the bucket on a platform to raise it up if you want to use the included handle (which is a few inches longer than your average toilet plunger). The first few loads I did without the longer handle, I just put the bucket on my bathtub rim, which also made it quick and convenient to fill with water and tip to dump out when I'm done. The bucket can't fall off the rim. If it slides towards me, bending my knees slightly stops it from falling. If it tilts away, the handle of the Breathing Washer gives me enough leverage to easily pull it back. In fact, even with the longer handle, I prefer to work with the bucket inside the tub, so any splashing is contained and, again, I have easy access to the tub faucet and drain. I can also wash larger items directly in the tub thanks to the longer handle.
Don't go overboard with detergent. The manufacturer recommends only a couple of teaspoons per load. Using too much doesn't get your clothes cleaner. It's just extra detergent you'll have to spend extra time and effort to rinse out of your clothes. The easy way to know if you're using enough is to look for suds at the end of the wash cycle. If there's a just little bit of suds left, the water still has a bit of cleaning ability, which is perfect. You don't want no suds because that means you didn't use enough and the washwater is spent. Lots of suds means you used too much detergent. A regular washing machine doesn't let you see if there's any residual detergent anyway. Once it's finished with the spin cycle, you just don't know how detergent-free the clothes are. In fact, there's a video demonstration that shows machine-washed and -dried clothes being put into a bucket of water then a few strokes with a Breathing Washer pulling enough detergent out of the fabric to create suds. Tweaking the amount of water also takes a bit of experimentation. I've found that too little water means the strong suction action on every upstroke tends to lift the entire bucket. That leads to more splashing and banging as the bucket falls back down. At least a two to two and a half gallons seems to be the minimum in my bucket even if I'm just washing one garment.
Also, other users have complained that the handle loosens during use. I haven't had that problem. Just screw it on tightly the first time. Grip the "strainer" part, not the cone, when tightening. That's the part that's actually screwing into the handle, after all. Hold the cone and it'll just spin around the handle before it fully tightens. If you do have trouble with loosening, try winding a layer or two of Teflon tape around the threads before assembly (an old "plumber's trick" to keep threads from loosening; pick it up at the hardware store when you buy the longer handle), or smear some toothpaste on the threads before screwing the handle in, then let it harden for a few days before using again. This acts as a threadlock compound. (Ever notice how tough it is to re-open a tube of toothpaste after the cap gets dried on?) This last may make it harder to unscrew if you ever need to disassemble it, but the Breathing Washer doesn't take up much space, so I don't expect to ever have to anyway. It's only a little bigger than a broom or a mop. Superglue or Gorilla Glue should also work, if you already have them, but that will definitely be permanent.
Paired with a drying rack over the tub, I now have a very "green" (economical and environmentally sound) laundry setup that costs me only pennies a week in detergent to run. Especially important with the insane prices of name-brand detergents nowadays. If you don't want to hand-wring your clothes before hanging up to dry, one of the commenters on this review suggested a restaurant-grade hand-cranked salad spinner (search for "commercial salad spinner" on Amazon). They cost a lot more than the home models (currently starting at $100 plus shipping) but handle much bigger loads and are more durable. They would be good for camping because they don't need electricity, just like the Breathing Washer. If you need faster drying at home, aim a fan set at low speed at the drying rack. It doesn't use much electricity and can reduce the drying time to slightly more than overnight. For those of you who care about this, the Breathing Mobile Washer is made in the USA (Idaho, to be precise) unlike the Wonderwash and Wonder Washer (and nearly every regular washing machine), which are imports. Finally, clothes should last longer, as well. Unlike washboards and top-load washing machines, this doesn't rely on friction to scrub dirt off. You're actually pushing and pulling water and detergent through the fabric, which means a lot less wear and tear on the garment. Although I do have to admit that really tough dirt and grime (you've got ring around the collar!) may occasionally need a little extra attention with a nylon brush, but only rarely.
77 of 80 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
My son is fighting at a tiny combat outpost in Afghanistan. They have no washers, no amenities. I ordered this and had it directly shipped to my son. He called me and told me it works very well!
He said you put your water, soap clothes in bucket of water. You plunge up and down which causes a suction in the water. The water actually is sucked through the clothing and removes dirt. He emptied his bucket of water and soap and repeated until the water stayed clean. Then he poured rinse water in the buck and repeated to remove soap. All the guys at the outpost are actually excited over this litter device! No more soiled, stinking clothes!
He said you put your water, soap clothes in bucket of water. You plunge up and down which causes a suction in the water. The water actually is sucked through the clothing and removes dirt. He emptied his bucket of water and soap and repeated until the water stayed clean. Then he poured rinse water in the buck and repeated to remove soap. All the guys at the outpost are actually excited over this litter device! No more soiled, stinking clothes!
47 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I have purchased a washboard and this item. I have done two loads with this device. It is as fast as stated earlier. After a few seconds the water turns brown or gray. After a few minutes the clothes are clean enough to rinse. I have washed jeans, artificial materials, towels, and delicate shirts. All are handled gently while still getting them clean. The suction and expulsion action must be the way to go, apparently. I just fill up my bath tub and plunge in.
The plastic is actually very thick, which pleasantly surprised me. The metal that connects to the wooden handle wiggles slightly and the plastic needs to be tightened once or twice throughout the wash, but other than that it works better than I imagined. For the price it can be beat. I wouldn't use a mechanical washer after trying this.
Unless you have a way to plunge close to your body it will give your arms and back a good work out in that short time. Also keep in mind that although hand washing is simple easy and cheap hand wringing is time consuming, distorts cloths, and often leaves cloths dripping still. This goes double for jeans. A spin dryer may be a good idea. I just tried a mop bucket ringer and it fails to outperform hand wringing in any way, especially for items with buttons and such.
The plastic is actually very thick, which pleasantly surprised me. The metal that connects to the wooden handle wiggles slightly and the plastic needs to be tightened once or twice throughout the wash, but other than that it works better than I imagined. For the price it can be beat. I wouldn't use a mechanical washer after trying this.
Unless you have a way to plunge close to your body it will give your arms and back a good work out in that short time. Also keep in mind that although hand washing is simple easy and cheap hand wringing is time consuming, distorts cloths, and often leaves cloths dripping still. This goes double for jeans. A spin dryer may be a good idea. I just tried a mop bucket ringer and it fails to outperform hand wringing in any way, especially for items with buttons and such.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good, but NOT for Cloth Diapers, Diaper Shells or Doublers
I purchased the Mobile Washer (which is the actual name of the product) hoping that it would clean cloth diapers and doublers well. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Korinna
Going to buy another one for backup. Use mine everyday +/-.
I use mine just about everyday. Washing underwear, socks, nightgowns, long sleeved shirts, bed pads soaked in urine (rinsed off well with a garden hose and then put in it's own... Read more
Published 20 days ago by Woods Woman
for hard workers, not lazy whiners. real deal A+
dependable life saver. compared to reliance on washing machines, this 3 foot doohickey is a lightweight super lifesaver. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sean B. Newell
So glad I found this......
I was using a washboard to do my laundry and it worked well, but was putting a strain on my back and arms. This came up after I order my washboard from Amazon. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nell
Simplicity
A simple low-tech solution that is quicker, more economical, more gentle on clothing and cleans better than a machine. Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. Bulla
It really works!
The washer died about 2 months ago and all the new ones have such lousy reviews we can't bring ourselves to put money in stuff that seems like it's not made very well. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nocturnal
great idea
Really happy with it for the most part. The only problem I had was it kept coming unscrewed while I was using it. Otherwise, did as described, is well made and a good purchase.
Published 1 month ago by Rachel Tatner
Great but time consuming
I got this hand washer because I have a newborn baby, so it's hard to get out to a laundromat to wash clothes. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Arreyn Grey
Works darn well
The Mobile Washer is a pretty amazing little contraption. Except for the loose handle issue (other reviewers used glue or plumber's tape to solve this problem--I probably will do... Read more
Published 1 month ago by judy
a big blue plunger
Alrighty this item is GREAT I have a small apartment with no hook ups for a washer but this little jewel does a great job on my delicates and many other things would recommend it... Read more
Published 2 months ago by rosie rockingchair
Related Items
- Most Popular
- Laundry Storage Products
- Camp Kitchen Equipment
- Camping Personal Care Products
- Camping Safety & Survival Equipment
Look for Similar Items by Category
|
