Three loads of Wonder Wash laundry on drying rack bungeed to Casita tongue.

Ron and I have had enough bad laundromat experiences to make us want to come up with a better idea.  And I believe that we have.

The Wonder Wash in use

We will still use laundromats when they are available, reliable and clean.  But using mildewy washers and out-of-order or rusty dryers is now a thing of the past.

I started with a manual Wonder Wash.  I have one at home, but since I couldn’t get to it, I ordered a new one to use just for camping.  I also had a smaller spin dryer that Laundry Alternative used to carry.  But it is out of stock now and may not be available again.

The Nina spin dryer is a lot larger than I expected.  At first I was tempted to send it back, but I am so glad I didn’t.  It holds jeans, towels, sheets, etc. without a qualm, and is so quiet I wonder sometimes if it is running.  It spins at 1800 rpms and gets clothes a lot dryer than my washer’s spin cycle at home.  So they dry fast since they are just damp when you hang them up.

The Nina Spin Dryer

The Wonder Wash can be used while boondocking.  But the spin dryer needs electricity.  And since hand-wringing is the hardest part of doing laundry by hand, I would only use it when we have hookups.

You will read reviews all over the board at Amazon.  Some people say the Wonder Wash is fantastic (as I do).  Some say it does nothing and after you use it you end up with wet, dirty clothes.

I believe both views are correct because the results are solely dependent on the way you use the Wonder Wash.  The directions say to spin the tub one turn per second.  At that rate, laundry falls from top to bottom and from bottom to top each turn.  If you spin it faster, centrifugal force will keep the clothes in one place — and you will end up with wet, dirty laundry.

Clothes out of the spinner –ready to hang to dry.

If you turn it at the recommended speed for two minutes, the clothes fall from top to bottom and from bottom to top and are slammed through the hot, soapy water each time.  Even without the “pressurized soap and water being forced through the clothes” that the ad touts, dunking clothes that many times in hot soapy water does a great job cleaning them.

I don’t use the handle.  It’s hard work.  Instead I just spin the tub on its axis, pulling the lid toward me, and then using the drain pipe mount as a handle to keep the spin going.  It’s as close to effortless as manual laundry can be.

Water comes out of the spinner fast! I don’t have a bowl large enough to hold the water, so I quickly switch to a second pot when the first one is almost filled.

When I first got my Casita, I wanted to make it the prettiest little camper ever.  And I loved the way it turned out.  But as we actually use the trailer, beauty is giving way to what works for us.

I had already modified our camper to have twin beds instead of a double bed and dinette.  My dinette idea was very pretty, but not too practical.  Ron uses the little round table for his tablet and man cave stuff, so I always eat off a tray sitting on my bed.  Since we weren’t using the table as a dinette, I removed the cushions by his bed and stuffed them into the closet, freeing up space to leave my “laundry room” set up permanently.  I do plan to put attractive small rugs underneath the washer and spinner to keep the bare white fiberglass seats from showing.

These pictures are out of order. I rinse clothes from the washer in the sink or in a large bucket. Some clothes require only one rinse. Most require two. And really dirty ones where I used a lot of soap require three rinses.

Hopefully this will help me spend a few minutes each day or two doing a small load and keep laundry from piling up.

Disclaimer — I have no connection with the sellers of these machines — except as a happy customer.

Heavy duty folding dryer rack bungeed to trailer. Usually the bumper, but the way our site is situated, the front is away from the road.