The Breathing Mobile Washer
The "Breathing" Mobile Washer is a manual agitator that helps me do as good a job as a conventional washer machine, even better in my opinion. We do almost all our laundry at home in the tub, using the Breathing Mobile Washer and the previously-reviewed large spin dryer. The washer is sort of like a plunger, only made of rigid materials. The cone is articulated, so air is allowed to escape -- unlike a plunger, you don't get a build up of air pressure. Inside, near the bottom, there's a plastic grate. When you push down, water is driven through whatever is under the grate. Unlike the agitator in a conventional washer does, this washer doesn't just move the items around in the water. It literally forces water through the material. At the same time, though, it's gentle on clothing. There's lots of surface area, so there's little chance of anything tearing from potential stress. And, of course, being manual, you decide how hard to go at something. A dirty pair of jeans is always going to get a more thorough plunging than a delicate sweater or blouse. Soaking and pretreating laundry does most of the hard work. We do find it's important to still pre-treat stains, but we had to do that with our conventional washer, too.
Overall, using the mobile washer does not take too much work. I can throw the equivalent of 2-3 loads into the tub, agitate them for a minute or two to ensure everything is soaking well, then leave it for ten minutes or so, come back in, agitate it some more, leave it for another ten minutes, then give it a final agitation before loading it into the spin dryer in 2-3 batches. Since we usually use only one load of wash water and one load of rinse water for multiple loads of laundry, we're essentially doing 3-6 loads of wash with the same amount of water, detergent, and softener as we'd normally use in a single load. (Note: we use white vinegar in the rinse water instead of fabric softener).
According to the manufacturer, the Breathing Mobile Washer is actually a revamp of an old patent from the late 1800's. The old version was made of heavier metal that supposedly rusted. This one is lighter; the cone is made from plastic and the handle is wood.
-- Christine Mank
The "Breathing" Mobile Washer
$17
$35 (non-U.S.)
Available from The "Breathing" Mobile Washer
Favorite (15)
Harper
I bought a tin-plated steel version of this for $16 http://www.lehmans.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=2758&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=673&iSubCat=674&iProductID=2758
which has worked great -- there is a little rusting but what interests me is the mobile washer sounds lighter-weight. I've had sore arms after washing really dirty items with the Lehman's one.
DiscomBob
My wife's gonna love this item. And our anniversary is coming up! I'll be a hero!
David
I'd be interested to read a little more of your washing routine. Do you fill the tub with wather and wash all 6 loads, then drain the tub and refill with rinse water and rinse all 6 loads and then spin dry? Do you increase the amount of detergent when you are washing 2-3 loads at once? If you only wash 2-3 loads at a time - what do you use to hold the wet clothes while you are washing the other loads?
willis
heh my parents have one of the old school ones. You are supposed to wipe it down and applly mineral oil to it after every use, then you have to wash off the mineral oil so it don't get into your clothes. this prevents rusting.
anyways glad to see a improved version has been designed. this is a perfect solution for me to do laundry on the road. It's light weight enough to bother packing in a motorcycle.
Moon
I wonder how this compares to the $45 washer on the Laundry Alternatives page? I don't have to do 2 to 3 loads at a time, so this small Laundry Alternatives washer is the right size, but how does it compare to this hand held thingie?
Content in a Cottage
I want one!
Thanks for the coolest cool tool.
Rosemary
Bruce Irvine
I was at a garage sale and I saw something that looked like this only it was 125 years old.
Dav
When spending a few months in a small town in southern Brasil, I lived in an apartment with a big sink out on the deck. I had the choice of hand washing my clothes in the sink or walking 2 miles to a laundromat. I was surprised after a lifetime of using machines how little work it was to wash your own clothes. This would have made it even easier! Definitely will be ordering one of these.
Jules
This is a definite improvement over the Rapid Washer.
With a supply of Zote, one can wash clothes wherever hot water is available, even woolens.
Jeff
I ordered one after reading about it here and it arrived today: in the box was the BMW (Breathable Mobile Washer) and a "solar clothes dryer" (clothesline and clothes pins): it's good to deal with a company with a sense of humor.
The construction is nice and sturdy, and the one load I've done so far was pleasant enough -- it was still washing clothes, however. It does feel good to know that my total cost for the load that's now hanging on the line includes zero electricity.
We're a large household with potty training kids which means a lot of laundry. This will not be our primary mechanism for cleaning clothes, but it looks like a fast, practical, and useful tool for doing quick, small, or delicate batches of laundry. A winner.
chris
Will I still be married if I buy this for my wife for Christmas? :)
Moon
Wow. My clothes are disgusting. Since I'm doing this in my bathtub rather than sticking them in a washer, you get to see how disgusting your clothes are. Yuck.