Misc Wringer Washer

mecoastie

Veteran Member
Discussion with the wife a couple weeks ago about laundry got me thinking about a wringer washer. Looking at CL and FB Marketplace there are a number around for fairly short money. Looking at Maytag as they seem the most common and parts seem fairly readily avail. There isn't much to them from what I can see. Any experience or tips on getting one? What to look out for when buying? Thanks
 

JMG91

Veteran Member
Eventually, I plan to make something like this with a 55 gal. blue barrel on a rod and A-frame setup. It will have a smaller barrel with holes in it on the inside that will allow you to wash AND dry, and a strip of tire goes around the circumference of the 55 gal. barrel so that it can sit on the back wheel of a bike and be spun by pedalling. I found the idea on Pinterest, and thought it was really great. You can get some decent exercise without wearing yourself out too badly.
 

mecoastie

Veteran Member
Eventually, I plan to make something like this with a 55 gal. blue barrel on a rod and A-frame setup. It will have a smaller barrel with holes in it on the inside that will allow you to wash AND dry, and a strip of tire goes around the circumference of the 55 gal. barrel so that it can sit on the back wheel of a bike and be spun by pedalling. I found the idea on Pinterest, and thought it was really great. You can get some decent exercise without wearing yourself out too badly.
If TSHTF I am not worried about getting enough exercise.
 

rosepath

Member
Went to an Amish community auction a few years ago. The lane was lined with 17 wringer washers. Not sure what they were replacing them with.
For washing fleeces from our sheep, I found a wooden wash stand with a wringer in the center. Two tubs are supported on the stand's table area, and the wringer is in between. Very handy. There are probably a few of those still out there, if they haven't been turned into flower planters for the front yard.
 

xtreme_right

Veteran Member
Eventually, I plan to make something like this with a 55 gal. blue barrel on a rod and A-frame setup. It will have a smaller barrel with holes in it on the inside that will allow you to wash AND dry, and a strip of tire goes around the circumference of the 55 gal. barrel so that it can sit on the back wheel of a bike and be spun by pedalling. I found the idea on Pinterest, and thought it was really great. You can get some decent exercise without wearing yourself out too badly.
I immediately pictured Gilligan86A1D03A-4065-4E53-9370-C6CED0216934.jpeg
 

Walrus

Veteran Member
The old-style wringer washers (which were Maytag IIRC) are still being manufactured in Saudi Arabia last time I looked.
 

Weft and Warp

Senior Member
Discussion with the wife a couple weeks ago about laundry got me thinking about a wringer washer. Looking at CL and FB Marketplace there are a number around for fairly short money. Looking at Maytag as they seem the most common and parts seem fairly readily avail. There isn't much to them from what I can see. Any experience or tips on getting one? What to look out for when buying? Thanks

We had one of those when I was a teen at home (and yes, it was a rare thing to have one of those back then). I really liked how clean the clothes got--- there wasn't a timer, just a knob that we pulled out to put it into agitation mode.
And by leaving that knob pulled out into the on position, we could wash the clothes for as long as we needed. It was great too if we just wanted to soak something first before washing (something we can't do now with our modern washers).

We had to be careful to not overload the wringer. The wringer had a safety mechanism where it would release the pressure when overloaded, but in doing so, it would snap out--- and it hurt if your hand was in the way when it did so. (My brother still has a small scar from that wringer snapping into his hand.)

We also needed to make sure buttons were lying flat when they went through the wringer, otherwise the buttons would pop off of the clothes.
If I had the chance again, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.
 

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
I bought a wonder washer years ago, although I've yet to use it. I also have a plunger especially for washing clothes. I also have a couple of wash boards, including the one my mother use to wash my diapers on. Although it rusted some in Katrina, but I kept it. No wringer thing though.

God is good all the time

Judy
 

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________
They sell the wringers on Amazon. They aren't cheap but you can install them with what look like eyebolt clamps onto a tub or barrel. The one below is just one of several that they sell.

 

JMG91

Veteran Member
If TSHTF I am not worried about getting enough exercise.
Perhaps I should have worded that better. I meant that because the idea is based on using the legs rather than the arms, while there's some decent exercise involved, it would be, IMHO, less strenuous that the ones that use the arms.
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
Just make sure you have plenty of buttons to replace the ones that you're going to break putting clothes through the ringer. Oh....and keep your finger tips well away from those rollers, especially if they are powered!!
 

Galoutofdixie

Contributing Member
My mom had one when we were all growing up, and we hung the clothes on a line in the basement. Soon as we were all married and out of the house, my mom got an 'automatic'. :) Then, when I was first married we bought a used one. Had my turn with the wringers. I did like them, and they did seem to get clothes very clean. Just don't let the laundry pile up. Depending on how many of you there are to do laundry, try and do it at least a couple of times of week. It can be a long day's job, especially if you have to hang it all. It was nice to have a basement with a big laundry sink. Just run through the wringer after both wash and rinse, right into the sink. Drain the tub into sink. etc. Don't think I'd talk so nice about them if I'd had to set one up and use it in the yard, or on a cold porch though. They are a wonderful back up, prep item though.
 

rosepath

Member
I use an antique wringer on a set of metal twin tubs (ala 1930's) to wash and rinse raw fleeces from our sheep. It's a great set up and can be done outside, or under the barn porch overhang, the wringer gets the fleece to go from soapy mess to flattened fleece, and it helps me to see what unwanted items need removed (dirt, chaff, bits of seeds and hay). Usually takes twice or three times through the wringer, hence the figure of speech.
 

ReneeT

Veteran Member
Just make sure you have plenty of buttons to replace the ones that you're going to break putting clothes through the ringer. Oh....and keep your finger tips well away from those rollers, especially if they are powered!!

You fold the buttons to the inside of the clothing and make sure that they are lying flat before you run them through the wringer.

I still use my Montgomery Ward wringer washer on occasion. When we still used the well water that had a lot of iron in it, and I had to wear white scrubs, I used rain water and the wringer washer to keep them white.
 

tech

Veteran Member
I would have to give the old Maytag a thumbs-up. No repairs needed in the 30 years it was in use, and the wringer assembly would swing over a double tub for easy and thorough rinsing without having to move stuff around.
 

Marie

Veteran Member
We had one when I w9as young. I just have a washboard and basin now. Been using it for years when those unreliable modern machines break down. Elbow grease does the trick. But a wringer would sure be nice. I think they have them at Lehman's
 

Cag3db1rd

Paranoid Pagan
Well, here's what I devised. I have, of course, the bucket with the plunger (bucket 1). Right? Right. I got a second bucket and drilled holes all over it like it's a colander. After sloshing around on bucket one, I dump everything into bucket 2, put bucket 1 into bucket 2 on top of the wet clothes, then step into bucket 1. Water flows out the holes!

I'm so danged proud of myself!:D
 

helen

Panic Sex Lady
Washer?
What are you thinking. It's the apocalypse. We don't wash clothes. Throw em away.
Go loot a Target

If you need a wringer washer, I'm going to swim in clean water in the clothes on my back while I'm escaping from snowflake strike teams.
 

Hermantribe

Veteran Member
Just make sure you have plenty of buttons to replace the ones that you're going to break putting clothes through the ringer. Oh....and keep your finger tips well away from those rollers, especially if they are powered!!
A “mangle”. I’ve always wanted one. I admit I’m kinda strange
 

summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
My mom had one when we were all growing up, and we hung the clothes on a line in the basement. Soon as we were all married and out of the house, my mom got an 'automatic'. :) Then, when I was first married we bought a used one. Had my turn with the wringers. I did like them, and they did seem to get clothes very clean. Just don't let the laundry pile up. Depending on how many of you there are to do laundry, try and do it at least a couple of times of week. It can be a long day's job, especially if you have to hang it all. It was nice to have a basement with a big laundry sink. Just run through the wringer after both wash and rinse, right into the sink. Drain the tub into sink. etc. Don't think I'd talk so nice about them if I'd had to set one up and use it in the yard, or on a cold porch though. They are a wonderful back up, prep item though.
Yeah... my Amish neighbors mostly wash on Monday. They start at dawn (or before , in winter) and usually have all the clothes on the line by 10 am. Most of them have clothslines which run a hundred feet or more to the peak of the barn, on pulleys. And when you are washing clothes for 15 people, you need every inch of that two hundred feet of line!

Summerthyme
 

Tundra Gypsy

Veteran Member
I was thinking about how to wash clothes in difficult times; back in the late 90s! I'd been at a store in Northern California called 'Real Goods,' and bought a nice wringer; just didn't have the tub. Years later, I moved to Idaho and came across a nice double tub; so now I'm set to do laundry!!! I'm always keeping an eye out for things like that. I guess I'm a futurist...or crazy...
 
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