Turning my old, heavy duty top load washing machine into a high efficiency model [View all]

[Kaleva]

Yesterday I measured the amount of water that my top load washing machine used in the wash, rinse and spin cycle for a large load and it was about 48 gallons. As I do about two such loads a week, that's close to 400 gallons a month just to wash my clothes.

After I hauled that water outside to water plants and shrubs from the container I used to measure the amount of water, I was too messed up to do anything more then read on line about what I could do to cut down on water usage ( I couldn't stand the idea of just dumping that water down the floor drain!). Previously I had looked up the cost of a new, well reviewed 3.9 cu. ft. front loader washer and it's about $800.00 with tax. That's not even close to being a realistic option. Even a new 3.9 cu. ft. top load washing machine costs about $500.00 and that's not do-able either.

I looked at other options (knowing before hand that my old washing machine used alot of water even before I actually measured the amount yesterday) such as the toilet plunger in a bucket method and others. But the problem I have with those is the lack of spin drying. My old washing machine can easily handle my blue jeans, work jacket, sheets, coveralls, my big bath towels and even small carpets and it will spin dry them well enough for me to hang dry them. Now, I've hand wrung heavy, wet items for my mother and grandmother when I was a kid and it wasn't fun then and I don't imagine it's gotten funner since over the years.

So I kept reading yesterday and came across numerous articles talking about soap nuts as a laundry detergent. The per load cost, when bought in bulk, is about 1/3 to 1/2 less then name brand laundry detergents. But the great thing about them is that one doesn't need to use the rinse cycle. That alone would cut my water usage in washing clothes in half. The other great thing about soap nuts is that they are biocompatible which means the wash water is safe to use in gardens.

Soap nuts are non-sudsing so the grey water can be used to fill the toilet tank. Starting today, I'm keeping track of how many times I flush the toilet over the next week. Off the top of my head, I believe the 48 gallons of washing machine water I can capture each week, using the same container I used to measure the water yesterday which has a snap on lid, would provide enough water to flush the toilet.

Yes, I'd have to be down the basement when washing clothes so I can catch the washing machine before it goes into the rinse cycle but I can do other projects down there while washing clothes. And I'd have to carry the water up two flights of stairs to the bathroom but I could get a cheap 13 gallon trash can with a snap on lid to keep in the bathroom along with a plastic coffee can (which I have many of already) to transfer the water from the garbage can to the toilet tank as needed. I'd still have to make one or two trips a day with a 5 gallon bucket, which I have, but I wouldn't have to make the trip every single time I flush the toilet.

Thus I can still keep my big, heavy duty top loader for as long as it lasts and thus will continue to be able to wash my heavy items and use the spin dry feature but also will dramatically reduce my water usage. And I can reduce my laundry detergent costs by at least a 1/3 which isn't much in itself but every little bit of savings adds up.


Info on soap nuts and using them:

http://www.organicsoapnuts.net/soapnut_information.html

A link to Amazon giving info on the price of soap nuts:

http://www.amazon.com/NaturOli-Soap-Nuts-Berries-PIECES/dp/B001NU2L8U

Basically, the greater quantity one buys at a time, the cheaper it is. 5 lbs. is quite a bit but one may be able to split the order with friends and/or neighbors. As I've never used soap nuts (sometimes called "soap berries&quot , my first order is going to be for a much smaller but much cheaper trial size pack. The cost per load with that will be about the same as for Tide. If it works as well as people say, then I'll buy the larger but much cheaper packages.