As more grey nomads try to keep the budget on track by not staying as often in caravan parks, increasing numbers of them are facing the free campers’ eternal ‘how to keep the laundry clean’ challenge.
With both power and water often in short supply out in the bush, some innovative washing machine solutions have sprung up to give grey nomads some good clean alternatives to the boring old hand washing option.
The ingenious Scrubba washbag has hit the spot for many travellers, and it could soon be joined in the remote camping grounds in Australia by the Drumi off-grid washing machine.
The pedal-powered device is 56 centimetres tall, requires no electricity and uses 80% less water and detergent than would be required by a traditional machine for the same size load.
Oh, and it’s also much quicker and gives you more exercise that watching a traditional washing machine go around and around.
Here’s how it works. You load up to 2.3 kg of clothing into the machine’s spherical drum (roughly half a dozen items), add detergent, add five litres of water, and then start spinning the drum back and forth by repeatedly pressing the foot pedal. Around three or four minutes is recommended for maximum cleanliness … and maximum fitness!
Users then press a special button to drain the water, at which point they add five more litres of rinse water and pedal spin for another minute or two before draining. The water drains out from the bottom of the device and can be collected in another container.
Toronto-based design company Yirego, says the Drumi would be perfect for couples or solos out on extended camping trips. It can be pre-ordered by north American consumers for around US $100. The company says it will soon be accepting overseas orders, although it won’t start actually shipping the accessories until next year.
