Twin Tub Washing Machine

[Adria542Chick]

Hi
Does anyone use once of those portable twin tub washing machines. I think pyramid make them.
I was wondering how well they wash, and whether they were worth purchasing. Any feedback on them would be much appreciated.
With 3 children and travelling to France next year for 3 weeks I was thinking of getting one to save spending loads of money in the laundry.
Many thanks
Sam

 

[drsorento]

My Catering and Logistics department, ( wife ) has one of these, they are great with 2 very young children who stay clean for about 30 seconds !! The washing results are very good. Like you we did have our reservations about them but were very pleasently suprised.

 

[Adria542Chick]

Thank you drsorento, your comments are appreciated.

 

[JohnGriffiths]

We bought one last winter to take to France for our 7 week break this year and were really pleased with it. You can offset some of the extra weight against taking fewer clothes.
As you have plenty of time, search around on e-bay. We managed to get one brand new for £40!

 

[Jennifer2]

We have one as we do long trips so quite a bit of washing. It washes well, and the spinner is very good. The only things we cannot put in it are our double duvet cover, our big towels, and my husband's jeans.

The only drawback is the amount of water it uses, so ideally you should have a serviced pitch. A full load is 17 litres, so add 2 rinses and that is 51 litres to fetch, and dispose of otherwise!

If needing to economise on the water, I find I can use the washing water for upto 3 loads, maybe adding some extra powder each time. So I do all the "washing" first, then all the rinsing. If we are near the service block and there are laundry sinks, I sometimes send OH there to rinse things, then I spin them in the machine.

I like to do a small amount of washing more frequently as otherwise there is too much to fit on the rotary drier. This was a major problem when we used the site machines. They take a big load and cost a fair bit, so we saved up enough stuff to fill the machine, then we could not get it dry for days!!

 

[Adria542Chick]

Thank you for your reply Jennifer.
I have had a couple of bad experiences on washing machines and laundry facilities on some of the campsites we have used.
Some of the machines have been really dirty, and have not been very well looked after or maintained. Whilst others have been used to wash dog bedding. It is not a nice thought sometimes to have to put your childrens clothes in some of these machines. Plus as you said it is also the cost. You have made my mind up for me. Thank you, to all of you who took the time to reply.

Sam

 

[LMH]

Hi

Re the people who have one of these. Where do you put it when you are washing and exactly how heavy are they? Do you fill them with hot water or cold water?

Also, are they actually good in the spinning department?

Thanks.

 

[Jennifer2]

We put ours on a small table, either in the awning or outside, or near the water and waste if a serviced pitch.

The spin is good.

You need hot water so you can get it to the temperature you want to wash at, it does not heat the water.
We either use the hot water from the van, or if suitable, OH fetches a container of hot water from the services block.
I have heard that some people actually take the machine over to the services to use, but i have never found anywhere suitable to plug it in.
It is easy to lift, cannot be more than 7 or 8 kg.

 

[LMH]

Thanks Jennifer, not sure if it's for me, sounds like a bit of hard work.

I did think about buying one though.

Lisa

 

[Jennifer2]

If we are on a site for several days we just sit it in a corner of the awning so its ready to use anytime. The wash takes about 15 minutes, only the rinsing takes much effort. I quite often wash in the evening and hang stuff out, then it is usually dry in the morning before we go out for the day. I never iron anything.

 

[Adria542Chick]

I am now sold on the idea, I also think nothing smells nicer than the smell of your own washing. Do you use soap powder or liquid. I always keep a bottle of surf liquid to hand wash a few of the childrens things through whilst we are aware. Its things like flannels, and tea towels that I can't bear being dirty and lying around so this is going to be great. Can't believe I'm getting so excited about having my own washing machine for the caravan

 

[Jennifer2]

I use a liquid as it's easy to measure out a small "dose". The wash load is only about 1.5 kg dry items, so you only need a small amount of liquid. I also usually add some Oxy stain remover stuff for the whites.