Wonder Washer
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List Price: Our Price: $44.37 You Save: $35.63 (45%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $39.99 (click here) Category: Major Appliances See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Wonder Washer
Customer Review: Useful little machine
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this machine several months ago and have been using it to wash my clothes. I still take larger items and items like towels, washcloths and socks to the laundromat (items that either don't fit into the washer or don't do well with air drying - the towels, washcloths and socks I have found for me really need the fluff-drying that a hot air dryer provides, otherwise they get really stiff and uncomfortable to use). But for washing my clothing, this little guy really does a good job.
Caveats:
1)If you don't load enough items into it to - for lack of a better term - stabilize the water, when it gets going it can create what I like to call the whirlpool effect and slop water over the sides of the bucket. Even if the lid were able to lock down tight enough to prevent the water spillage (it doesn't), there are holes in the lid. However, through trial and error I have figured out that if I put enough clothes into each load (but not too much, otherwise the machine stops working), it prevents this whirlpool effect. For me, as a large woman, that would be a floor-length skirt, two bras and two pairs of underwear. Your mileage may vary. I also keep a hand towel draped around the base in case of spillage.
2)I have found that the knobs can be difficult to grasp and turn - if my hands are wet. That's the other reason I keep a hand towel handy, so that I can dry my hands before turning the knob.
3)I generally work my way from lights to dark. The reason for this is because I lift the clothing out by hand once it's washed - into a smaller tupperware "bucket" that I used for just this purpose - add a bit more water to bring the level back up (since some of the water goes with the washed clothes), and reuse the water for the next load. I go from light to dark because as we all know sometimes dye leaks out of clothes and you don't want to have to change out the water more than necessary.
4)I started out filling the smaller tupperware bucket with water and then pouring it from the tupperware bucket into the machine, but then I had an epiphany. I have located the washer next to my kitchen sink, and my kitchen sink has a sprayer. So now I put the detergent, colorsafe bleach and softener in first, then use the sprayer to add water. Much easier.
5)The other reason I located the washer next to my kitchen sink was for ease of rinsing. For larger items (like skirts, pants and shirts), I generally run water over the items while kneading them against the side of the sink. For smaller items, I generally hold them in my hands while kneading them under the water flow. Works like a charm.
6)To save myself from getting arthritis from hand-wringing out the items (and to speed the drying time), I also got a spin dryer. (A Mini Countertop Spin Dryer Clothes Spin Dryer Portable Clothes Dryer
from The Laundry Alternative, purchased through Amazon). Works great.
All in all a handy little apppliance.
Customer Review: To make this work...
Summary: 4 Stars
I have owned the Wonder Washer for more than a year. Thru trial and error, this is what I find works best:
1) Load clothes in a separate 3.5 gallon bucket. About 2/3 full, loose and not packed down.
2) Place in bathtub and use shower to fill bucket. I add a small amount of detergent, diluted with water on top of the clothes as the hot shower is running (I have a watersaver hi-pressure shower head) This adds some extra cleaning time to the clothes
3) Transfer clothes and water (the proper fill level is trial and error- the minimum as long as the clothes turn and without splashing over)to the Wonderwasher bucket. I have the WW sitting on top of 3 foam exercise square mats with a plastic serving tray that the WW sits in. This helps with noise and contains splashes. I also wipe the WW bucket, motor base and the tray so I can monitor if water is splashing out
4) Adjust time and cycle. I've been using 9 minutes and gentle cycle (I think the gentle spins for 7 seconds- 3 second rest- 7 sec. spin- repeat. The Standard cycle is 14 sec spin- but was beating up and stretching socks and long sleeves) I add fabric softener when I am starting the machine so the clothes are less wrinkled.
5) Then I take the WW lid off, walk the bucket to the tub and pour off the water and clothes into a plastic dish rack (that has raised legs) and lets the water drain off.
6) then I quickly hand wring out clothes and place them in the bathroom sink, fill with water, drain. I do a quick hand wring again (not overdoing it) and place them in a spin dryer for 5 minutes (similar size to the WW) which spins at 1500 RPM. Then I put the clothes on a folding rack and they are usually dry by the morning.
7) This is an example of the spin dryer (not sure if link is allowed)
I spent $[...] on this item. Hand wringing wasn't working well for me.
[...]
If you do use this it is very sensitive to being loaded with the heaviest cotton items first on the bottom. Again there is trial and error learning this.
8) I think the WW can do a great job cleaning clothes. The above steps are a little labor intensive, but to me gives the best cleaning, rinse, wringing without using too much water.
The grey/black water some reviewers complained about is color coming out of the clothes because the WW does agitate and spin the clothes very well. I'm amazed how many items aren't colorfast.
Hope this helps
Customer Review: GREAT product... for what it is.
Summary: 4 Stars
I won't restate what so many other dead-on reviews have stated, so I will just note the highlights of my experience.
- When I opened it I thought I had ordered an industrial-sized frozen Margarita maker by mistake. Which this is, without a freezing element or a spigot.
- I was AMAZED by the capacity. I did more than a dozen pair of white tube socks in a load. I washed jeans and underwear and a few tanks in a load. Granted, I'm only a size 28 pant, so judge accordingly, but I was afraid one pair would be the whole overloaded-load.
- The lid does not stay on. The "locking" mechanism is just sliding it around until it stops in place. Nothing holds it there. And...
- It walks all over the room unless you tuck it in a corner. I found it would NEVER work on a counter top so, in the bathroom, tucked between wall and pedestal sink with a towel on the the floor before it, it did just fine.
- The motion of the machine -- the canister does NOT "lock" onto the base as directions indicate -- WITHOUT FAIL will loosen the lid, which as I said previously, does not lock, per se.
- YOU MUST observe the max fill line. Even thought there's PLENTY of extra room up top, centrifugal action spins the water right up to the top and it will leak out if it's more than indicated.
- You will need to do a rinse cycle. Dump the water, refill, dump that, refill and then run it for another short cycle. This is the time to add your fabric softener.
- The lid, when pouring, will buckle just from the weight of the water and laundry. Be prepared to hold it in place or to pick laundry out of whatever receptacle you're emptying the water into.
I LOVE THIS PRODUCT AND USE IT EVERY FEW DAYS. Though I haven't tried it for the Margaritas yet...
Customer Review: Portable Washer
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this washer to wash items that I could not get clean in my front load washer. The problem with front load washers is that you can not soak clothes that need extra cleaning. I was able to get four tee shirts in the washer for my first load. I tried the normal wash setting and found that the washer really whipped the shirts around. With the four shirts, the washer splashed a lot of water, but once the water got down a bit more it stopped splashing. I put fewer items in the washer with a lower water level for the next load. This resulted in a lot less splashing. I would recommend setting the washer somewhere where this splashed water would not cause a problem. I used the gentle cycle on the second load but found that even on this setting the clothes really moved around a lot. This washer really does have a strong motor. The handle on the removable washing tub is not too sturdy, so I would recommend putting your hand under the tub when removing the tub from the washer base. I just used the handle to keep the tub from tipping over while I was moving it. A tub with both clothes and water in it can get heavier than a lot of plastic handles can take. I was quite happy with how clean the washer got my clothes. It is somewhat of a pain to have to hand wring out the clothes after washing, but I wanted the washer to get out stains and that I accomplished. The combination of soaking (with stain removers in the water) and the heavy duty washing really did the job.
I would not recommend this unit for use with delicate fabrics as the motor is probably too strong for items like that. I do not know how long the washer tub will last with this strong motor, but so far I am happy with this washer. If, like me, you want to show some stubborn dirty clothes who's the boss, this is the washer for you!
Customer Review: Paid for itself in 2 months.
Summary: 4 Stars
I have been using the Wonder Washer for several months. Before I was going to the laundry-mat every week and spending about $10 each week. Now I only go once every 4 to 6 weeks to wash the larger items. This machine paid for itself in about 2 months. The loads are small, only 2 blouses at a time (maybe 3 if they are very light weight). I tried washing 3 medium weight blouses and the machine started moving all over the counter and was having trouble swirling the clothes. The knobs are hard to turn (only about 1.5 inches in diameter) and lifting the wash-tub (the manufacture calls it a bucket) on & off the base-unit takes some doing as it is heavy when full of water (total weight approximately that of a 3 gallons bottle of water). The machine washes by spinning the clothes one directions for a few seconds and then the other direction a few seconds back and forth for the duration of time you selected. A little like the front-load washers, only this machine spins the clothes clock-wise and counter-clock-wise. It only washes, you must raise the soap out by hand as well as ring-out the wet clothes and hang to dry. The size of the machine is about 20 inches tall and 14 inches across. If I could suggest improvements they would be: 1. Larger knobs with deeper indentations making them easier to turn, 2. A drainage spout on the side so that after washing the water could drain out into the sink. Lifting the wash-tub full of water and wet clothes of the base-unit and turning the whole thing upside-down to grain the water out is the thing I like the least. Overall, I am happy with my purchase. It gets my clothes clean and it saves me time & money. This was a good investment!