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Does anyone here have any experience hand washing heavier items? I have a large tub and an outdoor clothesline and (some physical strength still, lol). I want to wash dog bed covers and blankets outdoors when the weather is warm because cleaning the washing machine after cleaning dog stuff is a PITA.
I bought this thing. It doesn’t look very sturdy but it’s a starting point. An old fashioned washboard is an option as well.
All I can say is wow. You have a lot more ambition than I do!
If your dog beds are a PITA to wash in the washer, then I suggest replacing them. Ours are no big deal to wash and dry. You can probably find others that would require less work.
No, washing them isn’t the problem, it’s throughly cleaning the washing machine of dog hair afterwords. My machine is less than 5 years old. I figure I can hand wash dog bed covers as long as I have the physical ability. When I can’t do that I can look at other options.
The beds are in excellent condition but the covers get stinky and sometimes marked, etc.
It doesn’t sound like the beds are hard to wash but cleaning the washer afterwards is the problem. So many dog hairs!! I feel the pain. This is why we drop our ABB linens at a wash and fold. Fighting off the dog hairs was too much in our home machines.
And for me that’s a bigger PITA than cleaning the washer. The ideal and expensive solution would be to have a second washing machine just for Airbnb linens. Putting one in is doable but pricey. edit to add: I can definitely see doing it though if I continue both Airbnb and dog boarding as I age.
In addition to providing exercise, being energy efficient and reusing gray water on the lawn, I’m preparing for the climate apocalypse.
Well, different washers, different dogs, different beds. Whatever it is, we don’t have a dog hair problem in our washer after washing dog beds. We do wash the beds on the longest cycle, which we generally run overnight. We have two sets of dog beds so that one set is clean and usable when the other set is being washed.
Our dryer collects some dog hair in the lint trap, but that’s it.
In the old days a clean toilet plunger was the recommended tool, even for lace. warm soapy water in the bath tub etc.
Maybe your dog bed coverings are the magnet for hair type of fabric? Could you replace those covers with a poplin or hairproof fabric doggy bed bag type cover? We don’t seem to have a problem, but B. being mostly doberman, she is short haired.
Probably. But also probably not cost effective to have new covers custom made. I got some covers from a company called molly mutt that I like but they still get a lot of hair. I think most people underestimate the amount of hair that can be shed. The short hair of my Coco is just as problematic, maybe more so than the long hair.
Ah, I’ll try that compared to my Amazon gadget.
It could also be the number of dogs. I had as many as 11 dogs here at one time over the holiday.
Holy cow! That makes sense, then.
Between 20 Dec and 9 Jan 16 different dogs plus my two.
Years ago, yes. In those days I used an item that was similar to the Amazon thing you posted, but made of copper (the base part) with a long wooden handle. I think they were called poss sticks or possers in those days and they cost next to nothing in junk shops.
It worked brilliantly. (And it’s great exercise!)
I could probably get something well made at one of the “flea markets” in town. The problem is getting out to look for one.
I bought something similar some years ago but it has a wood handle like on a plunger. i use it for handwashing shirts, socks, underwear, etc in between going to laundromat as i don’t have a washing machine at home. And it’s easier than doing it using my hands like i did before. Seems to work decently.
Because the handle is just a wood stick, I often slip over a gallon milk jug with some water in it to hold wash under water when soaking with Oxyclean, etc.
I have a washer and dryer at my listing and always try to use them vs. just bringing my linens home to wash for this reason. If I’ve had dog guests, the dog blankets and beds come home with me to be washed rather than using my listing machines, they are a “dog hair free” zone!
I have a Siberian and a husky mix, plus various fosters, also often Siberians. You could make an additional dog out of the hair from my lint trap! Sometimes I have to clean it more than once for a single drying cycle.
LOL!
If I wait long enough to vacuum (a lo-oo-oong time) we end up with visible dust bunnies on our hardwood floor. But I almost always vacuum at least once a day—especially since we’ve been hosts.
The dust bunnies are mostly dog hair from our two greyhounds.
Anyway, we call that “growing your own carpeting."
My daughter has a super sheddy dog and she runs stuff (not just his stuff, her stuff which is of course covered with Bruce the Dog hair) through the dryer before washing, to trap the hair in the lint trap. She got this tip from a friend and says it works a treat.
I have a husky-type dog that is a constant shedder, so I deal with a lot of dog hair. I also make my own dog beds- they are just a slab of 1"-2" foam with a removeable, washable cover. The beds are easily vacuumed before removing the cover and washing it, so very little dog hair ends up in the washing machine, and what does is in the cleanable trap.
Oooh. I’m going to try that. I have tried shaking off outside, brushing, vacuuming, and sticky rollering before washing. All of those methods have some effectiveness. But there is always still stray hair in the washer. So the calculus becomes related to energy expenditure with hand washing, various cleaning techniques used before laundry is done and energy and or water used to clean after dog stuff is washed.
I appreciate all the helpful feedback despite the limited experience washing by hand. Hopefully I’ll perfect the technique soon.
I really think you’re missing an opportunity here. Another great idea for an Experience. You’re welcome.
Yes!! A friend of mine had a book published about it, here:
We all thought it was a joke, but it’s now becoming quite sought after - I see a second-hand one (book, not dog) is selling for about $150!
And the wooden washing thingy we used to call a dolly - my grandmother “took in washing” and she used to use one.
