Do the laundry in your (radiation) shelter,if your need to stay (at least) three weeks in. Problem no city water and electricity. What if your in a city cant run a generator,as that attracts vermin.
clean water, and a secure place indoors to hang clothesline would be needed. Waste wash water could be used for flushing toilets.
sorry - but you prep plenty of changes of clothes and just pile up the dirty until the circumstances are 100% positive .... unless your potable water supply is almost unlimited there's nothing like clothing washing or even baths/showers - then there's a matter of time and energy dedicated to that particular chore >>> security will always be an issue and then comes the issue of food ....
I would not waste any water on washing till I am out of the shelter the only thing getting washed is me besides I'm not really getting to dirty sitting in the shelter in my shorts and T
5 gallon bucket and plunger. You cannot do a lot of clothes at one time plus you would have to hand wring once washed but it works. To avoid getting water everywhere, cut a hole in the top of the bucket for the plunger handle to stick through.
We built our house to be a radiation shelter and it is off-grid already so the power is not a problem...or it is always a problem in bad weather but it is normal for us and we adjust. We use a compact washer and heat pump dryer that will run on our wind/solar setup when the weather is right. The washer uses about 100w most of the time, more when it spins out. The dryer uses 300-400w. Moisture is the biggest problem when you are underground, you need something to keep the humidity down or it gets miserable fast. The heat pump dryers do not put moisture into the air, they are ventless and the moisture drains out as water through a hose, just run it into a drain somewhere. SAMSUNG DV22N6800HW 24" COMPACT HEAT PUMP DRYER WITH 4 CU. FT. CAPACITY, SMART CARE $848.75 SAMSUNG WW22K6800AW 24" ENERGY STAR RATED FRONT-LOAD WASHER WITH 2.2 CU. FT. $675.00 These prices included delivery.
I saved the paper jump suits from work, seeing that they were cast off any way ,and I had my bosses permission to do so. Similar paper suits are available in the hardware store for painting and other messy chores . It seems prudent to have provision to wear something completely expendable if you must venture out side during a nuclear winter and if you've made enough provision for this there is no need to wash them and thus contaminate your interior . Also it would be prudent to have an entrance to your home that is for changing out of these clothes and a trash can for depositing the contaminated clothing . Using the same material or better one needs to have something to cover their foot wear to prevent it from becoming contaminated as well . Head covering and masks too need equal to or better attention ,as well as having a quality Geiger counter .
I wear wool underwear, wool socks, wool shirts, wool thermals, wool pants. A quick wash in a bucket and hang to dry every 4 to 8 days is all I would require, clothing against the skin that is. Outer layers can last much longer. When it comes to radiation, you've got more problems than laundry if it comes to that.
Most folks wash their clothes way more than necessary for Clean Living, mostly because they can, and have been duped by easy to use machines to do so...
I remember the .mil days were we wore the same uniform for weeks at a time.....only changing of socks and underwear for the most part..... many just went commando....LOL. A birdbath with a hand towel was about it for the most part for basic hygiene.
Commando for weeks at a time could be a problem with camouflage pattern changes in some parts of the uniform.
The simple solution is to wear things that do not require regular washings! Most high performance mountain clothing will work for these needs, and a simple dunk in the local stream or river you included is all that is required! We have been doing this for quite a few year now, and it really does work well, saves energy and cuts the bills further! A plus is the stuff is almost always long wearing, and holds up better/longer then normal street clothes! Or, you could go old school and wear hides and firs, both requiring minimal care, and both will last a hell of a lot longer then the modern street clothes!
@Yard Dart no wonder I could smell ya from here! I only wash cloths when they are dirty or smelly. Sometimes with BO you need to wash. Just Saying
Back in '84 , at the end of our deployment , when we were pulled off shore , we had pretty much confined to our fighting holes for the last 30 day's of 12 on , 12 off watch , as our allies we were backing , quit there job , and left , which left us almost surrounded . Well , that month in the hole , no showers , no clean clothes, with just a wet rag out of our steel pot helmets . Well , when we pulled out , and caught the chopper out to the ship , me and my buddy , walked across the flight deck , down the stairs in thru the hatch carrying full pack and gear and rifle , and a Navy Officer , don't remember his rank , asked if we were back on ship for good , we said yep , he walked up to shake our hand , caught a wiff of us , and backed off while we could see the smile leaving his . He said, good , welcome back and walked off . I didn't think we smelled that bad , of course we couldn't smell ourselves . I didn't know how bad it was till about 2 months later when back stateside , at the barracks , I unrolled my sleeping bag , unzipped it , and just about got knocked out . I guess you could say that was the worst I had smelled since I was probably 6months old with a shitty diaper . Oh well , just reminiscing .
I have been doing some light study on the issue and wonder that probably what we eat has a great deal to do with our smell . Something to do with ones digestion , probiotic/prebiotic supplements.
Some solution can work but remember you and family are sitting 3 weeks in a small room. Your ventilation cant handle the moisture of drying,no hundreds of gallons of water to spend,so rationed water.
If I was in a secure shelter for three weeks or more, I would wear as little clothing as possible. When on a checkpoint in Egypt, we washed clothing in a mop bucket and hung them up with paracord. In Alaska, during warm weather we would bath and wash in streams (snow melt from the mountains sure was cold though). Keeping yourself clean will help you keep your clothes clean. Alcohol baths would help minimize water usage.
If I am inside and it is summer time even n a underground shelter I'm not wearing much probably just under ware, unless it is a group thing then just levis and T shirt . 3 weeks is nothing compared to what life is going to be like out side that shelter .
If the opportunity presents itself, just hanging clothes out in the fresh air and sunshine does wonders. Sunlight will kill a lot of nasties and get rid of much human funk.