Hand washing clothes?

Question

How do you hand wash clothes? Can I use the same detergent I use in the washing machine? If not, I heard that some people use shampoo – would that work?
I usually do not wash my clothes manually, so I am not really familiar with the process,
and don’t want to have to go out and buy anything new (like special soap) so I would rather use what I have.

Answer 1

I've used both. Laundry soap suds up like crazy and dries out my hands, but it works better because it's meant to take out body oils and stains.
Shampoo I used while I was away from home and forgot to pack extra undies. I think it strips most of the body oils, but isn't meant to completely remove them like laundry soap. Not a big stain fighter either.
Either one should be fine if it's something you aren't planning on washing all the time. If you decide to do so a lot I would get one of those laundry soaps for gentles.

For clothes that are meant to be hand washed, I usually just throw them in their own load in the wash on a cold gentle cycle (you can use one of those mesh bags for nylons or something strappy that could get caught around the agitator) and then hang dry.

Answer 2

A mild shampoo (without added conditioners) will work in a pinch, though having something like a bottle of Woolite around would be handy. The detergent you use in the washing machine is pretty concentrated - you'd only need a teaspoon or so of it in a basin of wash water. You might find it hard to rinse out by hand.

Fill a clean basin/bucket/sink with slightly warm water. Dissolve your detergent in it but don't stir it all up making lots of bubbles. Put your clothing item(s) in and swish them around enough to thoroughly wet them. Let it sit for at least a few minutes. Mush the clothes around with your hands in the water - be a little gentle with things like knits, silks, woolens, etc. Drain the water, squeeze (don't twist/wring) the soapy water out. If possible, run the tap water over the clothes now while you stir them around and squeeze them to rinse thoroughly. Alternately, use at least two changes of clean water in your bucket/basin/sink to rinse the clothing. Squeeze to remove excess water. Hang the clothing or lay it flat to dry or put in dryer on air-fluff or low temp.

Answer 3

I use to hand wash things that said "hand wash only" and now I put them in the washing machine on the gentle cycle and only let it spin for a few seconds and then remove them. I've had no problem with doing that and clothes look better than if I had hand washed them.

Answer 4

Use regular detergent mixed with water.
Fill up the sink with warm water. Mix in the detergent and the water.
Rub the parts of the fabric that are stained against another part of the garment until the stain comes off.
Swish it around a little and if you want you can leave it to soak for a while.
Squeeze it out.
Hang it up.

Answer 5

I have washed small things in the bathroom sink and I use the same detergent as in the washing machine. They do wrinkle more because you twist and squeeze them in clear water for the rinse. I've put them on a hangar to dry. Happy New Year.

Answer 6

"Pache" has the right idea, and if you have a front load washer machine, then you can actually set it to hand washables. you CAN use the same detergent it will not hurt your clothes even if you wash by hand.... when you wash by hand I found it best to grab two sides of the out fit and scrub then together continue doing so on different part of the out fit for at least 10 min. if there's stains, I found it best to pretreat it, by letting it soak in soap.

Answer 7

hand washing is just so the swishing in the washer doesn't ruin it...so you could use whatever soap you have - the hand washing part is just so you would be more gentle than a regular washer. Some new washers though do have the gentle cycle that would be okay.

Answer 8

buy woolite hand washing liquid. Follow directions on bottle