Hadn't thought of that but it is an interesting idea. It would probably work at least as well as twisting by hand.

I'm thinking perhaps a bucket with holes drilled would allow it to drain more easily. The sequence might be to dump the washed clothes and wash water into the strainer bucket which is sitting where it can drain. Then the wash bucket, the one without the holes would be slipped inside and pressure applied by hand. Then the wet clothes would go back into the wash bucket and the drain bucket slipped inside. This is then inverted and would make a good seat while I work the second load in another wash bucket.

Those buckets are available for free at restaurants and job sites if you have connections. Various food products, drywall plaster and paint come in them. They also sell new ones at hardware and paint stores for about 5$ a pop. I might experiment on one and see if whole or drilled is better.

Now you're cookin' with natural ga... errr... now you're wringin' with man-made plastic!

Another idea is they make a cement mixer. It is a small plastic bucket about the size of a 5 gallon bucket. It has paddles inside for agitation. In essence you roll it around the yard to to mix. Might also work for cloths.

Used to be a small-batch cement mixer that was a poly drum, maybe eight or ten gallon size, with molded in fins to stir the mix. The intention was that you add the cement and water, put on the top and roll it around the yard. You could mix, perhaps, one or two cubic feet of cement at a go. I used to see them sometimes at the larger hardware stores. I always suspected that people underestimate just how hard rolling a drum full of liquids can be.

Once saw a brick man who had a mixer that was set up as a small trailer. Flip a lever and the wheels were geared to the drum. His helper would shovel in an appropriate mix of sand and portland, add water and tow the unit around the block to mix it up. Worked pretty well from what I could tell. Of course gas was cheap back then also.

Portable clothes wringer:
http://www.survivalunlimited.com/clothewringer.htm

Sue

I had one of those contraptions to see if I wanted to use it on our sailboat for longer trips, and got rid of it. It is too complicated and cumbersome. My vote is with the lower tech recommendations on this site. For lesser amounts of cleaning, I have found Rick Steves' two gallon zip-lock shaking and soaking method easy and effective. I think I will add the salad spinner idea to this when I am not travelling.

[quote=Fleetwing] I have found Rick Steves' two gallon zip-lock shaking and soaking method easy and effective./quote]


I do this with my Sea Line bags.

In regard to the Staber brand...

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/staber_industries.html

Put a barrel in the back of your jeep. Water, detergent, dirty clothes - drive around for a while. Change water to rinse - drive around for a while. Don't wring out your clothes, just drive over 'em a few times (hard flat surface preferred). Put now-wrung, clean clothes on your hood - drive around for a while. Voila.

I bet he can cook a mouth-watering chili in the engine compartment, too, while he's doing his laundry.