In my time as a reviewer, a few years now, I’ve reviewed a slew of products, some of them were great and others weren’t, some of them were a bit odd, and some of them were just downright goofy, but most of them were tech or computer related in some way. Here at technogog we review a lot of  tech and computer stuff as well, but we also review non techie things, like what I’ve got today, it’s a washing machine. This is a first for me, I’ve never reviewed a washing machine before, never really thought of or had the opportunity to review one either.

So today for review I’ve got a washing machine, yes you read that correctly a washing machine, but it’s not just any washing machine, it’s the Wonderwash! The Wonderwash is hand cranked washing machine, it does not use electrical power, it uses human power to agitate your clothes. Not only can you wash your clothes in the Wondewash buy you can also rinse them as well, and it works, it works surprisingly well actually at getting your clothes clean. The Wonderwash consists of a large barrel like main chamber that sits on two pivot points, there’s a top to it, a handle for cranking it and a drainage port as well on the bottom.

The Wonderwash isn’t something though that you’re going to be using to wash a large families worth of clothes though, it’s very small, but being small makes it portable as well. This product is something that I can see taking camping with you, or using for a single person, but one thing is certain, it uses very little water, so it’s likely to appeal to the green crowd out there. The Wonderwash isn’t just environmentally friendly either, it’s quick at washing your clothes, about five minutes to wash and rinse a load of clothes, and it gets them clean.

No video unboxing for you today, but later on I do have a video of the Wonderwash in action.

The Wonderwcash comes packaged in a brown box with the parts wrapped separately in bags and bubble wrap. There is a single paper included that doesn’t tell much at all, it’s supposed to be instructions for using the Wonderwash, but they seem cut off to me, and there was no instructions for assembly included, but there aren’t many parts so it’s fairly easy to assemble.

The main part is the barrel, or agitator, it’s wide open on the top, has two pins that stick out the sides, one is larger than the other, and a valve on the bottom.

Included are four parts for the stand that the Wonderwash sits on, two sides and two supports that go across the front and back. The supports have suction cups on them to be able to attach the Wonderwash to a bath tub bottom or maybe even a kitchen counter to keep it steady.

Also included is a bag a small plastic locks that secure the sides to the supports, a handle, drainage tube, pressure cap and two pins to secure the basin to the stand.

The lid gets secured on the Wondewash with the gray pressure cap shown above, there’s a whole in the top of the lid that you screw down through, this pushes the seal closed inside the Wonderwash and creates pressure inside.

Specifications:

Wonderwash

Why Use the Wonder Wash?
-Washes a 5-lb. load super clean in just a couple of minutes.
-Has a patented pressure system that forces detergent into the fabric at high speed for a fast, efficient, economic and very easy wash
-Is ideal for campers, single persons and even for the housewife with small frequent loads like hand washables and diapers.
-Is ideal for delicates such as woolens, silks, knitted dresses and cashmere garments.
-Uses far less water than even hand washing.

Product Detail / Wonder Wash FAQ

How Big Is It?: 12″ x 12″ x 16″ (L x W x H)

The Wonder Wash washes:
7-8 dress shirts or
10 T-shirts or
30 pairs of socks or
2-3 pairs of blue jeans

How Does it Work?
When you put warm or hot water into the drum, fit the lid in place and seal the machine,the air inside the drum will absorb the heat of the water and expand (i.e., just like a hot air balloon). When the air expands it creates pressure inside the drum. The pressure forces the detergent (which is diluted into the water) into & through the fabric (which is porous) about 100 times faster than you could by hand or machine.

Does it really work?
Yes. The loads come out exactly as clean as with a conventional washing machine. According to a leading university which tested the machine, it performs according to claims. It has also won many awards at trade shows, with the most prestigious one being the silver medal awarded to the portable washing machine at the IMPEX Invention Show in the US. The product has been purchased by several hundred thousand people since its invention. It has also been tested and received many positive, fully independent reviews from major print publications.

Price: $42.95

Putting it together, even without instructions is easy, it just clips together, no tools are needed at all really. The sides slide into place, and then you use the plastic locks to secure them, the system, actually works very well.

You’ll then need to secure the basin to the stand, slide it into the holes, attach the handle to one side, and insert the metal pins, very easy to do.

Here’s a few pictures of the Wonderwash completely assembled:

The bottom has a drainage valve on it, but it cannot be opened by hand, it only opens when you insert the drainage pipe into it, it’s spring loaded, so pushing the pipe in pushes the valve open.

When you’re ready to wash clothes you put them in along with water and soap, then put the lid on, it locks into place, and then you turn the knob on top to fully seal it closed.

Here’s a video that’s a little over six minutes long demonstrating the Wonderwash.

So it’s one turn of the handle for each second of wash time, for me it was 1.25 minutes or one minute and fifteen seconds of washing, and not sure what I was thinking when I said it was 115 turns for that, it’s actually 75 turns for that wash time.

If you paid attention to the video, the water wasn’t clear after washing my jeans, it looked rather dirty actually, so apparently it does work at cleaning your clothes. I didn’t want to video to go any longer than that, but I did use the Wonderwash to rinse my clothes as well, and it seemed to get all of the soap out. Normally after using the Wonderwash you’d hang your clothes to dry, but I threw mine in the dryer…

My clothes seemed as clean as using a conventional washing machine really, I’m very surprised by the results, I truly thought this was just a gimmicky item, but it works.

I like the fact that it uses a fraction of the water and laundry detergent to wash clothes with, and of course the fact that it uses no electrical power either is a nice bonus. Sure it doesn’t hold that much clothes really, but in a pinch it’ll work just fine.

Now this obviously isn’t something that a large family will be using to wash their clothes with, I’ve got three kids and we wash clothes almost every day, but for a single person this might be a great idea. I can see possibly taking this on camping trips as well, not sure I’d be hiking with it, but driving to a campsite without laundry facilities would be doable with this product.

The Wonderwash is easy to assemble and take apart for storage or transportation, and it’s lightweight as well, it also seems well made, so it should last through many laundry cycles. Coming in at under $50 it’s not a bad price either for what it is.

Conclusion:
The Wonderwash is one of those products that truly surprised me, it not only gets your clothes clean easily, it does it using a minimal amount of water and detergent and does it by not using electricity.

Sure the Wonderwash isn’t for large families, it’s got a small capacity, but I do believe it has a place out there, and I think there are quite a few people who would be happy with this product and the fact that it exists.

 

Pros:
Easy to assemble
Gets clothes clean
Eco-Friendly
Inexpensive
Easy to use

Cons:
No assembly instruction included
Washing instructions were cut off
Small capacity

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance