This little machine is amazing. I did several loads by pouring in the water using a bucket. My brilliant sister came up with a solution using a dollar store turkey baster! Just cut off the narrow tip, insert it into the hose. Cut an X shape into the top and push it into your faucet. You need to watch the water pressure but this soulution is easy, cheap and doesn't require plumbing skills.
Update: I have had this for a couple weeks now and figured out some "hacks" and tips.
I place this in my tub and found no issue with that. I use our bathroom sponge to balance the machine and ease vibrations. I also went to my hardware store and bought a showerhead diverter, a 30-in 1/2" faucet supply hose, and a brass "barbed" adaptor. *Ensure these all connect in the store before purchase!* Sadly, 8 forgot the hose that came with the package, but I zip-tied it a couple times to get a decent seal. I always leave a little slack so any stray leaks don't get on the machine. Makes life easier just turning on the shower and filling/rinsing the machine this way. Cost of this was $30 but worth it! I am a 6'5" guy and I threw my back out filling the machine over and over. Plus, you can do a rinse and spin to get the suds out.
With this machine, you must always think "less is more" and if it looks like enough, it's already too much. A decent load, to measure, is whatever can fit in the spin basket plus a one extra, light thing. When the wash cycle is going, you want to see a vortex... a whirlpool effect. If your clothes are floating and spinning at the top struggling to be washed, you've overloaded. Pull out items one by one until you get that whirlpool.
You can spin and wash at the same time. The spinner drains regardless of the middle knob is set to drain, and if you overfill the wash tub it will drain whatever overflows. Plan this accordingly.
Noise is compareble to an AC unit, and there are vibrations depending on where you place it and how level it is. I use a sponge balance and absorb some vibrations. Not fancy, but works.
I reuse my hot water, topping off the wash tub each time. The water may look gross but it's fine as there's soap already in it. Dry cleaners reuse their chemical wash hundreds of times over and your clothes come out fine, plus you'll rinse it all. My whites come out whiter than the commercial washers too, so you're saving money and resources.
I'm still very happy!
***
Where do I start? Well, I have spent a good portion of the few weeks looking at portable washing solutions as my apartment does not have a washer set-up, and I got tired of using the public washers in my apartment community. All the coins needed, going back and forth, waiting for machines to open, ensuring I had enough quarters at the time, and the entire day had to be devoted to laundry more often than not.
So, I shopped around, reading reviews and watching videos of different machines. This one stuck out as it's reasonably affordable and does a great job, according to reviews. I live in the Bay Area and this ships for Los Angeles, so I got it within a couple days (excluding a holiday and weekend). The box was in good shape and unclipped the ties. A whiff of "new plastic" and staring in awe, there it was, just as in the pictures. Unboxing was easy, unclip the ties and lift the top part off. A brand-new washer!
I grabbed the instruction manual and flipped through it. As other have joked on here, it's in Engrish with such gems as "choke the dial" and "put staff not under." I tossed it aside because it's useless, most reviews give you the rundown. Here's mine, if you need it:
Step 1: Place a splash of soap, no more than a heaping tablespoon's worth or the soap will take forever to rinse out. You don't need to measure, but just guess and be cautious.
Step 2: Place clothing in machine, one item at a time. Sort your items keeping towels in one load, basics in another, denim in another, and so on. Fill the machine just over half full with basics. Towels and denim should be washed in smaller loads as they're heavier fabrics.
Step 3: Ensure middle dial is set to "Normal" or "Soft" and fill with water. The "inlet hose" is useless out of the box as you need an adaptor that the manufacturer assumed you had. One end has a rubber gasket and the other end does not. The gasket end is the part that would go to an adaptor, the gasket-less end goes to the machine. Why? Because if you hook the gasket to the machine, it's harder than heck to get it off without nearly destroying the hose. During the inaugural load, I did not have an adaptor, so I filled the wash basin with a bucket. Fill just slightly over half-full, any more will splash out during the agitation cycle.
Step 4: Check to see of the machine is plugged in. I forgot to do this and sat there confused. Turn the "Wash" dial to 15 minutes and the machine will hum to life. Let the machine do its thing and come back when it is done. It doesn't make any alarm when it's done, just so you know.
Step 5: You may come back to, what I would describe as a burning smell. I was alarmed at first but nothing was wrong, it's "new motor smell." Turn the middle dial to drain and the water will come pouring out of the drain hose. There is no pump, so try to have the machine elevated or set in your bathtub.
Step 6: Open the spinner basin and place a few items in, ensuring that it evenly loaded (about half of the wash load). Place the plastic insert in the bin on top of the laundry, close the lids. Is the middle dial still set to drain? Good. Leave it. Turn the "Spin" dial to 5. If you have the "inlet hose" hooked to an adaptor, this is where you can do a spin and rinse. If not, you can spin the suds out and wash again in clean water real fast, then repeat the spin. The machine will vibrate during the spin, and if it vibrates to a point where you think it is too much, stop the spin cycle and rearrange your items. Everything comes out damp, not wet. Like others have said: "About 90% dry."
When putting away the machine, tilt it slightly toward the direction of the drainage hose to get the rest of the water out. I set the machine aside with the lids open as to prevent a musty smell in the future. I will say this: Don't overwhelm the machine. Do a couple washes and allow the machine to cool and rest for a couple hours, say, while your laundry is drying on a rack. If you overexert the machine, it will break. EEK! It's more for daily loads (every day or every other day) than for a single day of wash ("laundry day").
It's a great compact machine that gets your laundry as clean as most large washing machines. It takes a bit more effort on your part to tend to each load, but it's easier than running up and down flights of stairs, digging in the sofa for coins, and fighting over the next machine. I plan on finding a cart to place this on so I can store it easier, and find an adaptor that will fit the inlet hose.
I will update this as time goes on. It's a really simple machine, gets the clothes clean, and I am saving some money from the get go compared to the few bucks it takes each wash in the laundromat.
I was NOT endorsed for this video and I did NOT receive this item for free or at a discount. I reviewed it because I wanted to and I love spreading the word about good products that work and make women's lives easier! :-)
Been using this for about two weeks. I am impressed with the quality. I like everything except length of the hose. For those trying to connect to the faucet, Buy these two items and enjoy washing :)
1) Faucet Adapter - I am unable to link Home depot link here. Google Neoperl 571493. Buy from the first link.
2) Hose mender - Google 56456 mender. Buy from the first link.
We went from living on a third-floor apartment with laundry in the basement and across the building to a small duplex with free laundry. Unfortunately for us, the machines look like they are from the 1970s and have rust on all the lint wires, etc. So we ended up getting this machine for some smaller loads. To be honest, I don't know how long it will last, but when it works, it works great!
Our first load was a disaster, the directions are awful and we actually appear to have put more water in than needed because water was leaking out the top sides of the bin. We contacted customer service who wanted us to mail it back! Right, because anyone is really going to pay a crap load of money out of their own pocket to return something this size! No way. We decided to give it another try or two. The second time I put less water in and thank goodness the leaking stopped. It's a fine balance with this machine, finding the right amount of clothing/water to put in. It does work better than I imagined it would, and we've been able to do good size loads. If it lasts, it will be well worth the 100.00 we paid. If it mucks up in the next few weeks then we're better off at the laundry mat... This is a manual drain machine so it isn't easy. You may be dumping buckets of water down the tub drain like I am but for us it's worth it knowing we are washing our clothing in a machine that isn't 50 years old and only has our stuff in it!
Okay, since the directions are awful, I'll give you a quick rundown of what they say to do here:
1) Make sure spin dial is on soft or normal
2) put in detergent
3) Fill tub with water
4) add clothes
5) Close lid and turn time dial on for however long you want to wash them for
6) When load is done, turn dial to drain and drain water out of washer
7) Place clothing in spin dry machine and spin dry them for however long you'd like
8) Turn dial back to soft/normal
9) Fill tub in washer again with water (NO detergent)
10) Place clothing from spin dryer back in washing tub w/fresh water
11) Close lid and turn dial on for however long you want to rinse-wash your clothes
12) When done, drain
13) Place clothing in spin dryer and spin dry
This is how I do it:
1) Make sure spin dial is on soft or normal
2) put in detergent
3) Fill tub with water
4) add clothes
5) Close lid and turn time dial on for however long you want to wash them for
6) When load is done, turn dial to drain and drain water out of washer
7) Fill tub in washer again with water (NO detergent, but keep your wet clothing in)
8) Close lid and turn dial on for however long you want to rinse-wash your clothes
9) When done, drain
12) Place clothing in spin dryer and spin dry
Feature Product
- 【Compact Twin Tub Washing Design 】: This is our portable mini compact twin tub washing machine which is easy for you to operate. Saving so much time that you don't have to go to a laundry mat or wash things by hand in the tub.
- 【Large Capacticy】: Washing tube: place clothing in the wash tub section, rated washing capacity: 11 lbs. Run the rinse cycle for the desired minutes, Rated spinner dryer capacity: 6.6 lbs (half of the washing capacity, you may spin twice).
- 【Relief Yourself From Hand Washing】: This washing machine washer timer for 15 min and the spin timer to 5 minutes per load, you could choice the suitable time when washing. Much more freedom and options as opposed to standard washing machines that have preprogrammed settings.
- 【Space Saving Design】: Ideal for small loads and delicate. Light weight and easily moveable. Also the wash motor is powerful. 300w washing power & 110w spinner power will help you powerful use the item.
- 【Convenient For Home Use 】: Have a filter net on the side of the washing barrel, which can easily storage the dirty when washing, and you could easily pull it off when cleaning the tube. Have a cover plate when you use the spin tube, can easily put above the cloths and avoid the high speed throw away. Easy assemble is required with all hardware packed in the package.
Description
Description:
Our Twin-tub washing machine is perfect solution for doing laundry in a compact environment. The two tubs, one for washing and one for spin drying will be useful to you. The machine runs off 120v power and will take up to 10lbs capacity for washing and 6lbs capacity for spinning.
Our machine features a drainage tube which allows you to easily drain out dirty water. Not only is it environmentally friendly but it is also energy saving. Separate timer control settings for wash and spin operations. Don't hesitate to add it to your cart!
Gravity drain!!
Features:
Top load twin tub compact design
Separate timer control settings for wash and spin operations
Easy to operate, and powerful allows you to simply put in your load of clothes, fill with water, set the timer and start washing
Our machine features a drainage tube which allows you to easily drain out dirty water
The washer is perfect for dorms, apartments, condos, motor homes, RV's, camping and more
Environmentally friendly and energy saving
When you turn on the water you have to stay by the washer to watch it because it does not stop filling with water by it self
Specification :
Color: Gray and White
Material: ABS+ PP
Dimension: 24.8"L×15" D×28.5" H
Voltage: 120V/60Hz
Net Weight: 29.3 Lbs
Wash Capacity: 11Lbs
Spin Capacity: 6.6Lbs
Washing Power:260W
Spinner Power: 140W
Length of inlet pipe: 44.5"
Length of drain pipe: 20.5"
Package Include:1× washing machine
Warm Reminder: We may doling leaking test before package, some water may leave inside the machine, just wash inside before first using, if you have any problem, please feel free to contact us by the email, our customer service will reply to you within 24 hours.
OMG! I love this little washer. 11 years of going to the laundrymat and washing by hand in the tub in between trips. I am in love. I stayed up to 2am washing clothes yesterday, the day it came in. Dirty drawers never felt more like christmas. It holds a lot more than I expected. So far I have only used it up to the medium wash line, with the strength of the agitator I am afraid that filling it up to the high line might cause the water to spill out from under the lid. But (1) load washed 2 of my leggings size xl, 2 xl womens shirts, mens long johns, 2 boys school pants, 2 uniform shirts, 3 long footed fleece onsies for the baby, 5 t sirt onsies and about 8 pairs of socks... I probably could have fit a few more onsies in there, but I am still learning what works best as a full load. I even did a load with 1 pair of my husbands jeans (hes 6ft). 1 f his t shirts, a bunch of socks, about 4 onsies and some random socks. This I found since the jeans are heavy, you want to make a light load. I had to take a few onsies out because I felt it was too much strain on the agitator. The spin tub is small and you have to split the load up in 2 to spin dry... but the spin dry is fantastic. It gets so much water out. I swear I almost cried when I saw how clean the clothes came out and how dry they were left from the spin cycle.. NO MORE HAND WASHING AND HAND WRINGING!!! I set the washer on a bench and used the sprayer from my sink to fill up the water. This is a gravity drain tub, so the drain has to be lower than the machine. I use a 50 gallon sterilite storage tub to drain the water into, then dumped it in my bath tub. This is difficult, but I was so excited to use this thing, that I havent really thought through the whole "where am I going to put it" scenario. I think it would work best to get a sturdy storage rack for my bathroom and store it next to the tub, and use my shower sprayer to fill the it. I found the hose to hook it up to your faucet to be useless, didnt fit and its so narrow that it looks like it would take a while to fill that way. The largest wash set to the highest water level says it takes 46L ... dude thats 23 - 2L pepsi bottles.. thats a lot of water. But anyway.. awesome product. If you live in an apartment, I would highly recommend to buy this to anyone.
I live in a house with roommates but there is no laundry machine :-( I HATE public laundromats and it's ultimately the biggest hassle because I have to stay there until it's done since I don't feel comfortable leaving and coming back. After debating and researching for a couple months, I finally decided to purchase this. I'M SO HAPPY I DID!!! Having my very own mini laundry machine (Washer & Spinner) in the comfort of my own home/room is amazing! I watched many video reviews and read all the amazon reviews prior to purchasing it, and again when I received it before testing it out. The manual is a joke and hard to understand so don't even bother. Although, it does mention to keep away from water. Many users seem to keep it in their bathroom/shower, but I want to avoid any/all risks so it's actually in my room!.
The main complaints with this appliance are that the drains/tubes are short/small/useless. Because it is drained by gravity (the appliance must be elevated so that the tube can be facing down to drain all the water. I have a mini tv stand and just placed the machine on top of it. I also have a huge bucket which I placed under/next to it so that it can drain all the water. I don't use the thinner tube that you're supposed to use to fill the machine with clean water. I simply use another huge bucket and pour the water into the washer tub directly. That way, I don't have the struggle/problem of the tube being too short or small (seriously, it's useless.) My bedroom is right next to the front door so I have easy access to pour in/out water from the garden hose in the front yard too.
You can wash up to 15 minutes each load and can choose "Normal" or "Soft" setting. I washed my delicates and socks together for my first load (roughly 20 undies and 15 pairs of socks) they are all very thin and light so it actually all fit without any worry/paranoia that it was too big of a load. I poured buckets of water so that all the clothes were soaked and until an inch or two of water was above the load. NEVER FILL TO THE TOP! It needs space to swish/wash! I set it on "Soft" and for the full 15 minutes. You only need two or three tablespoons of detergent since the load is much smaller than your average laundry machine. Once it started, it would spin for around 5 seconds and stop for a few seconds. And it repeated the same spin/stop process for the entire 15-minute cycle. A word of advice, make sure there aren't any long strands of hair or strings/loose ends because my lacey undies got kind of tangled. But I purchased a mesh bag for future washes of delicates which solves that problem.
After the wash cycle ended, I placed the drain tube into my empty bucket and then changed the setting to "Drain." (It will drain as soon as you change the setting so you better make sure there's something at the end of that tube because the dirty water will begin draining immediately!) Once the draining is finished, keep the setting at "Drain." Then place HALF your load (I just separated undies and socks) into the Spin/Dry tub on the right. Place the rubber/plastic lid (provided) directly on top of the load and lay it flat. Close the tub and set your spin time. I set it for 3 minutes. The spin is very powerful! After the first 3-minute cycle, I touched the load and the top portion of the load was 75% dry and the bottom portion was 50% dry (AFTER ONLY 3 MINUTES!!!) I put the bottom of the load on top to get a more even dry and spun again for another 3 minutes. After that, my entire load was 80% dry and ready to hang on my drying rack! It was very clean and I was so impressed!!! Then I proceeded to the second half of the load to spin/dry. Keep in mind it's still on the Drain setting. So you can't wash and dry at the same time. But it's so quick anyway so it doesn't even matter! During the whole process, I'm free to do whatever I want since I'm not at some public laundromat. The convenience is worth the whole bucket thing in my opinion if I compare it to public laundromat visits.
The volume level is average. Definitely not silent but it isn't obnoxiously loud like many laundry machines tend to be. For some reason, I imagined the machine to be smaller but it is a very good size for a mini machine. I am still amazed that this sells for under $100.00 honestly even if it was a little over, I think I would still buy it and it would be worth every penny.
Always remember to drain after every wash and empty out the little filter inside the washer tub. Remember to unplug the machine after you're done using it. Keep away from direct sunlight or water to prevent any damage. Make sure if you do elevate the machine, it is on top of something flat and sturdy!
This is literally my favorite purchase of the year!
update -- a year and a half later and this is still going strong! One of the best Amazon purchases I've ever made compared with the cost of buying a full size washer/dryer.
I have had my dryer, washing machine and the associated plumbing conk out on me in the past year. Things break faster than I can afford to fix them...enter this nifty little washing machine. It really does as advertised and is a great solution for my problems. Goodbye semi-clean clothes, this little washer requires little soap to get a good suds going. You just fill and wash. Drain and fill to rinse then spin. Right now I'm using a bucket to fill it and it's no big deal.
The unit handles more than you'd think, I was able to wash two king size sheets in one load and several shirts, leggings and a pair of jeans in another. The spin unit is very handy, gets most of the water out though I do hang things up overnight to complete drying. I have it set up in a shower that is not used and just let it drain there, I don't need to elevate it as some people do. I am thoroughly pleased with this purchase and would recommend it to anybody stuck in a situation where it's not practical to have a full size washerdryer or where funds are limited (I feel your pain)
I'm a college student taking fifteen science credits and working part-time as a tutor. My days generally go from 8am to 8pm. My weekends have become homework/studying marathons. I often sit down at the start of each week and schedule my showers. Livin' the dream. So as a result, I hadn't done laundry in nearly three months. The clothes were piling up. So many clothes. So many. I've only had this guy for 48 hours, but he's changed my life. The clothes are clean and hanging in my closet where they belong. He's probably an angel. I have named him Wally.
Things to consider (but not things major enough to detract from my appreciation for Wally):
- As other reviewers have noted, the inlet tube nozzle does not attach well to very many water sources. Buckets are your friends.
- This boy needs gravity to drain, so the draining tube has to rest at a point that's lower than or equal to where the unit is sitting. The tube is also quite short, measuring out to be just under two feet.
- You'd might as well throw out the instructions as soon as you open the box.
It's super simple, but since the instructions are rubbish and, hey, new machines can be intimidating, here's how to use this boy:
1. Ensure the dial is set to "soft" or "normal." There are only three options; as long as it's not on "drain"!
2. Slap yer detergent in!
3. Slap some clothes in--my best advice is to just use your best judgment. If it's a helpful reference, I just ran a load of four pairs of jeans, three T-shirts, and some miscellaneous socks and whatnot and still kicked myself for not throwing in a few more shirts.
4. Dump that water in, friend!
5. Set the timer to fifteen minutes. Or less, I won't tell you how to live your life.
6. Is he done? Good! Set the dial to "drain" and, leaving your clean and vaguely soapy clothing inside, refill the tub; this is going to be our makeshift rinse cycle. Set the timer to your desired quantity of minutes, wait patiently, and pat yourself on the back for getting your laundry done on time.
7. Is he done again? Even better! Now you have clean and not-soapy clothing. Excellent! Shove as much as you can sensibly fit into the spin chamber, ensuring the dial is still set to "drain." You may need to separate the load, as his drying capacity isn't quite as great as his washing capacity. (I love him anyway.)
8. Close both spin lids--it's very important that the first one is closed all the way!--set the time, and let him rip! He will only spin for up to five minutes, but this is often more than enough.
9. He's done! Remove your things, hang them somewhere to dry, and thank him for a job well done.
Disclaimer: There is a rubbery plate with holes in it that comes with the unit. You are probably supposed to use it. I have no idea where to put this or what it does, but Wally runs perfectly in spite its absence.
Additional tips:
- Instead of fiddling with the inlet hose, good old-fashioned buckets are always an option! For me personally, the size of the unit and set-up of my apartment wouldn't allow me to attach it to a water source AND keep it within range a drain, so a 10-quart bucket has suited me fine. It's not as inconvenient as it sounds, promise!
- Kie, how much water goes in?! The instructions say to use 30-45 liters of water (depending on the size of the load), but I find that anything over about 38 liters (40 quarts) is too much once clothes are added.
- Kie, how much detergent do I use?! I find that filling my detergent cap to the lowest line (usually marked with "1" or similar) is suitable for medium- to heavy-sized loads.
- Kie, my boy keeps starting and stopping during the wash cycle! Is he okay? Yes! Starting and stopping every few seconds is normal; he's just changing directions and is still more than happy to clean your things.
- Kie, my boy is making scary sounds while he spins! Is he okay? Kind of! He's okay, but your things are very heavy and he may be asking you to take some out. He will also scream if things are sticking too far out of the chamber and getting close to the lid, so you may need to stop the spin cycle and gently readjust if this occurs. For me, this happened one time, and only because I was careless when loading things in--Wally is blameless.
So in short, this guy is great. He may or may not require a little finagling in the set-up department, but if you are kind to him, he will wash your things with no complaints. He probably saved my life. He's perfect.
I love this washing machine! It gets my clothes clean quickly and fairly easily. It definitely takes more work than a traditional washer/dryer, but a lot less work than lugging your clothes somewhere outside of your home.
The instructions are fairly useless, so I watched all of the review videos here, which were fairly helpful. There were some questions I couldn't answer easily, like if you run water while the dryer is spinning or before hand, and I have created my own review video that I hope will address any questions not answered in videos by other reviewers.
To make the water tube work, you will likely need to adapt it as I and others have. I was able to get it to work with my shower head thanks to the recommendations of Vijay Bhatia (another reviewer.) I personally had difficulty finding the parts as he named them, so here is a written list:
- 1/2 inch coupling
- hose clamp big enough to slide over the coupling
- 1/2 inch nose adaptor (may also be referred to as nipple)
Small correction to my video: the nose part of the adaptor goes into the tube, not the coupling. The other half of the adaptor should screw into the coupling, then the other half of the coupling should screw into where the showerhead was.
As mentioned in my video, I was not fully satisfied with the dryer on this machine. It does a great job of spinning out excess water, but your clothes will still be damp and you will need to hang dry them. I tried hang drying and my clothes ended up being very starchy and uncomfortable, so I eventually splurged for a heated dryer - a Panda Portable Compact Clothes Dryer (PAN60SF) w/ 13 lb capacity.
Why the five stars, then? For the price, the machine is a top performer. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a washer but doesn't have a hookup for a regular one. Just make sure you watch the review videos so you know what you're getting into. Combined with the heated dryer I bought, this machine satisfies my laundry appliance needs.
I was NOT compensated for this review and I paid full price ($105.99 at the time) for the product.
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