I suppose that's why there's a brand of washing machines called Whirlpool.
Offgrid living
Everything off grid; power, water, self-sufficiency; whether you're doing it or aspiring.
This is so cool! Thanks for sharing, I had no idea this was a thing.
Sure, if you own a river
Sadly, I do not. However, both those are community owned, so if you are convincing enough, maybe your community could come up with something haha
Lived in Ukraine as a kid but never got to see this. The ingenuity is impressive inspirational, and I wonder how the real mountain stream scent compares to the synthetic one most folks find in stores?
(Also nbd but IIRC ~~the~~ Ukraine has been preferred since they gained independence because the old is associated with their experience as a CCCP territory)
Thanks for the great write up. Was a very interesting read.
That is cool! I wish there was a better date than "over 100 years old" though, that's not even pre-Soviet let alone pre-electric
But how do you sanitize the water?
If you're literally just using raw, untreated river water, your clothes aren't getting clean.
Water is a great solvent and with agitation for hours with no labor would clean great. Soap just makes it faster. The deepest cleaning methods are abrasive and approach sanding/polishing, like brushes or steel wool or scratchy sponges, and those methods and a rinse will remove anything over time, including the object you're cleaning. All batch clothes washing uses the fabric rubbing against the rest for friction.
When you dry in the sun, the UV helps with disinfection, not that the idea that sterility is necessary for blankets holds any validity.
With a mountain stream fed by springs or snowmelt, I'd trust that to rinse sweat and dirt out of clothes or blankets well enough. If you're making surgical dressings or something, yeah, sterilize them separately.
Edit: plus, there may very well be a basin nearby you can use to suds up the fabric (ideally with something less damaging to waterways than most laundry soaps)