this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2026
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Would a mechanism you could push or lean against work for you? A commercial mop wringer could wring out perhaps 1-2 articles of clothing at a time, then a rinse and line dry should be sufficient.
Alternatively, a different application of the bucket method would allow you to sit on top of one bucket and have that force squeeze the clothing between the buckets.
Please excuse the crude drawing, but here is a simple diagram, you would sit on the inner bucket, which would squeeze the water out of the clothing (yellow) and the water would escape through the drilled holes.
But I would have to buy the buckets, and a drill, and drill the holes?
These sorts of buckets are often free because they're the waste packaging used for commercial quantities of things like laundry detergent or cake frosting.
I typically get a few of these for free from my local grocery store or dry cleaners every year to plant vegetables in.
Could someone with a drill do that part for you? Could your landlady do that part, as she is presumably also without a washing machine now?
we would have to buy a drill though. and this just doesnt seem like a long term solution.
You dont need a drill to put a hole in a plastic bucket, it just makes it easier. You could melt the plastic a bit with a BBQ lighter to soften it (do it outside cause of fumes and cover for breathing bits) and then poke something through. It's not like you need precise hole sizes. You could probably score it with a knife and then pop it through as well.
It's definitely not.
A more functional long term solution would be in fixing the washing machine. In what way is it not working? It's possible a handyperson or appliance repairperson could fix it.
one has already been out and said it's unfixable. it's like 20 years old and has had many problems and been repaired multiple times before. it's knackered now, doesn't drain or spin.
Does it make any noise when it's supposed to be draining? What about when it's supposed to be spinning? Will it fill with water?
Do you load it from the front or the top?
Neither spinning nor draining points to one of a couple of things, being a clog or an electrical issue particularly with the lid sensor.
Washing machines, especially the top loaders, are incredibly simple machines and typically when they "can't be fixed", actually means the repairperson just can't be arsed or the company wants to sell you a new one. A 20 year old unit is at least ten years too old to be one of the modern disposable "sealed tub" types. In North America, it's not at all uncommon to see units from the 1950s that have sat in someone's basement used or unused for decades and still work.