Wonderwash
by The Laundry Alternative
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Our Price: $59.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $58.00 (click here) Category: Major Appliances See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Wonderwash
Customer Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
I had an opportunity to use this machine for 3 weeks during a camping trip in which we used it hard and frequent. It worked excellent and I had no issues. But I would like to augment my review by responding to the review below me...specifically the cons in which I had a totally different experience.
Cons:
* The machine is basically made of plastic. The manufacture says that it's made of the highest, most durable plastic, but at times the brackets do seem a bit wobbly. The washer itself seems sturdy. The base is questionable. Some of the small screw caps did not stay in place, but they are not essential to the unit staying together or washing properly.
It is completely sturdy and mine did not wobble at all. Perhaps the reviewer did not set it up correctly as the machine needs to be put together properly. They say plastic as if that is a bad thing, but this makes it lightweight and many things are made of plastic and sturdy...take a look at your car next time you're in it.
* Can be messy: Washing clothes in this unit is not the tidiest of processes. I initially tried it in my kitchen, but I spilled more water than I used, so I eventually move the unit to my bathtub and found that it fits perfectly and I don't have a problem with water being everywhere.
It can be, but ours was not. This point is the fault of the reviewer and NOT the machine at all. Make sure you put the drain tube on correctly and into a sink and put the cap on tight and no issues.
* No assembly instructions: The unit does not come with a lot of instructions on how to put it together, but it's not that difficult to figure out. You are really only assembling the base not the tub. You really can look at the pieces laid out and see how it all fits together. It took me less than 10 minutes to unbox and assemble.
Now this one is ridiculous to me. I have heard others say this. I have put together Barbie stuff for my neice harder than this. There are about 5 parts in total, I could have done it without ANY instructions at all. I seriously have to laugh...if you can screw in a lightbulb you can do this. Of course, we now need warnings on hot cups of coffee so one does not burn themselves... seriously...c'mon.
* Where the suction?: The unit does have suction cups for stability, but I have to say they stick the best when you don't need them to. When the water splashes, the suction cups tend to not stay in place. However, I've found when using the unit in the bathtub, this wasn't an issue. The unit did still slide around a bit but not enough to disrupt the washing process.
This one makes sense. It does sometimes stick when you need to move it but you just pull up on the suction cup edges and wala! But I get his meaning here...it is true.
* Bait and Switch: When I received my Wonder Wash I was surprised to find they sent me a Sputnik 3 that looks exactly like a Wonder Wash, but was renamed. I hadn't seen anything on their site claiming they renamed the units, so I was a little suspicious. However, the unit seems to do what the Wonder Wash claims to do, so I kept the unit. I can, however, see how other reviewers see this as a bait and switch and question the quality of the Sputnik 3 compared to the Wonder Wash. I can only speak for my unit and say that so far I haven't had any problems. I do think the manufacturer should really clear this up or stop sending out the Sputnik 3s as Wonder Wash.
I have heard this before as well and it did not happen to me. I cannot comment therefore...but mine was the Wonderwash. Make SURE you ask the seller first to send you the Wonderwash or do not buy it.
* Hard to Crank: When I first started using the unit, it was at times hard to crank. But, through trial and error, I found that the amount of water you use for the size of the load is every important. The instructions say that the smaller the load less water is needed, but I didn't necessarily find that to be the case all the time. I eventually found that over time you will be able to determine what the right clothes to water ratio is to make it crank smoothly. The right amount of water in the unit can make the cranking action effortless.
Not really. I agree if you are 5 years old but it is NOT hard to crank.
* The Tricky Lid: The lid for the machine can be a little tricky. It's almost like working with a child-proof cap to get the right fit. The trick is to unscrew the lid all the way until you almost take the screw out. Place the lid on the unit and lock the lid in the groves around the unit. Hold the lid in place around the groves and then tighten screw back all the way down. By doing this, you get the tightest fit and therefore the most pressure and fewer leaks. When you loosen the lid after a wash, you should hear a hissing sound of the air releasing, then you know you had a good tight fit.
I am shaking my head. This should not be a con at all. It is not really like a child proof lid but you have to turn it and then screw it. But this is also childsplay and very simple. But I agree, if you are a 5 year old and you want to do this get someone to help you first.
* No Spin Cycle: Since this is not your typical washing machine with a spin cycle you will need to either ring your clothes dry by hand or do like I did and buy an Spin Dryer Centrifugal Clothes Portable Spin Dryer. As stated before I'm lazy when it comes to laundry, so wring out the clothes after washing would have been deal breaker in buying a Wonder Wash. The Spin Dryer completes the Wonder Wash.
Lazy is correct. Did you see Kenmore or GE written on the side of the unit? How about in any of their ads? Where was it written that this thing ever had a spin cycle? Nowhere...
So why out this in the cons? That's like buying a a minivan and then scoring it lower because it is not able to do 0-60 in 3 seconds. It was never promoted not sold to have a spin cycle so I am not sure why anyone has it on their list. Yes, wring out the clothes...it takes a few minutes but so what. Do not buy a manual machine if you are lazy. But I suppose lazy and cheap are a bad combination.
This is a great machine and we were happy with it. I expected to not like it considering some reviews and especially the one I quoted here...I am sooo happy I never listed. it saved us money whiloe camping and was extremely convenient if we were staying at a campsite for at least 2 days.
Customer Review: Fairly pleased
Summary: 4 Stars
Fairly pleased with the Wonderwash. For the most part it gets cloths clean, but I've noticed for a few things I need to scrub them a little to get totally clean. Cloth dry really fast when rung out and put on a drying rack and aiming fans on the cloths - usually overnight.Customer Review: Fantastic Product for the Price
Summary: 5 Stars
After hearing about this product from a friend and reading all of the available reviews and information that I could find online, I decided to give the Wonderwash a shot. Although there are some limitations, this product works beautifully. I have four children so we use this machine a lot, and I have even taught them how to use it. Here are some tips that I believe have helped me use this machine more effectively:
1. Do not overload - Using the specified amount of water and clothing is definitely important for the machine to function properly.
2. Use less soap - Although the instructions suggest using 4tbp of detergent for a full load, this is FAR too much. I usually use approximately half of that amount.
3. Rinse twice - I have found that rinsing my clothes twice (once with fabric softener, once without) helps get more soap out of my laundry.
The biggest drawback to this product is having to hand wring all of the clothing. I would definitely suggest investing in a manual wringer or the spin dryer available from the same company.
As a side note, I did purchase this product from GreenCupboards on Amazon and I was very impressed with their customer service! I always received a quick reply to my inquiries and the shipping time was very reasonable!WonderwashMini Countertop Spin Dryer Clothes Spin Dryer Portable Clothes Dryer
Customer Review: G--R--E--A--T
Summary: 5 Stars
This little washer is perfect for the single person. You can even take it with you traveling! One of the best appliances of the future, I'd highly recommend it.Customer Review: Good at what it does, but not miraculous
Summary: 4 Stars
I use my wonderwash about four times a week, mostly for small items like cloth diapers (pre-rinsed by hand first), baby clothes, socks and underwear.
For me, it does what I wanted it to do, which is save the vast amounts of money we were previously spending using the $4 washers and dryers in our apartment building. I'm glad I got it and would buy it again.
The pros:
* Clothes really do come out clean. Even diapers. No problems.
* It doesn't take too long. Not as super-speedy as you might expect given that washing takes only two minutes of handle-turning and rinsing takes one minute, but still, it's about 10 minutes a load even with the poor water pressure in our taps. (The time-consuming part, for me, is filling up the washer with 6 quarts of water, once for washing and once for drying, and also waiting for the water to drain out again after each part of the cycle.) I used it in the bathtub once, where we have much better water pressure. The filling took only a few seconds, but the turning was much more awkward. So now I do it on the kitchen countertop and drain into the kitchen sink.)
The cons:
* It's not horrible to turn, but it's not just a quick twiddling of your fingers either. There is a moderate amount of actual effort involved.
* DON'T FORGET THAT THINGS WILL COME OUT SOPPING WET. The machine doesn't spin at all, so you have to get the water out yourself by wringing things manually. This takes a while, especially if your load consists of a billion small items, and all the wringing is more effort than turning the machine. If you did this to a no-iron shirt, you'd get horrible wrinkles that would be tough to get out even with an iron. And also, no matter how well I wring the clothes, they still end up considerably wetter than they would be if they'd been through a regular washing machine with a spin cycle. Since I hang clothes to dry in our apartment, that means I wait about 12 hours for them to be completely dry, rather than about four. This means that our apartment is almost never free from "decorations" of socks draped over the chairs. I think it is probably worth getting one of those mini-spinners too, to take care of this problem.
Tips:
* As I saw in someone else's review before I bought it, it really is easier to turn the handle if you have the full six quarts of water in it, even if you're not washing a "full" load of clothes.
* Don't use much detergent, or you'll have to do more than one rinse to get rid of it all. The clothes really do come out clean even with only a teaspoon or so. Less if it's the HE stuff.