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: Not for everyone
Summary: 2 Stars
This machine could be great in the right situation, but just to do a small load in the home is a little too tedious for me. In a pinch, or on a camping trip, or when the power is out...this machine could definitely be a life saver. It can get the job done. But as for saving water...well it takes so much rinsing to get the soap out of the clothes with my particular brand of soap (ALL liquid), that I use as much water as a full sized single load in my big washer. And the plastic frame is pretty rickety. My son does love to spin it, but if he spins it too fast, the clothes just wad up in a ball and do not get enough agitation to clean effectively. But I have found if you toss in 1 or 2 of those dryer balls (ie Mr. Steamy), that it helps separate and agitate the clothes when you are washing. I am still working on finding the right balance of soap and water and hopefully that will cut down on my rinsing so much!!! I originally bought this when my son was playing a lot of baseball and I'd have to wash his uniform every single night and didn't want to run a big full load in the big washer. From start to finish, it took me about a half hour to wash, rinse, and wring out his uniform. A little more if I had to pre-treat any big dirt or grass stains. But next time we go camping...this is DEFINITELY coming with!!!Customer Review: Not intended for heavily soiled items.
Summary: 2 Stars
I am a welder, and work in a fabrication shop. I use the Wonder Wash, but not as intended. I have to use it basically as a hand washing tub, as there is no agitator to remove dirt from soiled items, so I fill the tub, let them soak for a half hour, then just use my hand to agitate the clothes for two, or three minutes, drain, repeat for a second cycle, drain, and then refill to rinse the remaining soap, and drain again. It will fit one pair of jeans, a long sleeve shirt, socks, and underwear. Don't try to put more clothes in, as even hand washing in the tub will not get them clean if you do.
I might rate it higher, if I were to wash gym clothes in it(smelly, but not soiled), and could use it as intended, but the way I use it, you could just use a large bucket instead and save the extra money.
I paid $20 for this, and would not spend more than $25 on it, even if I was to use it as intended.
I have owned this for nearly two years, and it has certainly paid for itself. The build quality seem fine. I heard a crack on the plastic base months ago, but to it's credit, it is still holding up to daily use from me, although I don't use the lid, nor do I rotate the tub other than to drain it from the top.
It dosen't totally suck, but it does get tiresome at times washing clothes manually, and daily.
Customer Review: Not the most sturdy machine, but does what it says it will do.
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought the Wonder Wash basically because I'm lazy when it comes to doing laundry, I hate going to the laundry mat and I like gadgets. I came across this item while searching for something else. I had no intention of buying anything like this nor knew it even existed until I discovered it. I read the reviews positive and negative. Most of the reviews I read on other sites complained more about the company's customer service rather than the product itself. But after doing my research, I bit the bullet and decided to give it a try.
I live on the 4th floor of a 4 floor walk up in NYC. We have laundry facilities in the basement of the building and a few laundry mats near by, but like I said I'm lazy and hate doing laundry. I've had this unit for over a month and have done many loads. To make a long story short, this machine works for me. Here's my take:
Pros:
* Inexpensive: for what it does, its a fairly good buy at $40. As for detergents, bleach and fabric softener, I only have to use 1 - 2 tbsps. depending on the size of the load or less if the detergent is 2x concentrated. My building laundry costs about $3 a load, I average 3 loads a session, so I figure with the savings on quarters and detergent, this machine will pay for itself in no time.
* Convenient: I can wash a load in my apartment anytime day or night during the weeknight or on the weekend. My clothes don't pile up as much anymore. I find that I wash my clothes more often because of the convenience.
* Small: The unit only weights 6lbs when empty and is very portable. I live in a tiny one bedroom with little extra space. I can just put this away in my closet when not in use.
* Sanitary: I can wash my clothes without worrying about whatever kind of nastiness has been washed previously in the community washer. My building's machines are always dirty and usually need to be wiped down.
* Quick: Although you can technically "wash" a load in 2 minutes, you also need to factor in the draining and rinsing time. So I would say to wash a full load of laundry takes about 5 minutes. Which is still very quick compared to a conventional washer.
* Effective: I don't expect miracles from this machine. I still pre-treat my clothes if necessary and I still use bleach in my wash loads when need. I have to say with some hot water and 2 - 5 minutes of labor, my clothes come out very clean.
* Manually Powered: I'm a gadget person, so I love to push buttons and make cool things happen, however, a lot has to be said for going old school. I like the fact that I don't have to worry about where to plug the unit in or that a motor burning out. A little arm workout doesn't hurt either.
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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
Overall, I like the machine. Yes, I can see areas of improvement, but so far, so good. That's not to say that if given the choice I wouldn't buy a regular washer, but for my current situation it works. Especially now that the cold weather is on it's way, the thought of staying in my warm apartment and getting a couple of loads of laundry done in about 30 mins. makes the Wonder Wash a really good buy for me.
Customer Review: Not the sturdiest but, hey, it's inexpensive!
Summary: 4 Stars
We've used this machine pretty much daily or every other day for almost a year and a half. Only now, the shaft broke. We didn't think it looked very sturdy either, but hoped that if it lasted a year, it would pay for itself--and it did! Think of all the water and electricity you save! And your delicates are saved too (we use it for synthetics and knits, and diapers).
We highly recommend replacing the plastic screw on top with a stainless steel one.
Excellent buy!
Customer Review: OK FOR SMALL LOADS, NOT BUILT TO LAST THOUGH : (
Summary: 2 Stars
Bought this to cut down on my laundry bill. This will not replace a washing machine by any means, it's should be used only for lite washing.
Had this for about a year, does it clean clothes? Does a fair job, sometimes it left residual soap stains on clothing, even after several rinses.
Don't try to put more than 2 pairs of adult pants, will not fit properly.
Is this reliable? No! My handle broke off after 9 months of use, all cheap plastic parts, and I couldn't find replacement parts anywhere, so in the trash it went.