Current thinking on laundry in salt water?

[Chotu]

i’m a little rusty on living on boats.

what’s the current thinking on laundry in salt water?

I don’t have my water maker commissioned and hooked up yet. That will be a whole thread unto itself I think. Ha ha.

so I’m going off a 50 gallon water tank which is at half right now.

what I’m wondering is if I can do some laundry in a 5 gallon bucket using salt water, then rinse it out in fresh water before drying.


would that be sufficient to get enough salt out so that it doesn’t attract moisture and feel all gross?

Will it get clean? Can I use bleach? Will it come out as good as if I went to a laundromat?

[team karst]

I think ur rinse water bucket will get salty quickly. We r doing fresh water wash cycle in the 5 gal bucket with around 5 drops of bleach and a multihour soak. It takes very little bleach to disinfect this way.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by team karst

I think ur rinse water bucket will get salty quickly. We r doing fresh water wash cycle in the 5 gal bucket with around 5 drops of bleach and a multihour soak. It takes very little bleach to disinfect this way.

OK. That’s good advice. Maybe I will use up my shower water for this. I have a few separate 5 gallon jugs of shower water.

Just do the bare minimum freshwater laundry until I can make it to somewhere with a laundromat nearby.

[motion30]

I tried it. Used more fresh water trying to rinse the salt out then if I just wash them in fresh water

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by motion30

I tried it. Used more fresh water trying to rinse the salt out then if I just wash them in fresh water

Thank you! Good to know. It is sounding pretty unanimous that I should not try this. I’m glad I asked

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Just do the bare minimum freshwater laundry until I can make it to somewhere with a laundromat nearby.

Or somewhere you can stop into a dock and refill the water tank without having to haul jugs in the dinghy. A fuel dock should do the trick there. Buy a few gallons, load up on water, and continue on.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Or somewhere you can stop into a dock and refill the water tank without having to haul jugs in the dinghy. A fuel dock should do the trick there. Buy a few gallons, load up on water, and continue on.

thankfully, I am still several days out from needing any fuel.

I think I’ll be able to make it out of Florida on the fuel that I have.

I have a range of about 300 nautical miles.

I will replenish the tanks once I start running low. But for now, it’s much warmer than expected. so I’m running out of cruddy shorts to wear around the boat. and I need to do some sheets.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Chotu

thankfully, I am still several days out from needing any fuel.

I think I’ll be able to make it out of Florida on the fuel that I have.

I have a range of about 300 nautical miles.

I will replenish the tanks once I start running low. But for now, it’s much warmer than expected. so I’m running out of cruddy shorts to wear around the boat. and I need to do some sheets.

I was thinking that if water for laundry, etc. is an issue, it might make sense to just throw a little bit of fuel in every couple of days rather than waiting until you need fuel and filling the tanks in one shot. Not for any fuel related reason, but just because it gives you more opportunities to fill the water tank.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

I was thinking that if water for laundry, etc. is an issue, it might make sense to just throw a little bit of fuel in every couple of days rather than waiting until you need fuel and filling the tanks in one shot. Not for any fuel related reason, but just because it gives you more opportunities to fill the water tank.

Oh! I think I misread your post.

I’ll just tough it out. I definitely don’t like making a lot of extra stops and having to rig fenders and lines and all of that stuff. Remember I anchor. I don’t dock. So, it’s a hassle to do all of that stuff. it would actually be easier to just get my bicycle trailer out and ride my bicycle to a laundromat then to dock a couple of times. It would take less time.

but with very little free time since I still work while I am doing all of this, I was trying to find a quick way. The quick way I think it’s just doing one bucket of laundry with my fresh water. And be done with it. then when I am somewhere close by to a laundry mat I will bring ashore for the larger amount.

Was just kind of hoping that I could use salt water and then rinse. But it sounds like that’s not really going to work out because it will take too much fresh water to rinse.

[team karst]

Plus, salt water, if its ocean water, can be full of life

[Wotname]

Back in the day (pre water makers and marina docks etc), we did our laundry in salt water, let it dry in a good breeze (hoisted it up to the lower spreaders or whatever). The wind would shake out most of the salt crystals, then we would give it a quick rinse in fresh or even brackish water and dry again but out of the way of any spray.

Worked well enough for sailors.

[sailorboy1]

I never wash clothes in salt water. Are you a barabarian or what? Get enough clothes to last or wash out in "fresh" water.

[Wotname]

Hey Sailorboy1, check your signature line!

I guess you have never experienced the bountiful joys of 'off-grid' long term small boat cruising in the wild wonderful remote coastlines and islands (or long haul ocean transits) where fresh water is a precious commodity and not to be squandered. Washing your body and clothes in salt water becomes second nature and has nothing to do with being a barbarian (uncultured or brutish person) but has everything to do with being a sailor.

YMMV.

[dougweibel]

Originally Posted by Wotname

we did our laundry in salt water, let it dry in a good breeze (hoisted it up to the lower spreaders or whatever). The wind would shake out most of the salt crystals, then we would give it a quick rinse in fresh or even brackish water and dry again

This ^^

We have a laundry machine but I frequently just jump in the water before taking off clothes after a run or just getting sweaty. A good saltwater rinse, wring out, dry flapping in a breeze to shake out the salt and good enough to wear again for exercise clothes or everyday on the boat stuff.

Wringing out well before air drying helps a lot as you have a lot less salt in the fabric that needs to get shaken out.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Hey Sailorboy1, check your signature line!

I guess you have never experienced the bountiful joys of 'off-grid' long term small boat cruising in the wild wonderful remote coastlines and islands (or long haul ocean transits) where fresh water is a precious commodity and not to be squandered. Washing your body and clothes in salt water becomes second nature and has nothing to do with being a barbarian (uncultured or brutish person) but has everything to do with being a sailor.

YMMV.

great for you, being clean is not "squandering" water