Thoughts on ALDI 2kg Portable Washing Machine

Lmolotovgrog on 13/02/2017 - 21:36

Hey all

Just considering buying the portable washing machine on sale at ALDI this Wednesday (link: https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/special-buys-sat-18-…)

Haven't been able to find any more info on it (including a brand) and it doesn't seem to have been sold before.

Basically we have a baby on the way and are considering material nappies but our washing machine is down 2 flights of stairs in a separate laundry and we don't have much room in the unit to put the washing machine up here. So I was thinking about some sort of small washing machine we can use just for baby clothes and nappies. Then I saw the ad! But yeah don't know how long it will last or if 2kg is even large enough. It looks like it's designed for camping.

Appreciate the help especially if anyone has owned a portable camping washing machine.

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Comments

  • fossilfuel on 13/02/2017 - 22:43

    Even if you get it, where are you going to drain the water? Down the kitchen or bathroom sink? Does it need to be connected to water in order to work and if so, where will you connect it?

    I think you're better off saving the cash and hand washing the clothes.

    • Shiny Mew on 14/02/2017 - 07:39

      Ain't nobody got time for handwashing.

      Well, really, in 2017 few people do.

  • Stewardo on 13/02/2017 - 22:58

    If I were you with baby on the way, I'd buy a small front loader on eBay or gumtree and put it near your kitchenette

  • effgee on 13/02/2017 - 22:59

    trust me, cloth nappies is a tough gig. You'll be rinsing them (and possibly soaking in napisan, or at least the homebrand equivalent) prior to washing, so having a machine at hand to put the wet rinsed nappies straight in will be a godsend, compared to dragging buckets up/down stairs.

    How will you dry stuff ?

    I say buy it. Newborns soak up a lot of your time with mindless drudge, you are likely to reach a stage of desperation that you regret not buying every possible aid. Worst case you can sell it on ebay for a small loss.

    • dbun1 on 14/02/2017 - 08:55

      Can't speak from experience, but a mate tried the cloth nappies as they thought it would work out cheaper.
      In less than 3 months they gave up on it all as it was just too much work.

  • Shiny Mew on 14/02/2017 - 07:44
    +1

    Whilst I would also probably pursue cloth nappying so as to better align with my near-zero waste philosophy, isn't cloth nappying effectively just trading one ecological burden for another from non biodegradable landfill to extreme water and chemical usage? I know most water eventually returns to the ocean, but it certainly becomes more contaminated each day and eventually will pose a large problem.

    Those who know what they're talking about please chime in!

    • ExtraSalt on 14/02/2017 - 11:46

      Hi, we chose to go down the Cloth Nappy direction and now that our little one is 15months old, we could not be happier. Yes you use a bit of water, but if you get enough to last 3-4 days, you can just wash them every other day rather than daily. (based on no research) i would think with the number of nappies we go through each day, the environmental factor in disposables would be much more impactful than a bit of water.

      We chose the cloth life more for a financial reason….and they look mighty cute in the lad.

  • eug on 14/02/2017 - 11:49

    I had a similar kind of 2kg washer (single-tub) that I used for my cycling clothes. It did the job.
    I'd put the clothes into a laundry bag as the agitation seemed rather strong.

    It was in my bathroom next to my sink, and the drain hose just drained into the sink. It drains by gravity, so the drain hose has to be lower than the bottom of the tub.

    You fill the tub up with a hose connected to your tap, and put the soap and clothes in. Let the timer run, then drain it manually. Mine didn't have a spin function, so no idea how well that works.

    Eventually I replaced my main ancient top loader washing machine with a front loader that had a quick cycle, so I ended up using that for my cycling clothes. I sold the 2kg one on gumtree for $10, so maybe have a look there to see if you can score one cheap?

  • Euphemistic on 14/02/2017 - 13:02

    Our first born regularly chucked up his feeds. Meant we needed to run the washing machine a lot, including several 'midnight' wash and then dry cycles trying to get enough clothes clean for him. We did try the cloth nappies but his back end was too powerful for them and meant even more clothes washing. Cloth nappies were relegated to upchuck clean-up. Our 7kg front loader was barely big enough to cope with 3 of us and all the extra.

    While the Aldi machine is only going to be for a limited time, I'd be waiting to see how you go before shelling out for something that probably wont wash enough at a time to warrant it.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/02/2017 - 23:49

    Still uses 240v, not ideal if your off the grid camping..

  • molotovgrog on 15/02/2017 - 11:20

    Thanks everyone for the replies. This wouldn't be our main washing machine (we have an 8kg downstairs) but purely just for nappies which I imagine would need a wash every day. We've got a bathtub in the bathroom which we'd probably use to drain and there's a power point nearby.

    I will check out Gumtree too :) I don't imagine it will be particularly popular at ALDI so maybe it'll come down in price over the coming weeks…

  • [Deactivated] on 18/02/2017 - 11:14

    Glad to find this thread, I was also considering one of these for cloth nappies and cycling clothes.

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