All appliances require regular maintenance to work their best, and portable washing machines are no exception. To avoid accidental damage or premature failure, it’s important to know how to use and take care of one.
Setting Up Your Portable Washing Machine
Although some assembly is required, the process isn’t complicated. First, you’ll need to attach the casters or the feet. If your portable washer comes with leveling feet, be sure to adjust each one to keep the washing machine steady. Gently rock the washing machine to ensure it’s level.
The next order of business is attaching the drainage hose. Most manufacturers provide a hose. If yours doesn’t come with one, look at the user manual to determine the width of the hose you need. Usually, a garden hose will fit. You can choose to put the end of those in a bucket and manually empty the bucket, or you can opt to leave the end of the hose in a sink.
If your portable washer has a water inlet, you need to decide whether you will make use of it. If so, you’ll need to connect the tube to the inlet and a faucet. If not, you can simply fill the washer’s tub by pouring in water from a bucket.
Washing Your Clothes
Before you throw in your clothes, make sure the portable washer is placed near a three-prong electrical outlet. If you’ll use a sink to drain the water, the washer also needs to be close enough for the drainage hose to reach.
As far as adding your clothes to the drum, it’s no different than how you do it with a full-size washer. As you put them in, balance the distribution of your clothes, taking care not to exceed the appliance’s maximum weight capacity. Then, you can choose the cycle settings, fill the drum with water and add your laundry detergent.
Once the wash cycle is over, you’ll need to drain the water. To do so, select the drain option. After it’s emptied of water, you can start the spin cycle. With dual-drum washers, you’ll need to move the clothes to the dedicated spin side first.
Post-Cycle Care and Storage
After every load of laundry, it’s imperative that you drain all the water in the drum. This cuts down on bacteria growth. Plus, standing water is a mosquito and gnat magnet. Before you drain the water, unplug the power cord to eliminate the risk of electrical shock.
Unless you plan to use your portable washer every day, you’ll probably want to tuck it away to save living space. Many portable washing machines have a cord wrap and a drainage hose hook to make storage easy and neat. Before you put up the washing machine, make sure the power cord is dry.
Related Portable Washer Articles
Best Portable Washers
Info Articles
What is a Portable Washing Machine?
Cleaning Your Portable Washing Machine
Washing machines get dirty too. Since most portable washers don’t have a hot water setting, they tend to house more bacteria and viruses than standard washing machines. Like their stationary counterparts, hard water deposits can accumulate.
Depending on how often you use your portable washer, you should clean once a week to once a month. To keep your washer sanitary, add a cup of bleach to the wash drum and fill it up with water. Then, run a normal wash cycle and drain the water.
For a washer that has a separate spin side, you can wipe down the interior with diluted bleach. If the user manual discourages the use of bleach, an excellent alternative is distilled white vinegar – It’s cheap and available at any grocery store. Be sure to dilute the vinegar before you clean your washing machine with it.
Sources
Energy Star
US National Library of Medicine | National Institutes of Health
GSA
Our Recommended Portable Washers
If you have any questions or comments, please add them below in the comment section. Similarly, please let us know if you spot any mistakes or omissions. Thanks!
Last Update: 2024-04-18 | Affiliate links/Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
