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Nina Soft Spin Dryer - Experience?


Yarome

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I have one that I really like. From Laundry Alternative. It is bigger than I really wanted at 22.5 on tall, but fits in the underbed storage in a bin. It spins everything pretty close to dry. We aren't full time yet, so I even use it at home. Fabulous for delicate stuff, but still handles towels pretty darn well. My concern is it's longevity bouncing around in the rig. I have it laying in a sterlite bin with a soft foam pad I cut from something leftover. But only time will tell on this one.

I had a TV around here, a black and white job, but after I built it, I lost interest. Heinlein.

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Thanks folks. I appreciate the input. That one from Laundry Alternative is the one I'm looking at. I've read a lot of reviews, which have been favorable, but pretty much exclusively use at home types. I have a little Mr. Heater camp washer that does a really decent job, but it never fails... if I want the weather to turn on me and get a little rain... all I gotta do is a load of wash. :lol:

 

They ain't cheap, for sure. If it would cut down on the drying time significantly though it's probably worth it.

 

IdeLVice - How does it do on jeans? Those always take the longest and my main concern.

 

~Cheers

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I honestly don't wear jeans. I know, I'm an outcast, but I like dockers better, so I can't answer specifically to jeans. But it does heavy loads just fine. You would probably have to let it spin a little longer to make sure the water is out. A heavy load usually takes about a four minute spin. You know when it is done since the water quits coming out of the little spigot at the bottom. I'll try a pair of my husbands jeans tomorrow and get back to you. I also use the Wonder Wash washing machine. They live in the under-bed storage compartment in terlite bins. I really like the pair and hate shoving quarters in washers and driers. I have to say the drier was a little pricy, but I think after the first six loads at a pay machine, it came close to paying itself off.

I had a TV around here, a black and white job, but after I built it, I lost interest. Heinlein.

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Here is my not-totally-scientific experiment. I was a little afraid of putting the jeans only into the spin dryer that it might be off-balance, so I used the jeans and a medium weight sweat shirt. - both pieces of the XL variety. I made sure they were sopping wet, with the water literally running off both pieces. (It could have held more clothing, at the very least another set of sweatshirt and jeans.)

The water stopped coming out of the spigot after 4 minutes and 54 seconds. You could tell both pieces were wet, but not by much. They are now both hanging to dry. I will let you know just how long from leaving the spinner to dry and wearable. To be continued....

Leslie

I had a TV around here, a black and white job, but after I built it, I lost interest. Heinlein.

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I have read blogs about spin dryers, I don't recall negative comments.

 

Here's an article written by a former full-time RVer http://www.floridaoutdoorsrv.com/blog/Dealing-With-Laundry-When-Your-RV-Doesn't-Have-a-Washing-Machine-15

 

She talks about jeans here http://travelswithmiranda.uskeba.ca/still-doing-laundry-by-hand/

 

I am planning to get the Wonder Wash and the spin dry when I finally, if ever, escape to the road!

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I bit the bullet and bought the dryer. I should have paid a bit more attention to the dimensions. It's really quite large! But it IS very quite, doesn't suck too much off the batteries and does a really decent job. I was impressed. I did a couple of loads this morning. Light fabrics and such come out just slightly damp. I ran some sheets through. Parts where still a bit wet, but I rearranged the wetter spots along the outside of the drum and ran it for another couple of minutes. That did the trick pretty well. Everything was dry by early afternoon so that was MAJOR! Money well spent if it keeps running.

 

On another note... I had one of the wonder wash jobs for awhile (prior to that it was the 5 gallon bucket method), but didn't care all the much for it. It was fine for freshening your clothes between laundrymat trips, but didn't do all that well on heavier soiled things. I switched over to one of those Mr. Heater portable washing machines. http://www.mrheater.com/sporting/portable-single-tub-washing-machine.html

 

They don't really burn up much juice either and clothes come out nearly as good as a regular washing machine. It just has a little timer and agitates in alternate directions every little bit. Works really well, cost about half the price of this spin dryer, and probably a good 30% smaller to boot (basically just a glorified 5 gallon bucket). I generally set it for about 3-5 minutes, let it just sit and soak till I get back around to it, then set it for another 5-10 minutes for the actual "wash". I sure don't miss the manual washing and ringing.

 

With the dryer, I think the only reason I might consider getting rid of it is just because it takes up so much space. I'll live with it for awhile though.. things tend to eventually find a home that makes sense.

 

Appreciate all the info and links. ~Cheers

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  • 4 months later...

I figured it was about time to do a 6 month follow-up on this puppy. I would definitely say we have a love - hate relationship. ;) On laundry day I fall in love with it all over again, but every other day of the week I can't stand to even look at it for all the space it takes up.

 

On the love side.. it does a fantastic job and reduces drying time to an absolute fraction of what it used to take. Even on rainy days hanging laundry to dry under the awning still doesn't take all that long. One other advantage that I hadn't considered at the time.. reclaiming water from it is a cinch. I now keep two buckets. One for reclaiming washing machine water (for flushing), and a separate bucket for reclaimed spin dryer water. It's clean enough to use to wash the rigs and outdoor stuffs which has been an added bonus, and it's amazing how much more I get back out of the laundry over hand wringing. Probably something in the order of 3 x's more.

 

On the hate side.. gall DANG it's big!! It takes up a little over half of one side of the linen cabinet.

 

All told I think it's a keeper and money well spent. I admit though that if I had taken the time to measure and really see how much space it would take up, I probably wouldn't have bought it in the first, HOWEVER, on laundry days... I'm sure glad I did and now consider it a necessary evil. :D

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  • 2 months later...

Just want to say thanks Leslie and Yarome for the follow-up reports on the washer & dryer. I can see how helpful these would be in a number of situations. Even though I have a washer and dryer in the rig, we don't always have a sewer hook-up for weeks at a time. 3 trips to the park laundromat pays for the Wonder Washer... I'm going to look around for what I'm willing to give up to get the needed space. Sounds like the spin dryer makes short work of towels and jeans too.

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Sounds like the spin dryer makes short work of towels and jeans too.

 

Most definately! Moreso with towels and loosely knit stuff than jeans, but even with jeans it's a far cry from what you could possibly wring out of em. They come out barely damp and rare I have to run it more than 5 minutes or so. In a perfect world I would probably use the spin dryer first then toss them into the electric dryer to finish them off and fluff them up in a fraction of the time needed with the dryer alone.

 

Happy campin!

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Thanks, Yarome. Sometimes it takes 3 hours or more for the dryer to dry 2 large terry bath towels. The spin dryer sounds like a good investment to save time and electricity. I think I read the dryer is 15 lbs. The cat's 14 lbs., so the dryer can't be all that hard to carry in and out of the fiver. Looks like it's time to take some serious inventory of all our storage to make room. I wonder if my husband will miss his golf clubs? (heh heh heh)

 

I found an empty 18 gal. rubbermaid tub: 24" x 14" x 14.5" - any hope it will fit? Amazon lists the dimensions as 24 X 14 X 14 and Laundry Alternative says 24 X 17 X 17. I don't know 1) which is the current product size, and 2) is that the size of the shipping box? If it will fit in that tub Rock can keep the golf clubs and the cat can keep her bike trailer. :D

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3 hours!? Criminy! Yes, you would most definatley save a bundle of time and electricty. In average weather for a couple of towels I spend around 3-5 minutes in the spin dryer and an hour or two hung up outside. On a warm dry day down South 30 minutes'll do. You could always give them a little "fluff" in the electric dryer afterward. :P

 

You're correct. It's not at all heavy to move around. I might be able to clarify the difference in dimensions. I just measured mine and the main bulk of the unit measures 14 x 14 1/4, however, the four feet on the bottom protrude a bit and measures just about 17 x 17. I don't think it would fit in the tub you have, but then again.. I don't know if I would want to store mine in any type of semi air tight container. My thinking being that any residual moisture inside could possibly start to develp a stink. (?)

 

I have a two door linen cabinet in the bathroom I store mine in with a cupboard bar and doubles as a dirty dish/bath towel hamper between laundry days. It's definately THE biggest space hog out of anything I carry, but even if I had to wrap it n strap it on my A-frame I wouldn't be without it. :D

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Thanks for the measurements. The feet probably make the difference between Amazon and Laundry Alternatives dimensions. And ewwwww, good thinkin' on the stink. That puts those golf clubs back at risk.

 

Actually, I have a couple of other ideas. Some extra lawn chairs may have to go when we get back to the Valley in a few weeks. Maybe the grill. We don't use it anymore. I'll find a way to get it into the basement. I don't really have any available space inside for a 2' tall appliance, unless it went in the shower. Would that make you really crazy to have to move it every day?

 

Are you saying that you use the dryer for a hamper for your damp dishrags? I could use that, but I would think that would result in stinky rags. I probably didn't understand.

 

I also have two cabinets that are stuffed to the gills, but maybe those contents can move to the tub... Yarome, I'll be working the puzzle in my dreams tonight I'm sure. I'm sure it will be worth the effort to work it out. Thanks for your help tonight.

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No. You read it right... but not damp. I always make sure towels and dish rags are fully dried before tossing them in the hamper/spinner until wash day.

 

Personally, I would think it would get old rather quickly to have to move it out of the shower every day and then back in again for something you don't use on a daily basis. I use the shower basin for running the washing machine and spinner then set them outside to dry before packing them back into the closet.

 

I'm a bit in the same boat. Every time I tuck them back away I keep telling myself there has GOT to be a better place to store these! I just try not to open that side of the linen cabinet between wash day.. can't stand to look at em. :lol: :lol:

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Yarome. I've had the Wonder Wash and Nina Soft Spin Dryer for a few days now, and I have to say awesome, awesome, and thank you for all the conversation. We have spent several months already this year without sewer hookups, and the Wonder Wash solved the laundry problem. I even found a recipe for homemade laundry powder on youtube that is easy to assemble, inexpensive, and a tsp is working better than Tide.

 

I was able to wash a queen sheet and pillow case in the Wonder Wash, wash the second set while the first was spinning, and remake the bed while the second was spinning. Pretty amazing when you can wash your sheets almost as fast as you can remake the bed. By the time the bed was made, the sheets were ready to pop in the tumble dryer and were out and already back in the drawer in about 30 minutes.

 

As for the 2 towels that take 4 hours to dry, Nina Soft + the tumble dryer did the job in 40 minutes. THAT is worth the investment right there. I measured the water the spin dryer pulled from one big bath towel - nearly 3 quarts in about 5 minutes.

 

So, the whole set up is a winner and I've made room in the basement for them when we travel. The Laundry Alternative people said it's best that they travel upright.

 

This nifty little combo is going to make life in COE parks so much easier. Thanks again for pointing the way.

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  • 3 weeks later...

 

As for the 2 towels that take 4 hours to dry, Nina Soft + the tumble dryer did the job in 40 minutes. THAT is worth the investment right there. I measured the water the spin dryer pulled from one big bath towel - nearly 3 quarts in about 5 minutes.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you. Pretty darn slick t'ain't it. ;) I finally broke down and built a storage box for my trailer tongue to store my Nina Soft, washing machine , and other laundry misc. I like it even more now that it's out of my linen closet and I don't have to look at it except on laundry day. :P I guess it's been around 10 months or so now since I purchased mine and still going strong with at least weekly use. Not a single complaint yet and it's paid for itself many times over.

 

One thing I 'did' do to it though a couple months back. I finally rigged up a small hose to the water output. Now it drains neatly into the bottom of the catch bucket rather than leaving little water 'splatters' as it drains from that high up.

 

Hope you have as good as luck as I've had with mine. It's amazing how those little domestic 'comforts' can make camp life so much more pleasant. :)

 

~ Cheers

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  • 2 weeks later...

I found a Sterlite latch tub at Walmart to store the Wonder Wash in the basement. The dimensions of the 22 gallon tub are

24 1/4"L x 18 5/8" W x 17 5/8" H. The Wonder Wash will just fit edge to edge width-wise if I take the crank handle off; latch lid fits easily if the barrel is tipped sideways a bit.

 

The washer's frame won't get broken when we travel, and we can still stack a few light weight items on top of the lid. So far I plan to put the Nina Soft back in it's original box when we roll. Otherwise, it lives in the kitchen. I use it a lot already.

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I still love mine, but being chief laundress and bottle washer, I made sure I had a "laundry room". Our bed is the type that lifts up on a hydrolic arm with storage underneath. On the right side I have my Wonder Wash, the spin dryer laying in its tub, and my zippered plastic tote with detg, softener, etc (including a roll of quarters just in case :-) )

It is a lot of space, but laundry is such a regular function that, to me at least, it is a necessary use of space.

On the Wonder Wash, I find it get the heavy, dirty clothes darn clean if you use pretty warm to downright hot water, and turn it 150 times. OK so I have occasional O/C moments. But it does work!

I had a TV around here, a black and white job, but after I built it, I lost interest. Heinlein.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi, IdeLVice! Thanks for all your input on the Wonder Wash and Nina Soft, too. We just spent 2 months without a sewer hook-up, and this combo did a great job for us. I can use my regular washer now, but I find it easier to grab the Wonder Wash for small loads when I'm in a hurry.

 

Would you share your tub brand and dimensions that you're using for the spin dryer? I've still got the original shipping box, but it won't last forever.

 

Thanks!

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