Is it Wonder Clean, or Blunder Clean?

A major headache we hear from fellow boondockers: Getting those blasted clothes clean! Even if you do have an on-board washer/dryer, your precious reserves of water and electricity can be eaten up in a hurry if you run even a load or two through. We perked up when we found a "portable clothes washer" touted in an RV supply catalog. Called by various names, "Wonder Clean," "Wonder Wash," or similar, the idea is to stuff you clothes in a small plastic drum, add water and soap, and then spin the drum around with a crank handle. The theory is, the drum creates pressure (when used with hot water), and the dirt is theoretically blasted out of the clothing.

"How can you go wrong for $35?" We got it. On a field assignment to the Canadian wilds, far from any Laundromat we heated up water, stuffed our 'Wiz-Clean' with clothes and measured out the soap. Like kids on the end of the ice-cream churn crank, we smiled we gleeful anticipation. And sure 'nuf, the clothes were cleaner than when we first put them in. But hold on, you've got to rinse the clothes too. There's the rub: It took so much more water to get the soap and residual scum out, we rapidly depleted our fresh water supply. But wait! There's more! Now the customer gets to wring out the clothes! Had we brought Sampson with us, our troubles might have been over.

You get the picture. Wunduh-Wash was summarily put on e-Bay and sold to someone with far more ambition than we had. It's just a whole lot less trouble to buy a few extra pairs of underwear and socks and hold out until you reach "civilization" and the Laundromat. Of course, if you really want to try this on your own, here's a web site that'll fix you up with a mini-cleaner all your own.