This Amazon laundry bag lets me “hand-wash” my clothes in the washing machine
Until recently, I never knew how to hand-wash clothes. Sure, the instructions are right there in the name, but as anyone who has tried to hand-wash something will attest, it is not as easy as the label seems to think it is. In fact, until very recently it had been much harder than doing regular laundry. After decades of trying and failing to properly hand-wash my clothes without ruining them, I’ve finally discovered the easiest laundry hack that lets me “hand-wash” them in the washer, and it’s available at Amazon.
When I was young, my mom hand-washed my items for me. She’d carefully put them in a bowl in the sink with a little detergent, let them soak, swish them around, scrub them, wring them out, and lay them flat or hang them to air-dry. It was an all-day process, and I didn’t fully appreciate that until I went to college. Without the spacious sink to wash in or the backyard clothesline to dry my clothes on, the process became even more troublesome. In my dorm’s small bathroom sink, I could never seem to scrub and wring out the heavy fabrics enough to get them clean. Plus, they took so long to dry indoors. I stopped hand-washing things altogether and started to re-wear items instead. When they started to smell, I’d set them aside for my mom to wash on my next trip home.
This habit continued well into adulthood, until I discovered the Laundry Science bra washing bags.
Shop it! $10.89, Amazon.com
These bags are designed to keep your bras from getting tangled or smushed in the washer, and they double as bags for hand-wash items, too. Simply roll up your clothing item, zip it into the bag, and toss it right in the washer with the rest of your load. The plastic caging of the bag keeps your items from snagging or stretching in the wash, and they’re surprisingly roomy. I bought the “large” bags (meant for D-G size bras), and they can fit my bulkiest sweater (see below). Plus, the washer’s spin cycle almost completely dries it, so air-drying it afterward takes almost no time at all. (I still air-dry anything I wash in the bags since I don’t want the dryer heat to shrink anything.)
As the proud owner of many vintage sweaters decked out with sequins, glitter, faux fur, and tassels, I can say that these bags have kept everything clean and intact—the ball shape of the bra washer keeps the items tightly wrapped up. Meanwhile, the mesh still lets soap and water in to clean them properly. They also do work great for their intended purpose—washing bras—because you don’t have to fold one cup into the other to make it fit. Put a bra cup on each side of the plastic cage to keep them in tip-top shape.
Never worry about buying a “hand wash” item again and wondering how many times you can get away with wearing it before it needs to be cleaned. I haven’t yet found a magical solution to dreading laundry day in general, but I’ll keep you posted about my next life-changing find.
