So today is the day my ‘hamper’ is full, mind you it does not take much to fill it. A pair of pants, a top, some socks and underwear and maybe a tea towel and its time to do laundry. I pulled out my R2D2 unit and got my utility water ready.

In my bus I have a large bpa free water container with a spout that I use for bathing and for washing whatever needs washing. When I do laundry i use 3/4 of this large container so need to refill it before I hit the road again.

Fill up the unit to approximately half full (there is a line inside the tub to guide this measurement), add soap to the top in the 5ml divot in the white steel ball lid, cover up and start pedalling.

I love this thing. What I do is step on the pedal a few times to make sure all the clothes are wet then let it soak a bit, pedal a bit, soak a bit, etc. Which I feel gives the clothes time to de-stink and get clean. Overall I pedal for about 20 minutes total without the wait times.

I usually brace the other side with my other foot to keep the machine steady. You can pedal this unit pretty fast especially when you’re spinning the clothes dry after a rinse cycle and it needs to be stabilized, which I do with a hug type hold. I also don’t put my full weight on it as it is not designed to hold up a person. So I’m careful to be aware of not stressing out the housing of the R2 unit.

Wash cycle, one normal water level rinse cycle and one small quick rinse to remove any excess soap and its time to hang them on the clothes line in the bus! While I drive, these clothes dry in a couple of hours and I’m able to take them off the line.

The bus got a full cleaning out as well, taking everything out, sweeping and reorganizing for the next leg of my trip. And… my bedding all got washed! It’s all fresh, and I’m all fresh, Seamus and I are almost ready to take off towards Saulte Saint Marie, Ontario, then on to Tobermory and down beside the lake to London Ontario.