How to make a homemade wringer for hand-washing clothes

Hand-washing clothes can be a chore at the best of times, but if you don't have an adequate method of wringing the water from your clean clothes, it can become a long, drawn-out task. Clothes that have been wrung out will dry faster, and some methods even remove wrinkles. It's ideal to have a few tricks up your sleeve for when you are travelling, go camping, lose power or simply like to do your laundry by hand.

Purchase a bucket and mop with an attached wringer. Wash your clothes, feed them through the roller and turn the handle to keep the clothes rolling through. The water from the clothes will drop into the bucket, which is great for washing floors afterward. The benefit of this "mangle" method is that it also removes some creases from your clothes. You can choose from small mop buckets that hold 25 quarts of water to the larger, commercial-size buckets that can hold up to 50 quarts, depending on how much laundry you do.

Place a towel on the table and lay an item of wet clothing lengthwise on the towel. Wrap it up like a sausage roll. If you don't have anybody to assist, tie one end of the towel onto something secure, such as the leg of a table. Take the other end and start twisting. To keep your towel from twisting in on itself, gently pull on it as you twist, keeping the towel extended. Water will start dripping from the wrung towel. When you cannot twist anymore, unwrap the towel and hang your clothes to dry. This method can be hard on the wrists and hands, so avoid using it repetitively.

Using a rolling pin, place your clothes on a plastic table and roll them, pressing down firmly, to remove as much moisture as possible. As an alternative, cut a couple of holes in the bottom of a laundry basket, throw in the wet clothes and step in. Using your bare feet, walk on the clothes as if you were stomping grapes.