Washing Machines

A functioning and appropriate washing machine is important in controlling the spread of disease. Large capacity, heavy duty machines are needed, ones that are big enough to wash blankets and handle a house full of people.

The Environmental Health Handbook offers a guide to buying washing machines for remote communities and lists requirements for installation, operation and general maintenance.

The Centre for Appropriate Technology in Alice Springs has published numerous publications about washing machines in remote Aboriginal communities. An alternative to a standard commercial grade washing machine is a hand powered washing machine such as the one below.

Hand Powered Washing Machine

Background

The hand powered washing machine was designed in response to the needs expressed by women's groups in remote communities who wanted to wash blankets but didn't have access to electricity or couldn't get electric machines repaired.

Commercial washing machines in remote communities were getting damged by dust and some were lasting only 6-8 months. It was expensive to keep repairing and maintaining the machines so an alternative was needed.

Features

The Hand Powered Washing Machine is simple to operate. Through pumping the machine's handle, a plastic agitator is plunged up and down...The machine is filled with a hose or bucket and ..emptied through a flexible drain pipe attached to the base of the bowl. It does not require any complicated plumbing.

Product Information Sheet,
Centre for Appropriate Technology
Alice Springs, November 1998

Thanks to The Public Health Bush Book, Volume 1: Strategies & Resources, 2002, Northern Territory Government Department of Health and Community Services, Darwin, pg 3-62 for this information and diagram.