EDIT: I’ve received enough help to get a washing machine now and will have it on Tuesday. Thanks for the suggestions though.
I’m not having much luck with my mutual aid request for a new washing machine. I’m finding it impossible to wash my clothes by hand. I have very little use of my left arm, as well as issues with my hands. I’m finding i just can’t wring the clothes out by hand, which means i can’t get the laundry disinfectant I have to use, out properly. They’re being left itchy and smelly. Does anyone have any good tips on dealing with this?


we would have to buy a drill though. and this just doesnt seem like a long term solution.
You dont need a drill to put a hole in a plastic bucket, it just makes it easier. You could melt the plastic a bit with a BBQ lighter to soften it (do it outside cause of fumes and cover for breathing bits) and then poke something through. It’s not like you need precise hole sizes. You could probably score it with a knife and then pop it through as well.
It’s definitely not.
A more functional long term solution would be in fixing the washing machine. In what way is it not working? It’s possible a handyperson or appliance repairperson could fix it.
one has already been out and said it’s unfixable. it’s like 20 years old and has had many problems and been repaired multiple times before. it’s knackered now, doesn’t drain or spin.
Does it make any noise when it’s supposed to be draining? What about when it’s supposed to be spinning? Will it fill with water?
Do you load it from the front or the top?
Neither spinning nor draining points to one of a couple of things, being a clog or an electrical issue particularly with the lid sensor.
Washing machines, especially the top loaders, are incredibly simple machines and typically when they “can’t be fixed”, actually means the repairperson just can’t be arsed or the company wants to sell you a new one. A 20 year old unit is at least ten years too old to be one of the modern disposable “sealed tub” types. In North America, it’s not at all uncommon to see units from the 1950s that have sat in someone’s basement used or unused for decades and still work.