Portable Washing Machine, Hand-powered Tub and Insert Design; Eco and Bio Friendly; Perfect for RVs, Caravans, Off-Grid Camping or Hand Washing Delicates; Made in USA

I bought my lavario for a small holiday flat where I didn`t want a large plumbed in machine, but did want to stop going to the laundrette. It is well designed, looks smart and does the job very well. Basically, it enables you to do bigger hand-washing loads than you could do in the sink, but more easily and more effectively. I use it in the shower cubicle which is ideal for filling and emptying it. So far, I`ve used it for medium loads and I`ve washed duvet covers in it. I`ve also bought a spin dryer to get rid of excess water before hanging the washing outside to dry. This combination is brilliant and easy on water, electricity and time. Very pleased with my purchases.

Have had mine for a couple of years now; mostly used for sport clothes, but it works well for bedding and towels as well, provided you have some means to spin water from the washing afterwards. I am not sure that portability is a big selling point, as the lavario is bulky and a weird shape with the handle installed, but it is low impact for clothes rather than bashing them around inside an electric machine, and for me cleans better than the hand crank style manual machines.

I may as well have bought a bucket and a plunger. I see this as quite a pointless washing machine as it takes up loads of space because the handle can’t be removed and there is no way of spinning the clothes so everything is soaking and you have to wring it out by hand. Very disappointed.

Well, I received it in good time. However upon opening the package, the handle for the Lavario was broken in half. Had to return it couldn’t get to use it which is a shame.

Awesome little portable washer, especially useful for camping or if the power goes out!

Excellent 5 STARS washing machine. This machine is far and away the best effective lightweight washing machine. These few helpful hints will make sure you have easy effective results. FIRST put your laundry detergent in a dish detergent bottle for you`ll only have to squirt one table spoon on the bottom before the water goes in to produce effective but not too much suds because you don`t want dry laundry that still has laundry detergent on them that would make you itch. SECOND fill the beige can up with 2/3 water to ensure bay blue basket of clothes are completely submerged once you place basket in the water. THIRD don`t try and lift the submerged basket completely out of the water. FOURTH fill the beige can with your shower pipe by taking the shower head off to get a accurate flow into the can. FIFTH make sure the can is at the back of the shower so you`ll be able to step into the tub once you turn the water off. SIXTH stand directly over the can and only pull up on the basket that is submerged about 2 INCHES up off the bottom then back down 2 INCHES . Short and repetitive movements will make the movement of the basket in the water sound just like a very effective machine and you can see the churning of the water by only using this short repetitive motion. Rinsing will be just as easy but again make sure to only use a small squirt about a table spoon of soap because you want to make sure you rinse effectively. LETS RECAP small squirt of soap, fill can with water and soap bvefore basket goes in water, place can at back of tub because once filled will be to heavy to re- position, stand DIRECTLY over can, water level in can 2/3 HIGH , leave basket completely submerged and don`t try and lift completely out of the water, SHORT MOVEMENTS. I recomend buying another separste spinner because the method of puting the now rinsed clothes in the can and pushing down with the empty basket doesn`t really wring enough water out if your going to hang on a line unless your line or a portable foldable drying rack is somwhere where some minor dripping is ok, but if your line or drying rack is sitting on carpet then a separate spinner would be a good buy. The washing machine is even more effective for a short wash cycle then even the steel electric ones, because as a manual washing machine you can create your own level of water agitation therefore you could getting the small basket of clothes clean in about 5 minutes with good water agitation, if your clothes are just averagely dirty then no soaking is neccesary, one basket of clothes can be washed and rinsed in about 7 to 8 minutes if you have good water pressure filling the can up to proper water level to wash then again to rinse and a spin dryer is basically about 30 seconds then hang on a line because they would just be a little damp when coming out of the spinner, with a brake on the lid of your spin dryer there is no need to wait for the spinner to stop if you have the ones with the brake where as soon as the lid on the spin dryer comes up the spinner stops right away so you can quickly take the one or two pieces out add one or two more and so forth.

I became aware of the Lavario portable washer (I think) when I stumbled across a short blurb in a camping/RV magazine and was immediately intrigued. I then saw a "how to" video on the Internet and that only served to increase my interest and curiosity. Finally was able to order it and now I finally have it in my hands. And first impressions are very good. Not perfect, but pretty darn close! First off, I have to saying I was surprised at the speed of shipping. Ordered it and had it on my doorstep within three days. Your results may vary, but Wow! It was also shipped in a very hefty box (no good shipping in a box that allows damage, right?). My point here is that I don't even yet have the product in my hands and I'm already being taking good care of. Upon un-boxing I was initially less than thrilled. The item seemed big, bulky, awkward. It isn't, but I always size things in relation to where I will put them in the camper. And in this case, there's no good place for it to go. I know one of the "double uses" of this Lavario is as a hamper and yes we had planned to use it as such, but it doesn't fit (I know, folks will say to put it in the shower we're on the road, but we already use that space for other things). Not a disaster, but disappointing. So it will go in the "toad." Once I got past this initial disappointment I was able to appreciate the top-notch quality. This really is quite nice. Properly taken care of and it should last just about forever. Use is pretty straightforward (from both the directions and on-line videos we found). Not really sure you get much capacity, but that's okay. We're thinking a number of pieces of underwear and socks make up a load or several t-shirts or a pair of pants. If we need to wash a larger item (or more items) we'll hand wash using just the tub section. I really do think this is really well thought out. I understand Lavario wants to broaden its appeal, but I think the core audience is where Lavario will find its most satisfied customers: campers/RVers, cabin owners, off=grid folks, etc. I can understand why apartment dwellers would be dissatisfied: too small. Frankly, if I lived in an apartment I'd used the tub (if it had one) or buy a big tub from a local retailer and go that route. So, if I love this so much why only "4 stars"? Well, for three reasons. First, cost. $129.95 (Amazon-shown price at the time of my purchase) is a bit steep. Yes, I know that includes shipping but I would love this item a bit more if it were $10 cheaper. Hopefully the company will be able to get the price down as it gains popularity. Second, my wife and I both think this is missing an accessory. We're going to use a spare bucket to push down on the wet laundry to "wring" out excess water/start the drying process. Lavario tells you to take the clothes out of the agitating bucket, put it in the tub, and use the agitating bucket to push down and wring out the water. But that means I am dumping out the water I used to wash. Frankly, I don't need (or want) to change the tub water every time I use it; there are times when reuse is both smart and sensible (we would take the agitating bucket and press down/out the water in the sink while the Lavario is in the shower still holding the water for the next load. So we think Lavario should include a "press down plate" (with handle?) of a similar quality to the rest of the item as part of the ensemble. Finally, we don't have a long trip under our belt using the Lavario. We want to see how we like it "under pressure" and how will it holds up "under pressure." Both my wife and I are hoping we can revisit this review and bump to "5 stars," but at this point we prefer to start with "4 stars" and go from there. Nice job, Lavario. Looking forward to being a long-term fan and customer. We like this item and in the Amazon universe that means: 4 stars.

We first caught wind of this a while back when it was only $120 or even $99 I think, I may be wrong about the $99 price tag but it has been in the "saved for later" list for a while to see it go in and even longer out of stock many times. We have been looking to add a manual of some sorts washing machine to our stock for quite some time now, moreso because we live up 2 flights of stairs in a community just to make our lives a bit easier but something like this is great to always have on hand for anything, more than just power outtages. Its also a great addition to our camping/survival gear. The unit itself is very big indeed (but also extremely light for the size and heavy duty at the same time) being able to hold more than 5 gallons of water. To that point; they say to fill it with 5 gallons. However, we tried that with a medium load and felt like we needed more (this may be a personal preference but it seemed to help more) so we filled it a little over the recommended 2/3 with plenty of room to spare still. We also used it in our bathtub with ease. I asked a question on here as to if we can take the clothes out of the basket and put them in the bottom of the wash basin, then push down on the clothes with the empty basket to help ring them out before hanging before we purchased and it yeilded no definitive answer. I can tell you firsthand now that yes, not only can you do that but the directions that come with it instruct you to do so if desired. While we have only used it a couple of times now it has by far met our needs for what we need (both home and abroad). It is quite big so it may be difficult to transport along with any other camping or other gear of sorts if you dont have a larger vehicle, but it is almost, if not a full size washing machine basin. Again what we were looking for. Its large, very heavy duty polymer material, has a pin to lock on the lid even though it locks tight as is, long thick ergonomical handle, option to squeeze ring clothes, drain at the bottom to easily swap water dirty for clean water without tipping the whole thing over and it holds quite a bit of clothes. You can even order an adapter kit with 4 pieces for only $25. This kit includes a 4 and 10' hose, a shut off valve and faucet adapter I think. Overall we are quite pleased with this product and know it will last a lifetime. Now why the old school clothes ringers that have two long rods that you hand crank clothes through to ring dry before hanging is dam near $200 on average confuzzles me....

I don't usually review products but I am a strong supporter of attempts to live a little more ecologically. It was easy & fun to use. The clothes gets clean, and the capacity is surprisingly large. If you use a biodegradable soap you can use the water to water plants. The clothes wringing method is not very effective, but I hang my clothes dripping wet over a vegetable garden, and continue to recycle almost every drop of water. YOu can easily use this outside or in the shower. Oh! and I am able to exercise my forearms while I wash! If you live off grid, I imagine this would be great, especially for a couple or tiny family, A few drawbacks: the rubber tripod tips keep coming off, but that does not affect function. I wish it were not made of plastic, but it seems so durable that I will make sure my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren etc inherit it and use it (instead of it ending up in landfill). Finally - I wish it were better looking. Different colors would help, and a sleeker design (or even a faux retro one). Overall - though the price seems high, I feel good about this purchase and foresee using this for a long time. Update: if you are shorter than the average North American (or under 5'4"), usage can hurt your shoulders and neck. I find you one has to develop a technique to use it without causing pain or injury. What I do is stand on a 4'5" inch elevation and lift the bars as if lifting dumbells (sometimes as if doing deadlift, using more abdominal than arm strength).