Extracting Water

Tips for using a salad spinner or chamois with small hand-washed articles
by Jackie E-S

When rinsing a hand-washed article, an effective way for extracting water is to use the spin-only cycle of your washing machine. However, if your article is small and you don't want to go to the bother of using your machine, try one of these methods –

Salad Spinner

These are available in the kitchenware department of stores.

After squeezing by hand as much water as you can from your hand-washed article, place your article in the salad spinner and spin-away.

Just to be safe, especially around dyed yarns, I have a totally separate spinner reserved for use with yarns, from that I use with food.

Chamois

These are available in the automotive department of stores. The synthetic variety works just fine, and is far less expensive than the real thing.

Spread the chamois out on a flat surface. After squeezing by hand as much water as you can from your hand-washed article, lay flat on the chamois. Roll up the chamois with the article inside. Twist along the chamois from one end of the roll to the other.

The chamois is very absorbent as well as protects your article. I can save many hours in drying time by using this method, especially on humid days (which most are in Southern Louisiana where I live!).

Again, I reserve a chamois for this specific use – I don't want to risk getting automotive oils on my fine fabrics!

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