I was sick of hand washing bunny blankets in a tub, hosing it and wringing it out. I didn’t want to wash them in the washing machine because bunny hair would get into all of my human washing.
I figured there would be a manual washing machine and I found the Sphere Eco Spin. It’s kind of like an oversized salad spinner.
It can only wash/spin a maximum of 2kg, that’s a single polar fleece blanket at a time. But that is tolerable because I don’t want to hand wash them any more, and when it comes to winter, I will have to wait forever for the blankets to drip dry.
The lid is really sturdy, and heavy. The centre circle spins when you drive the handle around. In turn, the basket in the middle of the machine rotates to wash, spin or dry your fabrics.
The whole machine is very compact, a little heavy, and the black plastic body feels a little flimsy because it isn’t very thick plastic.
The plastic of the handle seems quite strong and flimsy at the same time.
I’m expecting the black elbow joint that connects the handle to the lid to break after a while, I hope not, but it seems likely. This is a 3/4 extended view of the elbow joint.
The white plastic cover clicks over the inner mechanism of the elbow joint and into a small hole in the lid. This is what you use to rotate the mechanism to work the machine.
This is a view of the machine with the handle upright.
The lid swivels into and out of place by little sliding locks. The lid must be turned anti-clockwise to lock the lid, clockwise to lock the lid in place.
This is a view of the locked clip.
This is the spin mechanism on the back of the lid.
This is the view of the inside of the machine. You can see the white basket is separate from the black outer tub.
The white basket has a MAX line, this is for you to know how much water to put into the machine. I fill mine up more than that.
You can take the basket out of the tub. In the centre you can see the metal pin that keeps the basket in place, and tge hole in the base that lets the water escape through the pipe.
This is a view of both tub and basket.
The basket has a sturdy connector in the base to sit on the metal pin in the tub.
The base of the tub has 4 suction caps. These are really important because the machine jumps around when you spin your fabrics, just like a bigger washing machine.
The pipe has a special little clip to keep it upright. It must be clipped here when you are washing so the water cannot escape.
A different view of the clip and tube.
The little cap must be put over the end of the pipe to keep the water from escaping during the washing cycle.
The pipe, fully extended, drains the water from the tub.
Things I have learned…
- When rinsing your fabric drain the washing soap and water from the machine. Then spin one way (making sure that the pipe is clipped upright). The centrifuge action draws the water into the tub. Drain. Fill with fresh water. Move the fabric around in the basket. Spin. Drain. Repeat.
- When spinning your fabric, make sure all the water is out of the tub. Put the fabric into a loose ball-doughnut shape, put the lid back on and turn the handle. The faster you spin the drier it gets. But the tub fills up with water from the centrifugal action. Make sure you drain it. Then move the fabric around a bit in the basket, then spin again. Once no more water comes out of the pipe, your fabric has been spun enough.
- Make sure you dry the basket, tub and lid before putting the machine away. Put the machine somewhere out of the sun (the sun will make the plastic brittle) with the lid tilted so air can get into the components and help it dry out.
Conclusion
I like the machine. It is really easy to use. I’d recommend it without hesitation.
Update
February, 2023
The handle broke after about 3 uses.
I found that the only thing that was holding the handle onto the lid was a two millimetre thick ring of plastic. That is not strong enough! No wonder it broke.
Verdict
Once the handle broke, spinning the blanket was actually much easier. I like the machine more now with it’s broken handle.
The spin does a much better job now the handle is broken.
The first blanket came out spun, but still damp; while the second one was fantastically dry.
Update
April, 2023
I’ve had this for nearly 3 months, used it about 4 maybe 5 times and the whole lid is broken. The middle part with the text on it shouldn’t be lifting.
I contacted Outback Equipment and they are working on a warranty claim.
Update
May, 2023
I finally got an email back from Outback Equipment, only a month or more later, to say that it isn’t a manufacturer fault, it was what I was doing with the spinner. It’s all my fault! Thankfully, they will give me a refund.
Honestly, it is a manufacturer fault, because it is poorly made.
Don’t get a Eco Sphere, get something better quality.