Doing The Laundry Without The Laundromat

When we are on an extended trip, we always plan to do laundry somewhere along the way. There have been some really neat encounters we've had in laundromats around the world. We've met students in Heidelberg and had instruction in French accompanied with lots of hand signals in Paris. Iceland was another interesting occasion where we had to receive instructions over the phone from the owner of the washer and dryer at a small campground. There was nothing on the washer and dryer that looked even vaguely familiar for us to even guess about what to do.

All of that said, I found some suggestions online that sound feasible if you can't find a laundromat or don't feel comfortable. One of the suggestions is to use a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Your put a small amount of detergent or even shampoo if you have no detergent into the bag with water and your article of clothing. Zip it closed and agitate. Do the same to rinse several times and hang up the item to dry. When I hand wash items, I usually roll them in a towel after I've wrung them out. That gets out just a little more water and speeds the drying time.

There are several products you can buy that are a bit larger and accomplish the same thing but are a bit pricey in my opinion.

Another option to washing your clothes without going to the laundromat is to wear them into the shower. Now I will admit to doing this with a bathing suit to rinse the chlorine from it but I never considered wearing clothes in and washing them that way. Hmmm. Given the option, I'll go to the laundromat. In a foreign country it's challenging and fun and you meet the nicest people.

Laundry On The Road

Getting clothes cleaned while traveling can often be a challenge, a pain, or one of the fun things you do on the road. We've visited laundromats in foreign countries and had lots of fun figuring things out often with the help of the locals who I am sure we entertained. If you are planning on more than a week of travel, chances are you will want to schedule some time to wash a few items. It makes for a lighter suitcase if you don't pack clean clothes for every single day.

If you aren't up for the challenge of a local foreign laundromat, you may opt for hand washing in the sink in which case you need to plan for a couple of days in one spot so that your clothes will dry. Pack lighter weight fabrics and plan to layer if the weather is cool. The lighter fabrics will dry faster for you but still you will need a good twenty-four hours to be sure they get dry hanging in the bathroom or a closet. Be sure to pack one of those flat rubber stoppers to place over the drain. If you don't want to pack a little detergent, you can always use some shampoo if you are just trying to refresh your things and not get out mud or grease.

Or if you are really into washing your clothes you could try a new gadget I happened across called the Scrubba. It's advertised as the smallest traveling washing machine. It's a reusable pouch that has a rough texture inside (think wash board). You fill it with water and detergent, work the air out, seal it and knead it back and forth until the clothes get clean. It costs between $45-50 USD at Amazon. While it has some good reviews, I can do a lot of laundry by hand or even at the local laundromat for that much money. Plus I'd have to pack it even if it is small.