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If you’ve been around here for any length of time, one thing we often mention is how we try to pack into nothing but a carry-on and a personal item when we travel. One of the reasons we’re able to get away with this is that we do laundry while on the go. I’m sure we’ve all taken our turn at doing the wash at home (or should have!), but let’s talk a little about what doing travel laundry looks like, at least in our experience.
In general, and regardless of how long we’re traveling, we almost always pack 4-5 days of clothes. We’ve mentioned before the varied benefits of taking natural fibers: because they pack down well, the wrinkles fall out of them pretty quickly, and they’re quick to wash and dry. Let’s talk about this last part now. In our experience, doing laundry while traveling usually comes in one of three varieties. For reasons I’ll explain below, we tend to stick to just one, but wanted to share the others just so you know what is available.
Hotel Laundry Service
First, depending on the kinds of hotels you stay in, the hotel itself might have a laundry service. We’re familiar with this from most US hotels and the ubiquitous plastic laundry bag hanging in the closet. You know the one…it’s usually clipped onto a hanger with a piece of paper where you can clarify what you want done. Same story abroad, at least in larger hotels. While this can get expensive quickly, it might be a good option if you’re coming in from somewhere that didn’t have a laundry service and you’ll be at that hotel for at least two days (so you can get your clothes back). It’s also nice to drop off dirty clothes and, magically have them reappear clean and pressed. Also keep in mind that some hotels have self-service laundry facilities, though we don’t see them often on our adventures.
Machine Wash
Second, and again depending on where you stay, sometimes your room will have a washing machine. Most often this happens when you rent an apartment with Air BnB or something similar. That can come in handy and allow you to get a lot of laundry done quickly. Be careful to make sure if the place you’re staying has laundry detergent, and if so, if you can use it. Also keep in mind that while there might be a washer, it’s less likely there will be a drier. Sometimes a single machine will do both tasks, but most often we’ve found a washer flying solo. When that happens, there’s almost always a collapsible drying rack stowed nearby you can use to dry your clothes. Just make sure you factor drying time into your mental calculus when doing your laundry, to make sure everything is dry by the time you need to pack it up to move along your way.
There is also the laundromat option, but who wants to spend the day waiting for your laundry when you could be out exploring?
The Good Ole Bathroom Sink/Tub
Third, and what we do most commonly, is bathroom sink or tub laundry. Turns out, there are laundry detergents specifically made to do sink laundry. Who knew? We recommend waiting to buy it at your destination so it doesn’t cut into your liquid allowance in your carry-on and because you may need more than 3 ounces depending on your trip length. Regular powder or liquid detergents work as well, but you often have to buy way more than you need. However, we’ve recently discovered laundry detergent sheets; they look like dryer sheets but instead, you toss them in a sink full of clothes and water, watch them dissolve, and then mix everything up with your hands. They pack perfectly flat in your carry-on when transferred from the box to a reusable zip bag.
A New Idea
We will also be experimenting with waterproof dry bags on our next month-long trip. While these are typically used to keep your items from getting wet along a soggy journey, you can also use that waterproofing to turn the bag into a mini hand washing machine. Put everything in and then shake it up; we’re wondering if that will get the clothes cleaner than using our hands as agitators. Then let things soak for 20-30 minutes before rinsing and wringing them out and hanging them up around the hotel room to dry. This may get any really dirty clothes as clean as a washer or laundry service, but it will get them cleaner than they were and plenty clean to get you back out seeing things. It’s also a lot less expensive.
Time to Drip Dry
When it comes to drying your clothes, look no further than the handy electric or gas, heated towel rack that’s fixed to the wall in your bathroom. These are the unsung heroes of hotel room laundry in Europe. Why we don’t see these in US hotels (or homes) is beyond us, but you’ll find them in most hotel bathrooms throughout Europe, regardless of the size of the hotel you’re staying with. These are designed to hang your wet towel on after you’re finished showering, and magically, by the time you need it for your next shower, it’s nice and dry (and warm!). Heavenly.
Turns out, this works well to dry your clothes, too. For us, we usually hang up pants and shirts on whatever surface and hangers we can find and then use the towel rack for smaller items like socks and underwear. Make sure you’re aware of the fabric content of your clothing if you go this route. Many synthetics will melt or develop a certain shine if left to dry on the hot rack. This works best for natural fibers. Once those are dry, if our larger items will fit on the towel rack, we’ll swap them in and out until everything is dry.
Don’t have a heated towel rack in your room? Shame. But there are other options. Maybe you have a wardrobe with a few extra hangers, use those to hang larger items to dry. Maybe there’s some kind of railing, chair, or shower curtain rod you can lay your clothes on. If you’re really lucky, there will be a retractable clothesline in your shower! There are lots of options, and yes, sometimes you need to get creative so your clothes get dry before you need to pack or wear them. It’s probably a good idea to scope out your drying options before you start doing your laundry.
As for drying times, they vary depending on your climate, humidity, the temperature of your hotel room, and the material of your clothes. But, in our experience, pants – and particularly jeans – take a long time to dry, usually 2 full days (keep in mind we’re usually in Western Europe, where temperatures are cool and damp; if you’re in a warmer, drier climate, it could take less time). Shirts, at least our wool shirts, will dry in a day or overnight. Cotton shirts will take a bit longer, depending on how much water you can wring out of them. Socks and underwear can take the better part of the day if you’re just hanging them up, or a few hours on the towel rack. If you’re getting desperate and short on time, give your hairdryer a try. Your stuff will be dry enough to pack or wear in no time. We’ve also been known to lay things out to dry in the car while we’re driving for the day or if there’s an outdoor hook or rail (where things won’t blow away) where you’re staying, take advantage of the wind.
Make a Plan
The main thing to keep in mind is timing. When we travel, we do laundry every 2-3 days, it just becomes part of the routine. That gives us enough time to get things washed and dried while we’re out exploring so we always have clean clothes. If this sounds like a pain, it isn’t that bad. Usually, it’s one of the first things we’ll do after checking into our hotel: get things washed and hanging up to dry for the night. Then we can either go to dinner, go exploring, or do whatever we want. Within the next day (or so) our clothes are dry and ready to wear again. Get in a pattern with your travel buddy and you’ll know exactly what needs to be done each day.
Now that you’ve done your laundry, the 4-5 days of clothing you originally packed is now good for 8-10, 16-20, a month, or endless days. It’s also worth noting that we usually wear shirts and pants multiple times before washing them (wool comes in really handy here as it doesn’t stink), so really that 4-5 days of clothes could easily stretch to 2 weeks if needed. All that packed in your trusted carry-on bag means you’ve saved the $50+ each way that the airline would have charged you to check a larger bag had you packed 2 weeks of clothing. You’ll be off on your adventure sooner because you don’t have to wait around at baggage claim, and you’ll breeze lightly along your travels since you’re not lugging your heavy luggage behind you. And that, folks, is what we call a win.
Happy traveling!
