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In earlier posts, we talk about how we do travel laundry, usually in the sink, on our longer adventures. Gosh, I started to type that we like to do laundry, but does anyone really enjoy doing laundry? Surely not.
Almost always we do laundry in our bathroom sink. Why? Because more often than not, laundry facilities are nowhere to be found. More recently, a friend introduced us to a new product that has made this much easier: the Scrubba Bag.
Scrub…what?
Rather than doing the laundry in the sink, like usual, this handy bag makes the process easier. Add your clothes to the bag and then your water and detergent. Roll the top down, clip the ends, open the vent to release the extra air, and voila: you’re ready to go (close the vent before moving on). The instructions recommend shaking the bag back and forth to really agitate things and mix the soapy water in with your clothes.
If you want a deeper clean, one side of the bag has a washboard-like texture (sadly, this is the closest to having washboard anything I’ll ever come) so you can rub the clothes back and forth over the textured dots. After this, we soak the clothes before rinsing them under running water. Repeat the process, dump the water, wring out your clothes, and hang them up to dry.
Our Verdict
Is this as good as throwing stuff in your washing machine? Of course, it isn’t. Is it better than our usual bathroom sink routine? Definitely. Easier on hands and wrists, too. And we really do think the clothes are cleaner. That’s a double win, folks.
Once you’re done and the bag is dry, it folds flat for easy packing. Remember: we’re all about adding to our adventures, not the fullness of our luggage, right? Right. Unless we’re bringing back adult beverages, but that’s a different post.
Where to Find Them
Be warned these bags aren’t cheap. We got ours on Amazon for around $60. Our size can fit a decent number of socks and underwear but could probably only hold a few t-shirts if that’s what we’re washing. We haven’t tried shorts/pants/jeans yet, as this size bag doesn’t look big enough for that. The bags do come in both smaller and larger sizes, which we might need to explore in the future. But for now, ours works nicely.
Oh, and remember: if you packed natural fibers like wool, those wet clothes will be dry clothes before you know it – especially if there’s an electric towel rack in the bathroom – and you’ll be ready to re-pack and get back to your adventuring.