How to Do Laundry While Traveling: 9 Steps

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

If you're planning a long trip, don't pack too many clothes, but don't be afraid to run out of clean clothes - here's how to wash them during your extended stay away from home.

Steps

Step 1. Plan ahead and pack sensibly

Don't over-load your luggage and choose items that don't wrinkle and dry quickly.

• If it will be cold, dress in layers, also because you won't have to wash the pieces that make up the external states as often as the internal ones.
• Bring a few clothes with you. This way, your suitcase won't weigh too much, and if you're traveling by plane, you won't have any problems with weight restrictions.
• Wear the same garment more than once before washing it. Underwear should be changed daily, while trousers and jackets can be washed less often. Either way, make sure they pass the smell test, otherwise wash them.

Step 2. If you want, bring along a clothesline and a rubber stopper for the sink:

it will be easier to get them in your area, while in another place you may not know where to go to buy them. And then they will take up less space than another change of clothes.

Step 3. Here are some alternatives if you don't feel like or have time to do laundry yourself:

• Go to a laundry; if you can, opt for the service of the hotel you are staying in, especially if your budget allows it and if your wardrobe requires it.
• Go to a self-service laundry, especially if you have a lot of things to wash.
• You can also opt for a mix of methods. You could take the clothes you wear to business meetings to the laundry and hand wash your underwear and pajamas to save time and money.
• Consider the days and times. In some places the laundry service may not be available on Sundays. Also, you won't always receive your fresh laundry after an hour - sometimes you'll have to wait until the next day.

Step 4. Organize your outfits and decide which clothes you will need in which moments of the stay

Step 5. Take a shower every day

You could take a shower in the evening, before going to dinner or to bed. Before doing this, hand wash your clothes so they dry overnight

Step 6. Decide where to hang the clothes so that everything doesn't get wet

Step 7. Before washing them, plug the sink

• While filling it with cold or warm water, add the detergent.

  

• Wash your clothes by moving them around in soapy water. You can add soap to stains and dirty parts, such as the soles of socks, the section of the shirts in contact with the armpits, underwear, and so on.

  

• Gently rub the fabric on itself to allow the detergent to do its job.

  

• Remove the stopper from the sink and squeeze the clothes lightly to remove the bulk of the detergent.

  

• Fill the sink with clean water again to rinse your clothes and wring them out until you have eliminated the excess water.

  

• Empty the sink again and let the laundry drain for a few minutes.

• Wring out your clothes to remove excess water but do not wrinkle the fabrics.

  

• Spread damp clothing on the large towel you use after a shower.

  

• Wrap your clothes with a towel and pat them dry to remove excess water. This way, they will dry reasonably quickly. Hang them without making them crease.

  

  

Step 8. Hang them on a string

Space them apart as much as possible, and if it's not cold, leave the window open to allow air to circulate.

• Use the coat hangers found in the hotel closet.
• Hang the towel too, especially if you are going to reuse it.

Step 9. If your clothes don't dry overnight, try the following options

• Use the hotel's iron and ironing board to dry cuffs, collars and pockets. Make sure the fabric can withstand the heat and don't iron the t-shirt prints.
• Arrange your clothes on the chairs and bring them close to the radiator or put them directly on the radiator.
• If it's hot outside, put on your clothes that are still damp - they will dry quickly.

Advice

• Don't let dirty clothes pile up - do laundry every day or every other day, so you can carry fewer clothes with you. Also, if you wash your clothes by hand, you will have more space to spread them out and they will dry sooner. As if this were not enough, you will waste less time.
• Wash clothes that take a long time to dry in the morning, before leaving the accommodation.
• When you squeeze your clothes, don't let them wrinkle.
• If you don't have fabric conditioner, use hair conditioner, which has a very similar chemical composition, so its effect on the fibers is pretty much the same. However, fabric softener is not always necessary.
• You can wash your socks and underwear while taking a shower. Use shampoo for these garments.
• Trying to wear jackets and pants for as long as possible and not washing them often also helps the environment.
• If only part of the garment is wet, such as the boxer band, blow dry it for a few minutes.
• Choose the right fabrics: Cotton takes longer to dry, while synthetics dry faster.
• Don't forget the humidity factor. Lightweight fabrics dry overnight in most climates, but items that take longer will take even longer in the jungle and rainforest.
• Opt for polyester garments, which dry in a few hours.
• Don't damage the hotel. When hanging clothes, don't let them drip onto wood or carpets and get in the way of cleaning the room and bathroom.
• Hang your clothes near the air conditioning to dry them right away. This, among other things, will slightly humidify the air and naturally promote sleep.

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  Bring a piece of hand wash soap with you. Transfer the detergent into a bottle that is convenient for travel or take a hand laundry soap with you, which you can easily put in your hand luggage because it is not liquid and which will last longer.

Warnings

• Do not place wet clothes on wooden surfaces.
• Do not hang clothes near emergency exits or fire extinguisher.
• Do not put damp clothes in the suitcase: they will cause bad smells and mold. Wear them if you can or not wash them if you know you will soon have to leave.
• Wet clothes can be heavy. If you're improvising to hang them, make sure the towel rail, shower rod, faucets, and door handles can hold the weight.