Packing for a two- or three-day trip without worrying about laundry is easy. However, if your trip is two weeks or even more, it wouldn’t be convenient to pack a month’s worth of clothes instead of just washing and reusing some of the same pieces. You want your trip to be as comfortable as possible.
To make this task much more manageable, we prepared an easy and practical guide on how to do your laundry while traveling.
There are multiple options out there, and you need to decide which is the most suitable one for you, depending on the time you’re willing to sacrifice and how it fits your budget.
Here are a few ways you can handle laundry while traveling:
- Laundry services
- Laundromat
- Hotel Service
- Hand washing
Laundry services
Laundry services are available almost everywhere in the world. Sometimes, they might be small and convenient shops where you drop off your dirty clothes and pick them up later, fresh and folded. Some bigger cities have delivery services available so that you can schedule pick-up and drop-off.
You might do a quick google search for the city you’re in or ask around to find one if you’re visiting a smaller place.
For those who have Illinois marked on your travel itinerary for this summer, we’ll save you the trouble of searching and advise you to look into this agency that does amazing green cleaning in Chicago. They offer all the services you might need, like washing and folding, as well as dry cleaning for all your items that require delicate care.
Hotel service
If you’re staying in a hotel, it doesn’t hurt to ask if it includes a laundry service as well. Sometimes, hotels offer using the washing machines or even having the staff handle them for you. This option may be a bit more pricey than others, but it is very convenient.
Laundromat
Laundromats offer you to use self-service machines that you can activate with a few coins. They are a cheap option to consider. However, you must research their availability beforehand because they’re not as common in other countries as in the US.
Hand washing your clothes
This is by far the cheapest option on this list. It’s easy, and you’ll only need two things available: a sink and dish soap or detergent.
Before you start the process, separate your laundry into piles, and ensure that the colors are separated to prevent them from bleeding out on your other clothes.
When you’ve done that, you can start.
Fill the sink with water
Don’t make the water too hot. This ensures that colors don’t bleed out and that you don’t burn your hands when submerging the clothes.
Put a few drops of detergent or dishwashing liquid in the water and swirl around so it dissolves properly.
Scrub
If your clothes aren’t too dirty, twirling them around should be enough. For hardcore stains, you can scrub them and add extra soap. Allow them to soak in the water for about 10-15 minutes before washing them out. If they’re extra dirty, you can drain the water and repeat the process of submerging and scrubbing.
Rinse
Drain the water from the sink and rerun your clothes under clean water to wash out any soap residue left behind. Then gently wring out the water. Don’t go too hard, so you don’t damage the fibers.
Hang your clothes to dry
Make sure you have an appropriate space to dry your clothes. Maybe your apartment will already have a clothing line on the terrace, or you can improvise by hanging them on the shower bar.
Be careful! Some clothes are more delicate than others, so they may require that you lay them on a flat surface instead of hanging them up.
