23 Apr Staying Fresh: Washing Clothes While Traveling
Washing clothes while traveling can be a frustrating feat. Long term travelers will (hopefully) have to wash their clothes at some point while traveling, and even if you take shorter trips, there will likely be a time when you will want to wash your clothes, especially if you pack light.
While we typically don’t travel for more than a few weeks at a time, there have been plenty of instances where we needed to wash some items while we were traveling. We like to pack light, and we don’t like to smell, so when Febreeze isn’t going to cut it, we find a way to wash our clothes while on the road.
Of course there are the typical ways to wash your clothes, such as a laundromat or a hotel washing machine, but neither of these options are very convenient or pleasant. Another convenient way to clean your clothes is to use a laundry service. A laundry service can be a great choice when you are in a country that offers it for an affordable price, but it’s not always cheap and you run the risk of items getting lost.
While there are many ways to stay fresh and clean while traveling and still pack light, we wanted to share our favorites with you. Here are our two favorite ways to wash our clothes on the road.
Rent an Apartment
One of our favorite types of accommodations is to rent an apartment from a place such as Airbnb. It is so nice to feel like you have a home when you are traveling, and we love all the conveniences that often come with renting an apartment. When we book a place to stay, I always try to find one with WIFI first and foremost, and second, a washing machine. Other than the location and price, these are the two factors that are our main considerations.
It’s nice to have an apartment to yourself where you can throw a load of laundry in while relaxing or getting some work done. If we are moving around from place to place on a trip, I always try to book an Airbnb with a washing machine in the middle of our trip. That way, we can wash all of our clothes halfway through our trip and it essentially doubles the use of our clothes. It’s great that we don’t have to wear dirty clothes, and even better that we don’t have to pack quite as much as we otherwise might.
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Scrubba Wash Bag
Another option for keeping your clothes clean is to bring along the Scrubba Wash Bag. This is seriously one awesome invention! I’ve been wanting a Scrubba for quite some time, so when I got a few Amazon gift cards for Christmas last year, I immediately knew what I was going to purchase.
So, what is the Scrubba Wash Bag you might be wondering? Well, it’s basically a dry bag with little knobs inside of it—when you fill the bag with your clothes, water and soap, you can get a machine quality hand wash in just a few minutes. Yes, you could wash your clothes in the sink, but the scrubbing board inside the bag works way better than a simple hand wash. Also, sinks aren’t always available, especially if you are camping.
Using the bag is simple; you fill the bag up to the line printed on the outside and then add your clothes and some soap. Note: if you are using the bag and dumping the water outside, please use eco friendly soap such as Trek and Travel Laundry Wash to help keep the environment safe!
Next, you close the bag and let out the excess air. After the excess air is out of the Scrubba, you rub and swoosh your clothes around inside the bag. When you are scrubbing the clothes like this, the knobs inside of the bag act as a washboard, and this is what allows for a great wash. You can scrub for 30 seconds which gives your clothes a quick wash, or for three minutes which provides a machine quality wash. The scrubbing motion gives you a great, quick workout, as well!
Once you are done washing your clothes, you take them out and rinse out the soap. After ringing out your clothes and hanging them to dry, you will have a fresh wardrobe at your disposal!
The only downside of this bag is that you have to wash smaller loads at a time and you can’ throw everything in all at once. On the plus side, you never have to worry if you will be able to find a washing machine again.
Do you ever do wash clothes while traveling? If so, how do you typically do your laundry when traveling?
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