It’s one of the questions I get asked alot- How do you wash laundry while travelling?
Admittedly, some of us pack more than others (cough cough, what do you mean, me??) but personally I think it’s sensible to bring more than 7 pairs of underwear. Spares and things… just in case… I have no idea what ‘in case’ is. Tell me I’m not the only one who does this!?!?!
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How to wash laundry while travelling- the options
There are several options available to clean your clothes while travelling. This fall into the general categories of:
- Handwashing, normally in a sink if you’re backpacking or possibly in a bucket if you’re RVing.
- Laundry tub or bag
- Laundrette/ coin-operated laundromat
- Laundry service
- Campsite washing machines
- Public Washing machines – Revolution
All of these are perfectly feasible, but there are some big downsides to each.
If you’re hand washing, or are lucky enough to have space for a caravan washing machine, you need to find somewhere to dry your clothes. In an RV you can pack a portable line dryer, which are great and many fold down flat. Alternatively, just drape your clothes all over the van, especially if you have a bike rack, which can easily double as a towel rack. Be cautious if you leave your clothes outside overnight- many people have had things stolen by passers-by!
Laundry services are great and very easy if you can find a good one. However, there have been tales of travellers with excellent taste in underwear losing their fancy knickers & not having any proof that they were in there. So be careful- and maybe handwash your french lace. Some places (mainly Far East and Indonesia) can turn the washing around within a few hours, but most take about a day.
However, my favourite option is the laundrette. It’s been relatively easy to find one so far, and they’re cheap (6-10€), quick ( done within 90 minutes) and I can plan it around my travelling.
Keeping Dirty Laundry Separate
It makes life easier, in such a small space like your van, to keep things organised – having a bag or space specially for dirty clothes will save your sanity when it comes to wash day! I find a laundry bag really useful for keeping dirty clothes all together and when not in use are super easy to store away without taking up space!
How to wash laundry while travelling- Finding a Laundrette
I have discovered a fairly easy way to find a laundrette near me- think like an American. And Google is American. (Shout out to all my lovely awesome American readers!) So don’t type in ‘where can I wash my clothes?’ or ‘laundrette near me’ (although that last one does sometimes work), but instead use phrases like ‘coin-operated laundromat near me’ or ‘coin-operated laundromat in _____’ (insert name of largish town. If that doesn’t work- choose a bigger town!)
Most large towns and cities have one, if not several, laundrettes. Local people use & rely on these to do their own washing all over the world. Other places which often have laundry facilities are campsites and also, bizarrely, supermarkets. You can Google both of these, but in the UK use words like ‘laundrette’.
If you use Search for Sites and Park4Night apps, they have laundry locations pinned which is useful too.
Washing Laundry in Europe
Mostly, public washing machines in Europe differ to those in the UK but not by much:
While you might be able to pay at the washer itself, you’ll more than likely have to insert your money at a central unit (or some may have the card tap system). Note the number of your machine, then type that number into the central unit and put in your coins (use exact change if possible — some machines don’t give change). Sometimes a central unit dispenses tokens, which you then insert in the machine.
Return to the control panel. Select the number of the machine you wanted to use. (Be careful to select a washer, not a dryer. Not always as easy as it sounds! In this one, the washers were numbers and the dryers were letters.)
Then return to the machine (double checking the number) add in your clothes & detergent, then select the cycle you want. You will normally find a sign either on the machines or above them- in this case there was a sign on the wall explaining (in German) the different wash options. I went for a safe 30 degrees, clicked the door shut, and pressed ON.
Hang around for a few seconds until you hear the wash cycle start. Just in case.
There is generally another sign somewhere which tells you how long the cycle will take. This one took 45 minutes. Try not to leave your clothes unattended for too long after the wash has finished. There’s the obvious concern about thieves, but you’re more likely to find someone has taken out your (freshly washed) clothes and put them on the (dusty) side, or even the floor! People have places to be & things to do and waiting for you to return to collect your washing from the machine isn’t one of them
For the dryers – they work pretty much in the same way as above, for the washing machines.
Washing Laundry in the UK
Most public use washing machines take coins – some campsites use tokens that you get from reception and some use pound coins at the machine itself – these days, some modern campsite will have machines that take card. But either way, its always a good idea to have a stash of coins in the van 🙂
Revolution – is a popular option for washing your clothes while on the road – BUT be warned, its expensive! These can be found in campsites, car parks, petrol stations and shopping centers. A plus side for this service, is that the washing powder (which is eco) is included as part of the cost 🙂
The instruction panel is very self explanatory and uses card only.
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Last update on 2025-02-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
