Tide packs

You say "liquid packs". All liquids have to go in the 2-1-1 bag. When I go to Europe, I take along a bar of Ivory. It works for my body, my hair, and my clothes, and it doesn't go in the liquid bag.

The Tide liquid packs need to go in your 3-1-1 bag.

I've used similar Woolite packets in the past to hand-wash clothes during the trip. Now I just bring a few for underwear & use the hotel shampoo for the rest of our clothes.

I think they can go easily in your 311 bag because each unit is obviously under 100 ml..and they go nby unit.

Ps i take " Forever New" powder for sink washing its great stuff.!

Another vote for Forever New washing powder. Lovely scent too. I have used hotel shampoo if I run out of powder. I've purchased the Lush hair shampoo and conditioner with containers as recommended by Nelly. Looking forward to trying them before our trip.

I buy tide pods, puncture them and put them in a carry-on bottle in the 3 -1-1 bag. More than enough to do weeks of hand laundry. I also buy Clorox tablets. They are pretty strong so cut them in 1/2 or 1/4th depending on the size of the sink.

I am not a fan of washing dirty clothing in a hotel sink or bathtub. While I also don't pay the super inflated rates to let the hotel do my laundry, you'd be surprised at how reasonable it is to drop off your clothes at a local laundromat and have the owners take care of washing, drying and folding your clothing so you can pick it up later that same day.

The price to have drop off service is often only a few Euro more than self-service. I've done both. I don't really mind spending 1 hour in a local coin-op laundromat. I use the time to write out postcards, grab a coffee nearby while my clothes are in the washer, or use the free WiFi to connect with my iPad and look up potential restaurants for dinner that night or send a couple of emails. The neighborhood laundromats almost always have a machine that will sell laundry detergent (usually no more than 1 Euro for a packet that will wash one load). It's cheap enough that I don't bother toting around Tide packs or Forever New in my luggage.

I have used Purex Sheets for years when traveling. Not cheap, but when you figure you'll use only 3 or 4 on a trip, they are cost effective. I cut one or two up into smaller pieces to use when hand-washing in sinks. I also like to bring a micro fabric towel (Rick Steves sells one) to use for rolling things up. Many times you don't get enough towels both for bathing and clothes washing.

Believe it or not, you can purchase laundry detergent in Europe. 😏

Thank you everyone! I think I should have rephrased my question, I know they have to go in the 3-1-1 bag but I wasn't sure if it was even allowed for some reason. I know I can buy the detergent there, we've purchased it at the laundromat in Munich we've used several times but this time, at this point, I cannot find a laundromat close to our hotel in Berlin so I may be doing some washing in the sink. I didn't want to buy a large pack of it while we are there and then have to leave it. I'll check with our hotel just in case they can do it at a reasonable cost. Thank you again!

I just fill a 2 ounce bottle with concentrated dishwashing detergent before I leave home. That, combined with hotel shampoo if I run out of my soap, works fine for a month-long trip.

We used the Tide packets in Ireland and Spain. I was relieved to find the blue liquid inside is not the same as the Tide you'd use in a washing machine - easier on the skin, easy to rinse out, and a not-unpleasant smell. We've used Woolite and powders and other liquids, too but the Tide packets were handy & were no issue passing thru security anywhere.

Amen, Philip! Don't you just have to laugh when you read things that people "take with them" to Europe. And another astonishing thought...the things you find in Europe, like detergent for example, just might actually be BETTER than what you take with you ;-)

My laundry detergent now comes from REI. It's a little plastic case about the size of a small box of matches. It has 50 dry sheets of laundry detergent, each smaller than a chewing gum wrapper. Three or four sheets works for a full load of laundry, one sheet works great to wash socks and underwear, in a sink, at the end of the day.

When I first used them I wasn't too happy - so I read the directions. You dissolve them in a few ounces of warm water before adding to the wash - so they end up like a liquid detergent.

I carry-on only, so the very light pack is better for me than picking up laundry detergent at a grocery store.

In a pinch, a half teaspoon, or less, of shampoo will work for hand washing your daily laundry too. Just keep rinsing until the rinse water is clean before wringing and hanging things to dry.

I like to put a cup of detergent into a baggie for each load of clothes that I plan to wash. I always have one large plastic bag with the many small bags in the larger one. We always make plans to go to a laundromat so we have our soap ready to use. I also include dryer sheets and a few clothes pins in the large sack. I would never try to take the "pods" of soap because I fear they would rupture.
I can carry the granular detergent in any of my suitcases.

There are times that my husband has done the laundry if I want to go shopping or am packing. He appreciates that I have measured the soap and he can dump it into the machine. I appreciate that he is willing to do the laundry! I especially appreciated his laundry skills when I was sick for several days and we NEEDED clothes to be washed.

I will use a bar of soap to wash very small stains. We have 'enjoyed" laundromats in France, Italy and Germany. The only one that we did not enjoy was in Amboise with dog feces at the front door znd there was nothing in the facility to even clean up the mess.

We have found it fun to talk to other people doing laundry. I once helped a young man from Australia fold his clothes neatly to take back to his pregnant fiancee in the hotel. He said that she would never believe he had folded the clothes. We can also sit and read. If both of us go, the other person can do some local shopping and then return.

We do not use hotel laundry services but we have left laundry to be done by others. This was in central France where a older man from England had invested in several washers and dryers as a new business venture. He did not want anyone else to use the machines and not use them correctly. The charge for having the laundry "done" was extremely minimal.

Laundry can be fun!

Philip & Tim,

You are funny! I'm sure there's something you pack that would make us chuckle, too! : )

I really enjoy going to the local grocery store, etc. But, we almost ended up with an all-black clothing wardrobe on our 2nd RS trip. We were in Verona for 3 days before the tour started and stopped in the local store for a few items. My hubby picked up a small box of what he thought was powder detergent; it had a picture of a shirt on it. For some reason, I picked up the box and looked at it and the other options on the shelf. It was a box of black dye! Sometimes, it's better to bring something where we're able to read the contents- ha!

Yes, you can buy detergent in Europe, but depending on the country, you may not be able to find scent free detergent. I break out when there's scent in the detergent so I bring a 3 oz filled by myself bottle of Method Free and Clear detergent. It's super concentrated and I can do 7 whole loads of laundry with that 3 oz and even more if I am sink washing.

I found it particularly hard to find scent free detergent in France (even the hypoallergenic stuff had some kind of scent) and I once had to rewash all of my clothes when the lavanderia in Italy used an incredibly strong smelling detergent. I got the "sneezies" from just unwrapping my laundry.

So sometimes one just has to bring it.

Hi,

I bring those three in one Tide packs to Europe. It's liquid concentrate Tide, which saves me from spending time getting anything like that In Europe. Usually this sort of thing are available in the markets at the train stations. These liquid Tide packs, several of them, are packed in the checked luggage, absolutely not as carry on, and very handy when I use the bathroom sink to wash underclothes and socks.