washing clothes on vacation...

We tend to rent appartments while travelling, especially when travelling for longer periods. And then I do make sure that at least one of the appartments we rent has a washer, not all your accommodations needs to have it. For example, when we travelled for 3 weeks in Italy we stayed in two different appartments, two hotels and one B&B. One of the appartments had a washer and it was great as it was also one that came with access to a pool so we could wash our bath towels as well. The hosts of the B&B also were super friendly and would have done some laundry for us as well if we had needed it.

I normally wash a pair of underwear and socks each day (possibly a t-shirt too). At some point or points on the trip, I'll stop at a laundromat and wash everything. I pack three pairs each of underwear and socks. I could live with two but there might be a night where I can't do my normal wash and dirty underwear or socks aren't something I enjoy.

Rick sells his own soap: http://tinyurl.com/4oglgwj

I have used the Rick Steves travel wash in the past. I bought some of the laundry "leaves" in an attempt to limit liquids, but I didn't like them. I use Purex 3-in-1 sheets for machine washing. I've heard they also work well if you cut them in strips and use them in the sink. I will try that out before my next trip.

We use a liquid soap sold by REI for backpacking. May be called Camp Suds or something like that. Designed to be used with limited water and min suds. VERY concentrated so a couple oz with last for a couple of months. Practice with it at home before hitting the road.

I wait until I get there and pick up a product called "Rei in der Tube" at a grocery/drug store. I know it's widely available in Germany and Austria, but there's probably similar products available elsewhere.

When my wife and I travel we have found that for us, washing clothes in the sink is just not worth it. We find that it is much easier to find a laundromat where we are staying and have them wash our clothes for us while we are sight-seeing. Sure, it costs a little more, but in the grand scheme of things it amounts to little. Our time is better served enjoying what Europe has to offer, not worrying about if our clothes will be dry by the morning. No more washing clothes in the sink for us!

You can pay extra to have a laundry mat wash your clothes for you? That sounds like a good option! We are going to moving around a lot and i want to bring a light and efficiently packed bag.

The laundromat/laundry option is the way to go. They usually charge by the kilogram. But it's not always possible to find one (Rick should publish a directory). So it's a good idea to be ready for the wash-in-the-sink option. The most important aspect of this is to bring clothes that will dry overnight. The washing is easy; it's often the drying that's the hard part. Getting clothes washed during your trip is the absolute key to packing light.

We generally have a few hotels with laundry service, I find it is worth the expense. In fact in Salzburg last September they didn't even charge us for our laundry. And we went into hysterical laughter to find they ironed everything, even the undies!

I've used shampoo to wash in the sink but agree that having a laundomat wash clothes is worth it.

I'd prepare for sink washing and hope that you don't have to bother because you happen to find convenient laundry services. No question it's great when your hotel happens to provide laundry services or you have a convenient laundromat or laundry service to use. But, just in case, I'd go with clothes that sink wash and dry quickly, especially tops and undies. I hate having to pack dirty stuff, so I tend to sink wash my undies no matter what. It takes no longer than brushing my teeth, and most women's undies are small and light and will be dry by morning. (I might feel differently if I wore boxers, I think!)

One more thing: in a pinch, you can use shampoo to wash out undies. Really.

Karin - I have done both and prefer laundry mat. I try to find one near a pub(if possible).

Thanks everyone! My laundry and I are ready for Europe. what a great RS resource!!

I like the laundry detergent sheets at REI. They are about the size of a book of matches and have fifty sheets of laundry soap. They don't need to be in your liquids bag. You can use one sheet in a giant zip-lock bag (makes a handy mini-washing machine) or 3-4 sheets for a full load of laundry.

I prefer going to a public laundrymat and read RS guide books for his recommendations. The nicest place I have seen was in Lucca where the instructions were in english/french along with a person to help you if needed. Other places I have done laundry is in Paris,Beaune, and Amsterdam. This way I bring less clothes. I use the soap in the laundrymat and the washer in Beaune included soap in the price.
In Lucca there is a martini bar across the street where you can wait and eat/drink while you clothes are being done. Nothing nicer than having clean clothes for the remainder of the trip.

I use sample size shampoo. If I have any stains, I can squirt a drop on them and rub it in. If the shampoo has a fresh scent, all the better to perk up the clothing. Target has a good selection of these. Hotel shampoos are good too. Woolite comes in individual packets, powder form, which are great for travel as they are light and easy to pack. They rinse out easily too, but they aren't very effective for heavily soiled clothing. If I calculate right, I can toss the bottles before I return home.
Sometimes I bring a little Zout if I'm traveling with messy chowhounds. Have a great trip!

We liked that self-serve laundry in Lucca too. In Varenna, there was only a serviced laundry. They were very nice, and inexpensive, but they would not accept lingerie (bras or panties) of any kind. I think it was a liability thing-Italian lingerie is very expensive (and beautiful). So that much I had to do by hand. We didn't do laundry anywhere besides those two towns, so I don't know how widespread that lingerie rule might be.

Agree with an earlier post that Campsuds (highly concentrated) works great. When I am tight for space in my carry-on "liquids" baggie, I substitute a powdered laundry detergent. Just a handful of minutes of laundry duties most nights is all it takes. From personal experience, laundromats are sometimes difficult to locate, generally expensive and take way too much time. Different strokes...

I, too, like to purchase concentrated liquid hand-washing soap in Europe - I hoard it when I get back home (not hard to do, 'cuz I don't do much hand washing at home! Uh, not washing 'hands', but washing BY hands...uh...m'k? ) I have to mention my favorite laundry soap, and I learned of it on the Helpline from MANY of its fans - "Forever New". It's a powder, so no pesky TSA concerns, and you lighten your load as you use it! Smells great, too - the guys like it. Just takes a bit...you can find it at some lingerie counters in dept. stores, or...I got a great deal from Amazon.com a few years ago...and no shipping charges! I'll have that bottle for years LOL! I have trouble with the Purex sheets in my washing machine; even though I give them plenty of time for the soap to dissolve, they still 'spot' my clothing and bedsheets :-( I've tried them repeatedly and I get spots - that DON'T come out - and I'm not a happy camper...(I think it's actually the softener part that's spotting everything, but now I'm too spooked to try the sheets without the softener strip LOL) I actually bought them just for taking to Europe a few years ago; I was going to cut them in strips, but got scared off when my laundry got the chicken pox...And while I LOVE the scents, they are VERY STRONGLY scented...2x- or 3x-bag them in your suitcase! I recommend bringing a microfiber-type (camping) towel for getting the most water out of your laundered clothing; they dry SO much faster! Roll 'em up and stand on them...Also, look at the automotive section (ex: Wal Mart) for the same basic towels, but a lot less expensive...

Also, if your hotel recommends a laundromat...BE SURE you know the charges before you leave your clothes. We haven't had great luck with the whole laundromat/laundry service thing, ourselves. They were either too far away, way too expensive (€100 for 3 loads LOL), the hotel desk had no idea where one was, or we were just too busy doing things...I personally am not spending 1/2 day sitting in a laundromat in Paris...I don't care HOW much wine I've brought with me LOL!!! That one laundry service in Salzburg WAS a godsend...;-) Main thing is to stay on top of it - don't let things build up. There's only so many places in a room to hang things...believe me, I've tried...And get some inflatable hangers!!!

Ditto to Eileen's suggestion of inflatable hangers. I also bring a couple of plastic hangers that have clips you can hang pants from. I leave them behind on the way home. MY clothes haven't gotten chicken pox from the Purex 3-in-1 sheets. Sounds like a personal problem Eileen... :-)

I wear one pair and I take three pairs of underwear,socks and tee shirts and since we usually travel every two days my wife washes two pairs every other day. She uses shampoo that we save from hotel visits in the states.Some time ago someone suggested using a 2 gallon plastic bag to wash a few items in and we use that method which works very well. Its like a mini washmachine.

Sorry to hear about Eileen's pock-marked clothes! I have used Purex sheets extensively both for hand wash and in the laundromats. I always wash in cold water, BTW. Eileen is right about the fragrance: Very strong. Overcomes the old socks smell of a suitcase in continual use for weeks. :-) Triple bag the Purex sheets. Laundromats can be very expensive, so now I have just decided laundry is a "line item" in the budget at about 21 euros for two loads, self-service. I hand wash as much as I can, but once a week we take the two hours to do our laundry in a laundromat and pass the time with coffee, bakery, wine, chatting with other Americans doing the same thing. Cultural difference: drinking wine in a laundromat in Europe is perfectly normal, but in the U.S. we'd assume the person was a lush for doing so! In Rome we found a laundry called LavaSecco (Wash/Dry) in Campo dei Fiori that did all of our clothes everything we weren't wearing for the day! for 20 euros. It was a 21" rollaboard full of pants and shirts and underthings (not my "delicates"). off in the AM; pick up after aperitivi in the evening. Fabulous! Next trip (December 2011!) I have apartments for two locations that have washers in them. We'll have to hang-to-dry, but figure the washer spin cycle will help with that process. Still, I always assume it will take two days to dry. Never wash the night before you leave a city! You'll need a lot of Zip-locs! BTW, Zip-Loc makes a 2-gallon size that is great for packing dirty laundry. I found them at Drugstore.com. I'm going to try Eileen's inflatable hangers. Great idea! Thanks!!

Eileen if you use the method Brad mentions of only bringing 2-3 of underwear, socks, & tee shirts and washing daily, you get two benefits. 1) very little luggage to carry. 2) it is impossible to let it build up. My mantra is anytime I take a shower, I was my clothes (often in the shower with me).

Eileen~Thanks for the Forever New tip! I've added some to my 'buy later' amazon cart.

I take a two gallon zip lock baggie ( great portable laundry tub) and a few Tide travel packs of laundry detergent( little single use packets of concentrated detergent). Both the large zip lock baggies and the detergent are availble at Walmart( at least here in Canada they are) and have worked great for me. Every other day I'll wash a few articles, ring them out, roll them in a towel, hang up, and everything is dry in 6-7 hours

a) the soap in the hotel bathroom - take the attitude that it if is good enough for your body then it is good enough for the clothes on your body b) the bar I have picked up along the trip from a hotel bathroom
c) as a last resort the bar I purchase locally if the hotel bathroom does not have soap and I have not picked a bar up along the trip Edwin

I wasn't sure I liked the REI laundry sheets when I first tried them - so I read the directions (really small print on the package). Take 3-4 sheets per load, mix them with a small amount of water until they are completely disolved, then add it to your wash. After I realized you are supposed to turn them into a liquid detergent rather than just toss them into your load, they worked much better.

I have had lots of interesting experiences doing laundry on our trips. I like the laundry services that you can drop things off and pick up later or the next day. The fees at hotels are per item and I find expensive. On a 2 to 3 week trip we plan when we will probably need to do laundry and learned to google search before leaving home and/or we email our bed and breakfast and they let us know what is available near them. I can do most of my laundry in a sink, but my husband loves to wear his khaki when traveling, and they need to be washed. I could write a book about people I've met and other experiences I've had doing laundry on vacation. My favorite is when 2 guys back packing in the Cotswolds put their whole bottle of laundry detergent in the washer and left. We had gone around the corner for lunch and when we came back the whole place was full of suds waist high. It looked like a scene from an old "I Love Lucy" episode.