Detergent for handwashing clothes

Perhaps try the detergent sheets? There are several options on Amazon. They worked well for me on my last trip. What detergent have you been using?

Sharon, a friend of mine put me onto this bar soap/stain remover that I highly recommend. I plan on shaving off a couple rectangles from the bar and putting them in a plastic bag when we go to London to hand wash our clothes. It is really great for stain removal, too. A bar lasts forever!

https://www.amazon.com/Fels-Naptha-Laundry-Soap-Bar/dp/B01N1ZHU12

Thank you, Kathy H! We’ve used those individual Woolite packages and Laundress liquid. I’ll check out the sheets!

And I’ll try the bar, thank you! The stain-removing feature sounds great. Thanks!

One more suggestion, if you are doing sink washing, shavings of the Fels bar into the water work best.

I take Tru Earth laundry sheets and use them in apartment washers.
Last year I dripped an oily sandwich on my pant legs in Italy, and a little bit of one square hand-washed that stain right out.
I was amazed.

I use the Earth Breeze laundry sheets or just the hotel shampoo if I like the scent. I’ve done this for trips up to a month long. I wear a shirt or underwear once before washing. Sometimes a dress can be worn twice, and I wash pants about every 2-3rd day unless it’s warm weather or lots of walking.

Maybe the temperature, also? At home, I wash clothes mostly in cold water; when traveling, I fill the sink with warm water.

I take Tru Earth laundry sheets and use them in apartment washers.

I use these same sheets for doing hand laundry in the hotel room sink. I like being able to tear one in half to wash just a few items. And they add almost no weight or bulk to my suitcase—I put a few in a snack-sized Ziploc bag and tuck it into a pocket.

Another vote for the laundry sheets. They take up minimal room and there is no worry of leaking etc. I cut them in half as that is enough for small loads.

You're never going to get the equivalent of a machine wash in a sink, and line drying makes clothes feel "rough" compared to machine dried even if they are clean. Soaking the clothes in the detergent water for awhile before thoroughly rinsing (more than once) can help but your things are just going to feel different.

I also use a dissolvable laundry sheet for sink washing. I would strongly recommend no matter what option you are thinking about using: test it at home before you leave. I have very sensitive skin and nose and the Fels Naptha bar triggers my allergies like no body's business (despite the "low scent" claim).

My go-to is shampoo, and I often use the hotel shampoo for this purpose. You can even dab it on stains, like you would laundry detergent. I always use warm water, and let everything soak for a bit. Rinse well, hang on line in shower - or, even better, from those heated towel racks some rooms have! Clothes are certainly clean enough for travel, where no one is going to be able to tell if you did them in the sink or at a laundromat...if they even notice...

I used to use the hotel shower gel or shampoo but on my RS Loire to South of France tour in May I purchased some detergent sheets from Amazon and they were amazing! Got things really clean in the sink and my clothes felt like they were really clean. The reason I bought this particular product was it is made in Sweden with good reviews. The sheets literally took no space and I used a half sheet per wash.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9XNK4Z6?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Walmart Sells Fels Naptha. They also have another laundry bar soap that is very popular in Mexico:

Zote

I mostly use Laundry Soap Sheets (Pocket Size) like these:

Pocket Laundry Sheets

They come in different brands and can usually be found on Amazon or at camping stores like REI. There is also a liquid version.

My underwear, socks and quick dry shirt take a shower with me and my body soap daily.

CL, thank you for sharing that information about the skin sensitivity possibility to Fels Naptha. I use it with no problem, and didn’t think it could be problematic. My adult daughter, who I will be traveling with and lives on her own, has very sensitive skin and I would hate to take something for us to use and find it causes her skin to have issues. I may look into the laundry sheets and order another box to send to her to try and see if her skin reacts to them. Would you mind sharing what brand you use? I will keep using the Fels for here at our house, though. It is really good stuff.. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Are the detergent sheets like dryer sheets? Stuff embedded in a non-woven sheet and you throw away the used sheet?

Or are they totally detergent that completely dissolves like the hand soap leaves? I'd be concerned with moisture/humidity getting to ones like this and ending up with one big clump.

khansen--The laundry sheets dissolve entirely, so not quite like a dryer sheet.

We usually rent an apartment with a washing machine, but our last trip turned out to be in three hotels (never again--I need my washer). I ordered Tide Travel Sink Packets Size 3ct from Amazon. It's not cheap but I like that detergent. Short story, long--we decided to walk to a laundromat and spent an hour there, instead. I actually enjoyed doing the "local" thing. I still have those Tide packets, though, and will probably always pack them just in case.
Fels Naptha, now there's a blast from the past! We always had that when I was growing up. I might just have to have that on hand, too.

Add another vote for shampoo, unless you're renting a place with a washing machine.

Another vote for Earth Breeze. I use a ziploc and pack it with a couple of full sheets for machine loads but also cut up a couple into smaller sizes for sink washing.

I pack it in my "laundry kit" which is a small zippered bag that includes a universal sink stopper (Oxo), a couple of clothes pins, an empty spray bottle in case I might iron something and a couple of Shout stain removers in individual foil packs.

In addition to detergent sheets, I often pack some concentrated liquid that is found in the camping dept at stores like REI.

Forever New granular detergent works well for me. Sold in packets if you are a carryon only traveler.

My mom used Fels-Naptha in the day. I made my own powdered detergent for years and the "recipe" included a bar of shredded Fels-Naptha. I moved to only laundry sheets in 2023, and they are so convenient!

I already have laundry sheets packed for our upcoming trip, but I also used the link to order more Fels-Naptha and will bring a chunk of that for stains. It's always been "hit or miss" for finding them in stock at our local Wal-Mart.

Thanks for reminding me about bar laundry soap!

Another vote for Forever New. It dissolves easily and I find half a teaspoon is usually enough for a sinkful of laundry.

I use Earth Breeze but also take Tide Sport liquid packages in my liquids bag for stubborn stains.

We also use laundry sheets. It's easy to tear off just a portion of a whole sheet. We also bring OxyClean from home and add a tiny bit to the wash water. If we have a grease spot, we put shampoo on the spot.
Of course, not sure how "clean" the clothes are because when we return home, every item of clothing goes straight to the washing machine!

Mustlovedogs it looks like the brand I bought (Life) is no longer available. But I have used this brand at home and had no issues - https://a.co/d/5R3GKFY And I have no idea why Fels Naptha triggers my allergies, but that's why I test stuff at home first :)

I take a small bottle of pure castile soap with me for both laundry and body washing. My choice is the Dr. Bronner's peppermint-scented stuff, and I decant it full-strength into a TSA-compliant bottle for travel. It's worked a charm for sink washing on bikepacking trips over the years, and works equally well in cold or warm water.

I use the Tru Earth sheets at home and while traveling. The sheets tear in half. I use a half sheet when using a washer and I also cut some strips and use a couple of those if I need to sink wash. They completely dissolve and don’t leave any residue.

As more folks are adding wool t-shirts and underwear to their travel wardrobe, plus hand washing laundry, I'll add that when I have hand washed woolens through the years I don't use harsh laundry detergents. Rather what I have used is baby shampoo or hair conditioner. Wool is after all hair and baby shampoo or conditioner cleans well without damaging the hair's scale structure, making the hair fibers brittle and without stripping away the remaining oils.

I don't believe hair conditioner commonly contains any significant detergent capability. Not sure that's going to be effective. A conditioning shampoo could work, though.

I remember my mom scrubbing the kitchen floor with Fels Naptha. Guess the formulation has changed!
I use the sheets, too. Or did, until I read this today: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/laundry-detergent-sheets-sustainability/?campaign_id=290&emc=edit_wcd_20240820&instance_id=132200&nl=the-recommendation&regi_id=86628690&segment_id=175654&te=1&user_id=c097a8c19cf7f3d7c9c9b33c2259b9d0
Now what? $29 seems a bit steep for a bottle of laundry detergent.

No, but if you have wool garments that have shrunk, soaking conditioner can un-shrink it some.

I'm a devotee of Soak, a rinseless laundry detergent. At home I use it for hand-washing my delicates and hand-knitted items, and it does a great job of getting out sweat from my bras without being harsh or needing a ton of rinsing to get clean. The company sells both travel-size bottles and individual packets, and each packet is about enough for one sinkful of water.

I always learn so much on this forum. I now have a little travel bottle of Dr Bonners ($2.99 Target) and small bottle of Forever New (Amazon $8.00) to test before my Oct trip to France. I’d never even heard of Forever New and only knew Dr Bonners was a very old brand but never knew anyone who has used it. So thanks, y’all! Learn something new everyday.

I use DeFunkify. It's an enzyme based detergent available in liquid or powder. I take a snack size Ziploc of the powder. I've found that it's very low sudsing and easy to rinse out in the hotel sink. It's designed for athletic clothes and it does a great job on merino or on synthetics (which can get really stinky!)

I also take a cut up bit of Swedish washcloth soaked in Dawn dish soap. I let it dry completely at home, then put it in a Ziploc. I use it to wash out my reusable water bottle and other items, like plastic forks I'm saving for picnics. Dawn is also excellent for greasy stains on clothes, so I use the dish soap square for stain treatment on clothes, too.

Posted by Amy P

I also take a cut up but of Swedish washcloth soaked in Dawn dish
soap.

Tell me more about this Swedish washcloth thing, please.

What is it?

Where do you get it?

And you just saturate it with Dawn and let it dry out?

Swedish dishcloths are kind of a cross between a washcloth/dish rag and a sponge. Here's a link to the ones I bought most recently, but there are tons of brands and options available. At home before a trip, I cut a full cloth into quarters, wet it and squeeze it out thoroughly, then squirt a bunch of Dawn on it and leave it to dry on the counter. When it is fully dry, I put it in a Ziploc. It's not liquid at that point, so I don't need to put it in my liquids bag. I usually take a couple for a 2-3 week trip. When I want to wash out my water bottle or stain treat my spaghetti mishap, I just re-wet it in the hotel sink and go to it. I try to rinse the cloth sparingly so I don't wash all the soap out and can save it for more than one use. Although honestly, you could take a half dozen of these and they'd barely weigh anything or take up any room.

I use Dr. Bonner’s liquid soap because it can be used for both body wash and clothes washing. A 2 oz supply lasts for a two week trip and I decant it from a bigger bottle. The peppermint smell is very invigorating.

I bought some of the Dr. Bronner's peppermint during the pandemic for washing reusable face masks, thinking the minty scent would be nice. Instead of peppermint, it smelled like soap to me.

I also use Dr. Bronner's liquid soap for both personal and laundry. I've used both peppermint and citrus versions. A little goes a long way!
Love all the ideas!

Earth Breeze has been a game-changer for me at home and abroad. I love that I am not paying for water or having plastic waste, and while traveling they take up no room and weigh nothing. I cut each full sheet in half as I seldom need a full sheet, and I also cut a few full sheets into 16 pieces for hand washing. Superb product.

Amy P - the Swedish sponge cloth with dried dish detergent is genius. My partner and I are leaving next week for a 3 week trip from Amsterdam to Normandy and I am going to prepare a package of these! These will have so many uses - cleaning up sneakers is the first that comes to mind.

I also take a small bottle of Dr. Bronner's soap for sink laundry. I also have been taking a dry microfiber cloth with me as sometimes I miss a facecloth.