Coin laundry

On my last trip to PO, I stayed at an AirBnB that had a washer and hangers. When I stay at a hotel without a washer, I go to the laundry mat. Sometimes you can drop it off and pick it up a few hours later.

You're carrying the wrong clothes if you can't wring them out properly. That said I'm not a huge fan and will often book an airbnb once a week or so for the washing machine (rather than the kitchen) in Europe. Plenty of places have laundromats too but i dont' like waiting around waiting for stuff to go through - front loader washing machines are horribly slow

I have only done it once, but it was an interesting cultural experience! The machines are different and of course the instructions and labels weren't in English. Even my mechanically inclined father couldn't figure out what to do. A kind lady finally took pity on us and started our machines. They washed so long that we started to fear that our clothes would fall apart! They didn't, but I guess those were the cleanest clothes I have ever worn. Then another kind soul had to help us figure out the drier. We still laugh about that experience.

So I say go for it, just plan for some extra time at the laundromat while you figure out the machines or find someone to help you. You will probably end up with some new Polish friends and an interesting story to tell!

Linda, funny story and seems similar to one we had in Rome several years ago. We couldn’t figure out the procedure, so an interesting character named Mario proceed to help us. He was helping out his friend the owner who was on holiday. By the end of the wash/dry, Mario had whipped out a love poem he had written and read it to me. He then gave it to me to remember him by. We still laugh about that when we talk about that trip to Rome.

Sometimes the best memories of a trip come, not from the spectacular things, but the people you encounter.

We just had a hotel do it for us, and it was relatively cheap compared to what it costs in other places.

A tip about getting hand-washed clothes a lot drier before you hang them up: Wring clothes out as well as you can by hand, then roll them up in a towel (or bathmat if they're small items), place the cocoon on the floor, and walk on it. That does a very good job, and I bless whoever it was on this forum who mentioned the technique.

A somewhat less effective, but still helpful, method is to wring the clothes out by hand, roll up and then twist the cocoon.

How practical these techniques are--especially when two people are sharing the room--will depend on the hanging space you have available (you now have a very wet towel or bathmat in addition to wet clothes). It works well for me as a solo traveler who doesn't let the stash of dirty clothes build up.

The drier the clothes are when you hang them, the fewer drips. It shouldn't take too long before most items are dry enough not to drip at all, so you can hang some of them outside the shower/tub where they might get a little more air and finish drying faster.

Inflatable hangers also seem useful for shirts/blouses, dresses and slacks. Thy separate the front and back of the garment and allow more air to circulate.

While the larger items are hanging in the shower/tub area, I try to check them periodically and wring out the bottom as gravity does its job.

Some fabrics dry faster than others. Most of the slacks I travel with are 96% or 97% nylon, but I've found rayon/viscose/modal fabrics also work well on the road.

Thanks acraven. This was the exact technique we used on our last trip. The problem was, we then had no dry bath towels and clothes hanging in the way continually. Most nights we were so tired after hoofing it all day we just didn’t want the hassel. I think i would rather seek out a coin laundry a couple of times along the way than worry with the nightly ritual.

I usually look for a place that will do a service wash sometime during my trip. There are laundromats where you can drop your clothes off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon. Often they charge a flat fee (for up to a certain weight). They wash, dry, and fold. I find this preferable to spending a morning in the laundromat, but I have done laundry myself at the laundromat on longer trips.

Speed Queen has opened a number of self serve laundromats in Europe and it looks like they have a number of locations in Poland. It is not clear to me whether they have a service wash option.
https://speedqueeninvestor.com/our-laundry-stores/locations/

Has anyone experience hotels that actually have coin laundry machines like we have in the US?

Has anyone experience hotels that actually have coin laundry machines like we have in the US?

Yes, hostels!

I have had good luck with B&B owners doing laundry for me at very reasonable rates (8 euro per load -- usually have 2 loads) -- some do it for free. I check before booking to see if they have a laundry option -- actually do that for every place I stay.

If you want to do it in a private way, you can look for 'pralnia' or 'pralnia chemiczna' - then you will probably have it done for the next day. In some places you can do it personally (in one day), e.g. in WC complex under Wały Chrobrego, near the Oder River in the centre of Szczecin.