Doing Laundry in Europe

Yes, it is feasible. When I go for two weeks, I pack carry-on only and I usually just do my laundry in hotel sinks every few days. However, there are usually laundromats at some points on the trip that I could easily use if I wanted to use them. Sink laundry works ok for two weeks, but any longer than that and I would want to really wash my clothes.

If you have an apartment, they will have a washer and dryer. There are dry cleaners... my luck at the laundry mats have not been so good. I could use some suggestions.

Not ALL apartments have washers and dryers. Some will just have a washer and some will not have either.

Rick's packing list is a great help for packing light. I modify it for my own needs but it has really helped me pare down. http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/packlist.htm

I find each country is different. Speaking VERY generally: In England, France, and Germany, I haven't had trouble finding laundromats. In Italy, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, I have. In Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands, there were certainly there when I needed them, most of the time. If you are planning to do laundry, make sure their is a laundromat in the cities where you anticipate needing one. For instance, in the Czech Republic, I lucked out. I had trouble finding one in Prague, but I knew there was one in Czesky Krumlov, incidentally at my hotel, and this happened to fall at just the point in the trip when I had enough dirty clothes to make doing a wash worthwhile. Rick usually lists laundromats in his books, as does Lonely Planet. If a particular city doesn't have a laundry listed in either book, I've learned to assume there isn't one, unless I can find otherwise. Laundromats have very variable hours; I've learned to check carefully before making any assumptions that it will be open on the day or time that I need it. I also collect lots of coins of various denominations before going (not all machines give change). There's usually a central control panel for all the machines as well as for dispensing detergent (be sure the cup is under the dispenser before inserting money and pushing the button - lesson learned the hard way). And this panel is often on a timer; when they say, for instance, "last wash 2000" they mean it, because the panel will lock you out after that time. The laundries are often unstaffed. If you have problems, try to get a local with a cell phone to call - and hope that this works (I've had mixed results getting problems fixed). Learn the water temperatures by Celsius, so you don't accidentally wash your permanent press dark colors in hot water.

For sink laundry, I bring some little tear-off packages of laundry soap with me. You can get them in the "sample" aisle. If there's a bathtub, you can be more efficient using that. Hanging things to dry can be an issue - few bathrooms have the shower curtain bar like in the US and I haven't had good luck with suction cup lines. So be creative. And plan ahead, anything cotton needs at least 24 hours to dry. Laundromats are available just about everywhere. The key is how convenient they are to your hotel. But I've never not found one. Your hotel can also usually guide you to one. In a pinch, many hotels have a laundry service. And drop-off laundromats are more common than self-serve. Both these options are more expensive.

I mostly stayed in hostels in Europe- a lot of private hostels will do a load of laundry for you overnight for just a few euros- a great benefit to staying in those types of places. Others including HI hostels will have coin or card operated self-service machines.

We go to Europe every summer for one month and each take one carry-on. We take 3 sets of under ware, socks, shirts and pants. Every third or forth day we wash our laundry in our rooms sink and hang it up to dry, after wringing things out in a towel, using a couple of RS clothes lines which come either with loop ends or suction cup ends spreading them across the tub or shower. Our stuff is quick dry to it is ready to go in the morning. In more than 10 years of doing this we have only used a laundry mat once. We find them expensive and time consuming. Happy travels.

Kris, I don't have any information on laundry facilities in Africa, but do have a few comments about Europe. I've found that doing laundry in Europe is both "feasible and recommended". For part of each trip, I use the same method that Charlie described, using the Hotel room sink. Note that some Hotels "frown" on that, so keep that in mind. That method works better if using "travel friendly" clothing that dries quickly. I use Tilley clothing extensively in my travels. Laundromats are NOT easily available in every town, but if one is available I like to run the clothing through a "proper" wash at least once or twice during a trip. I agree that this is often expensive and time consuming, so I usually do that on "free days" during a tour. I've found that sitting in a Laundromat waiting for the wash to finish is often an interesting experience. I've had some interesting conversations with the "locals". Some Hotels offer "service wash", where the laundry is sent out to be washed, dried and ironed. That's the most expensive option but they usually do a nice job. Happy travels!

We have had some great conversations with locals doing laundry at the laundromats. We have had no problem tracking one down. Good luck!

Don't rule out letting your hotel take care of your laundry. It's a big time saver.

I had planned to do laundry a few times during our 1st Europe trip - well, things never worked out timewise other then doing some undergarments in the sink...it was about 14 days in when we stayed with my sis and finally got laundry cleaned - now I make sure to try and find places (hotel or whatnot) with laundry facilities to use about 7 days and 14 days into the trip...or research laundromats in the place you are staying so many days in eg...if you want to do laundry about 5-7 days into your trip, google laundromats in the city you are staying in and of course check hours and location (as we did in Salzburg - nothing like washing laundry on a Sat morning to pass the time!).