Have Clean Undies, Will Travel - A Step by Step Guide to Doing Laundry on the Road

It may not be the prettiest idea, but my travel wash motto generally includes the idea that if I at least have clean underwear, then I am good to go.

Being a budget traveler, I try my best to keep my travel expenses down, and a surprisingly costly expenditure in some countries is simply doing a load of laundry!  It is amazing what one can take for granted until they hit the road.  In Europe, I easily spent 8 Euro to get one load both washed and dried!  Imagine paying that every week and laundry is quickly helping to deplete the travel fund.

In order to cut costs, I save the big machine washes for special occasions and, in the meantime, do my travel wash by hand - in a sink, in the hostel.  I know, not the most cleanly thought there, but it gets the job done and keeps me from being a stinky traveler.  Here's how I do it:

Step 1:  Clean out the sink.

The sink in a hostel has been used by countless people - spitting, rinsing and more.  They are not something you just want to chuck your undies into and expect them to be cleaner than they were before.  So, give the sink a good wash.  If there is some anti-bacterial soap available, use that.  If not, try finishing the wash with a little bit of hand sanitizer.

Step 2:  Insert a universal sink plug.

To conserve water and soap, a sink plug will be a necessary item to carry along.  A universal sink plug will be versatile enough to stop any sized sink drain.  Universal sink plugs are generally floppy rubber and do not take up that much space in a backpack.

Stop the sink and start adding water of the appropriate temperature.

Step 3:  Add the travel wash soap.

Travel wash usually comes in a small tube and can manage 14 - 20 hand washes because of its concentrated power. It is safe for skin and fairly effective. Don't expect your clothes to be as "Downy" fresh as you're used to, but the effectiveness in respect to its convenient size makes up for that.

Add about a teaspoon of travel wash soap to the filling sink so it mixes and bubbles throughout.

Step 4: Wash and rinse the clothes.

Now comes the fun part. Submerge the clothes in the sink (you may have to do separate "loads") and start squishing and scrubbing. Be sure to pay attention to tougher areas and items in order to make the most of the wash - underarms of shirts, socks and undies.

When finished with the wash, refill the sink with fresh water and submerge the clothes for a rinse.

Step 5:  Dry the clothes.

If you are a very lucky person, your hostel will have towel drying racks in the bathroom you can use to dry your laundry. Some hostels will provide laundry lines outside. Otherwise, you might have to get a bit creative.

I carry an elastic clothes line. It is about 3 feet long unstretched, but it will expand to about twice that size. These travel laundry lines can be wrapped around the end of hostel bunk posts, between bathroom hooks, around door handles, and wherever else one can imagine.

Depending on the weather, the laundry can take a varying length of time to dry. To combat the 3 day drying process, rotate your clothes and try to place in direct airflow. Quick drying material, even though it usually costs more, is highly appreciated by people looking to do their own laundry on the road.

Clean Undies

You will now have some fresh, clean undies to get into so you can get your travels on.