Washing Clothes & Hostel Question

[beckalee]

Where do you wash your clothes and dry them when you're traveling?

Also, when staying in a city for a couple days, do you always bring your large backpack with you or is there space to keep it at your hostel/hotel?

[WillTravel]

beckalee said:

Where do you wash your clothes and dry them when you're traveling?

Also, when staying in a city for a couple days, do you always bring your large backpack with you or is there space to keep it at your hostel/hotel?

I like to go to a laundromat. It gets my clothes fresher and cleaner than handwashing, in my opinion. If it's something like bras, I wash them and hang them up from the bunk post, if staying in a hostel. In my opinion, there's not really enough room to handwash several wardrobe items in a hostel and hang it up to dry, but others probably disagree.

All hostels will have a place you can put your pack, either next to or under your bunk, or in a locker.

[beckalee]

Thanks!

[me]

many hostels have a coin washer/dryer.

i've only been to a handful of hostels w/o lockers. all but one, perhaps two, had coin-op lockers available. [ones where one leaves a coin as a key deposit]

[Eagle]

beckalee, just to add to the comments from WT, my approach to laundry is somewhat similar. If possible I try to go for a week or so without doing laundry, by hand washing in a sink or whatever. It helps that I use "travel friendly" clothing that is designed to dry quickly.

I tend to use the hand washing method more in B & B's and Hotels than in Hostels. Most Hostels have some sort of laundromat. Some of the machines require "tokens" that you buy at the front desk. When doing hand laundry in the room, one has to be careful to position the clothesline so that it doesn't drip on the carpet or whatever. Owners get quite irate about this sort of thing!

As far as Pack storage, as WT indicated most places have a Locker, but you have to supply your own Padlock. Some Hostels sell Padlocks (for those people that forgot to bring one), but they're generally a cheaper sort of lock. Don't bring a Lock that's too large, as it might not fit. If the Hostel doesn't have Lockers, it's usually fine just to lock the pack if you're going to be out for the day. BTW, do you have a Daypack also? If you're really worried, you could ask at the front desk to see if they're willing to let you store your Pack in the office for the day.

Hope this helps? Cheers!!!

[kena]

I tend to handwash my clothes as I go, usually every other night or so (typical load: a tank top, a skirt, two pairs of underwear, a bra). I wring them out very well with my travel towel (a super absorbent, quick drying one) then hang them for the night by the side of my bed, or on a hook. They're usually dry the next morning, but even if they're a little damp I'll still wear them right away (my body heat dries the rest in just minutes)

On longer trips, I might plan for a full load of laundry mid-trip.

[Jules80]

after 3.5 weeks in europe, this is the first hostel i've encountered with a locker. all others we've just left the packs in the room.

my laundry philosophy has also been occaisonal hand washing but mostly laundry every week or so.

[starprincess]

I used to do a load once a week, wherever I could.

Usually at a laundromat, but some hostels had washing facilities, but they were usually more expensive than a laundromat, and I once got someone elses undies and socks in with my wash at the hostel!! Ewwwwwwwwww

[paint]

I stayed at a hostel in Prague that didn't allow handwashing, and there was no place to hang clothes without them finding out about it. There were no laundromats anywhere nearby, and after I spent a day hiking in 98F/~35C weather, I was all too happy to pay the ~$5us for the hostel staff to wash my clothes for me and return them in 12 hours.

They did allow me to hang my clothes to dry for free, though, the day I got caught in a hail storm.

[commie]

paint said:

There were no laundromats anywhere nearby

they are not so common in eastern europe. they all have a own laundry (2 or 3 maschines, one always broken ) in the basement of this living blocks:

so there was no need for coin laundrys.

[gamegrl1]

We used 2 laundromats on a 20 day trip - Lyon & Florence. If you can, ask local folks/fellow travellers where they do theirs. I say this because the place we went to in Florence was so expensive! It was late at night and we were tired, otherwise I'dve tried to find a different place. They did have internet, but that didn't justify the high price to me.
For bags, we locked our suitcases and left them in the hotels, without anything valuable laying around (and anything of real value - passports, $, camera, etc.) on us. In Venice we paid to leave the bags at the train station for a while (try to avoid this - it's costly) and one hotel let us leave the bags there for a bit even after checkout - super nice of them! You'll always find somewhere to store your bags...it just may or may not cost money.

[ryannorris]

I bought a tube of laundry soap and did my clothes in the sink. The first thing I would look for in a hostel room was a radiator so I could dry my clothes on it. I found some pretty interesting ways to put all my clothes on/in one radiator. In the summer, the radiators wouldn't be turned on, so it will be harder to dry your clothes.

[stylescriber]

I don't bring a large backpack for a two-day trip. It's just too much considering that there will always be a laundry mat somewhere in the city. Besides, I make sure that all my clothes are cotton. They're easier to wear and wash.

[AmberNicolette]

On my 55 day trip, I plan on doing laundry a maximum of 3 times. And one of those times will be free, because I'll finally meet up with my Aunt and Uncle in Hamburg. I say, "Embrace the chaos!" Buy a body splash and some talcum powder and screw washing clothes. It's the trip of your lifetime! {Easy for me to say...when I'm in Europe I won't experience a temperature OVER 65 degrees F...so lovely!}

In all seriousness, plan for one to two major washings, and supplement with hand washing where you can. And don't hesitate from buying some travel gear quick-dry clothing. They WORK!

Best of luck to you!

[mslibrarian]

I try to pack for a week without laundry but I bring things that can be washed together and dried in a dryer. That way I don' thave to wash things seperately. I'm big on blue and blacks.