Doing Laundry While Travelling Tips & Travel Laundry Kit
Whether you’re trying to pack less (hello, carry on only fans!) or travel longer, one of the struggles when traveling with kids is packing enough clothes for the trip. We’ve learned some GREAT tips for washing clothes while traveling, including a DIY travel laundry kit that makes everything easier! From finding the best travel laundry detergent to hand washing clothes hacks, this post is JAM PACKED with great tips for doing laundry while travelling. Let’s go!
Why Consider Doing Laundry While Travelling?
Okay, let’s get real for a second, from one traveling family to another. Nobody likes hauling 5 suitcases and 4 backpacks along for a week-long family vacation. Packing, keeping everything in one place during the trip, and unpacking are all tasks we DREAD when traveling with kids. And the idea of washing clothes while traveling might not seem too appealing. It IS technically more work, right?
But we’ve found that it’s actually EASIER to spend an hour doing laundry while travelling (usually mid-trip) than packing a ton of clothes to wear. Especially because our family likes to travel using carry-on luggage only. In fact, we have a whole separate post about why our family of 7 ditched suitcases for carry-on travel backpacks! You should DEFINITELY read it if you’re still struggling to drag your roll-on suitcases everywhere you go.
In the past few years of our own family travel around the world, we’ve mastered the art of the DIY travel laundry kit. It’s so much EASIER and less stressful when you aren’t tracking down 4 pairs of socks under every hotel bed and pull-out sofa! And now that we know how EASY doing laundry while travelling actually IS, we wouldn’t do it any other way!
So here’s our best tips for washing clothes while traveling, broken down by section.
Travel Laundry Kit: What You Actually Need
If you’ve followed our family travel blog for a while, you might have guessed that we don’t like to pack a lot of stuff. I wouldn’t say we’re minimalists, per say. But we’re definitely all about family travel on a budget and packing LIGHT. So we don’t really bring a lot of stuff with us for washing clothes while traveling. We have a basic (super handy) travel laundry kit that suits our needs wherever we go.
Here’s what WE pack in our travel laundry kit and why:
Travel Laundry Kit Must Have No 1: Laundry detergent sheets
One of the biggest game changers for doing laundry while travelling has been switching our travel laundry detergent to sheets instead of liquid. Not only is this WAY easier to pack and bring with us, we don’t have to worry about spills.
- PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA: We’ve just opened our new…
- POWERFUL LAUNDRY CLEAN: Replace bulky liquid laundry…
- EASY & CONVENIENT FOR HOME & TRAVEL: Simplify laundry with…
- LIGHT FRESH SCENT: Refresh your laundry with the gentle…
- NO PLASTIC LAUNDRY DETERGENT JUG: Replace bulky plastic jugs…
I used to pack the little gel tablets (like TidePods). But after having them burst once, I promptly switched to these laundry detergent sheets instead. The sheets are both eco-friendly and plastic-free. They smell nice, even after we’ve been sweating all day during summer sightseeing. And they’re in a small, flat box that fits easily in any bag. (Score!) This means no worrying about how to pack laundry detergent for travel.
There are lots of different brands available on Amazon, but we prefer these ones for their durability and scent. They actually get our clothes CLEAN better than most types of travel detergent. I’d say it’s the best travel laundry detergent out of all the ones we’ve tried over the years.
If you won’t have access to a washing machine, and are planning on washing clothes in bathtub or sinks, then I would actually suggest using these little liquid travel detergent packs instead of the travel laundry detergent sheets. The liquid is protected in small, single serving, sealed envelopes. So you can just tear them open and pour them into a sink of water. They are pre-measured, eco-friendly, and TSA compliant, making them a great and easy solution for doing laundry while travelling. We usually pack both kinds just in case, since they’re super small and easy to toss into any bag.
(BTW- I’ll be talking more about how to do laundry without a washing machine and hand washing clothes hacks later in this blog post.)
Travel Laundry Kit Must Have No 2: Packing cubes
So this isn’t technically a ‘travel laundry kit’ item so much as a general packing item. But it’s REVOLUTIONIZED the way we travel and made doing laundry while travelling SO MUCH SIMPLER. Packing cubes help us to bring less clothes and stay more organized. We also keep all our dirty clothes separate from clean ones on the way back by putting all the dirties in separate cubes from the clean clothes.
- Easy Travelling: Are you still worried about the chaos of…
- Durable Fabrics: All packing cubes are made of 290D fabric…
- VALUED &CONVENIENT: Mesh top panel for easy identification…
- Multi Functional: The 6 set organizers fit like a glove into…
- Washing instructions: Please wash these bags by hand with…
We’ve used these exact Bagail brand packing cubes for our family travel since 2017! They’re still in great shape after countless trips to 10+ countries. We also bought our oldest a set for herself when she moved out. There are lots of other brands available as well, but I love being able to suggest things we’ve actually used and know are great quality.
You can read more about our experience with travel cubes and some of the sets we recommend on our post of 5 Family Must Haves for Traveling With Kids.
Travel Laundry Kit Must Have No 3: OxiClean Travel Size Spray
We travel with 5 kids. (Now it’s sometimes 4, if our oldest can’t join.) Stains are almost guaranteed to happen when we travel, especially if we’re making ice cream stops and other fun stuff.
These little spray bottles of OxiClean have been a LIFESAVER when it comes to doing laundry while travelling! We can spray the stains once the kids change into PJs for the evening, and wait to wash them a few days later. The bottles are small enough to be TSA compliant, so I always toss one into our diy travel laundry kit.
- 2 FL OZ 2-PACK OXICLEAN MAX FORCE ADVANCED STAIN REMOVER…
- SPRAY NOW, WASH UP TO 7 DAYS LATER; this convenient baby…
- 5-IN-1 STAIN FIGHTERS help remove tough dried-in stains the…
- TOUGH ON STAINS, GENTLE ON CLOTHES; this color-safe…
- FOR ALL MACHINE-WASHABLE FABRICS; a powerful laundry stain…
If you prefer to pack a TidePen instead, that works pretty much the same way and you don’t have to worry about bringing another small bottle of liquid. But IMHO, Tide pens are fairly small, and we’ve had them dry out in between trips and be no good. Not to mention they’re a bit pricey!
Since we try to keep our family travel on a budget, I prefer the travel-sized OxiClean spray. I know they will stay good for multiple trips or more, and it’s a two pack. It’s an easy choice for me! LOL!
Travel Laundry Kit Must Have No 4: Retractable Clothesline
In addition to the travel laundry detergent type of stuff, I also keep a retractable clothesline in our DIY travel laundry kit. Even if there’s going to be a washing machine in our AirBnb, there’s usually not a dryer. Dryers are especially uncommon in Europe, for example.
Some places with washing machines will have a drying rack, which makes life easier. But we’ve stayed in a few places that didn’t have a clothes rack and we had to get creative.
- 1 Compact And Lightweight- small traveling clothesline comes…
- 2 Sturdy And Strong- travel clothes lines is made of nylon…
- 3 Non-slip And Windproof – there are 12pcs locking beads and…
- 4 Adjustable Length- portable clothes drying line can be…
- 5 Easy To Set Up-there are 2 hooks on line ends that can be…
Hanging clothes up to dry in closets can breed mold, or at least musty clothes that don’t always smell great. Hanging them to dry in bathrooms is sometimes possible, if there’s space and somewhere to hang them.
I just started bringing this retractable clothesline with me and hooking it from one end of the room to another. It’s super easy to use, and only takes up a tiny bit of space in my bag. This has been one of those HUGE hand washing clothes hacks that our family has come to rely on. (Worse case scenario, I’ve used dining table chairs to hook the clothesline to. I just set one chair on each side of the room and strung the rope between them.)
Side note: I always bring my own plastic clothespins with me instead of the metal ones that come with the set. I just prefer plastic. But it’s totally up to you and what you prefer.
Travel Laundry Kit Must Have No 5: Pop Up Hamper For Dirty Clothes
Now, this one is optional. But since we have a fairly large family, I have learned that having a pop-up style laundry hamper is a GREAT way to keep all of our dirty clothes in one place. This keeps me from spending time on my hands and knees, trying to dig dirty clothes out from under beds or behind bathroom doors.
Our kids know to just drop their dirty clothes in the hamper when they’re done changing. (I may or may not have had to lose my cool once or twice for them to be diligent about this, but it paid off! LOL!!)
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I’ve honestly gone the cheap route and bought some more ‘affordable’ hampers for previous vacations, but they tend to fall apart or tear fairly quickly.
I actually prefer this circular one because it’s really well built and actually holds up trip after trip. And it collapses well without a lot of hassle since it’s round and has the little hook closure to keep it closed nicely. It’s also fairly lightweight, so I don’t have to worry about added bulk in our travel bags.
For my oldest, who travels solo more often, she prefers this this budget-friendly pop-up hamper here, because it’s under $10, but be sure to stick it on the bottom of your bag (underneath the packing cubes) though, so it doesn’t pop open unexpectedly! LOL!
That’s it! That’s our whole DIY family travel laundry kit! Super easy, right?
Now let’s dive into some of the tips I’ve learned on washing clothes while traveling that made everything faster and easier!
Tip No. 1 For Doing Laundry While Travelling
The first (and maybe most important) thing I do when planning for any family vacation is figure out how much clothing we need to pack and how I’m going to do laundry.
I usually plan to do our laundry about halfway through any trip that lasts a week or more. For 2+ week trips, I try to wash our clothes every 5-6 days or so. To pack less, I try to bring as few clothes as possible and pack things that can be mixed and matched.
I’m going to have an entire article about our ‘capsule closet’ style of family packing and how we bring as few clothes as possible without looking like we wear the same thing over and over again. So please join our newsletter to read that as soon as it comes out!
When searching for places to stay, I will look for either hotels with laundry services or airbnbs/flats with a washing machine. A lot of times, since we travel on a budget, hotels will have self-service laundry.
But we typically stay in flats or apartments since we’re a large family anyways. This means a washing machine is usually available.
When staying in flats or apartments in different countries, you might have to search online for the washing instructions. We’ve found that washing machine settings in different places can be a bit tricky to figure out! (For example, the dials on this washing machine from our trip to Rome made no sense! LOL!)
I do also have a full article about how we find the best hotels and apartment stays for families, if you want to check that out as well!
How To Do Laundry Without A Washing Machine
Sometimes, you might get stuck staying somewhere with neither a washing machine or laundry services. In this case, you’re going to want to know how to wash clothes without a washing machine! Don’t worry, you can almost always wash your clothes in a hotel bathtub or sink.
How To Wash Clothes In Sink
This is a pretty fast and easy method for washing clothes while traveling. It doesn’t make a big mess, and only takes a few minutes. If you use the liquid travel laundry detergent I talked about earlier, it’s pre-measured to pour right into a typical size of sink.
If you’re worried about how to wash clothes in sink and get your clothes ACTUALLY clean, here’s what I do:
- Fill the sink up a little over halfway with hot water (as hot as your hands can comfortably handle)
- Pour the detergent pack into the water and stir it around to let it dissolve
- Put in a handful of clothes (add the clothes one at a time so you don’t flood the sink)
- Mix the clothes around with your hands, and if needed gently scrub the fabric together on any stained areas (stains should be pre-sprayed before washing with the Oxi-Clean I mentioned before)
- Drain the sink (with the clothes still inside the sink) and squeeze out the excess water.
- Run the hot water from the tap and rinse the clothes one piece at a time through the clean water (To conserve water, you could also fill the sink with clean water and rinse them all that way, but it gets soapy as you rinse, so I do it the other way)
- Squeeze as much water out of the pieces as you can and hang them up on your clothesline as you go. (Turn the water off between pieces so you’re not running it constantly.)
That’s it! That’s my whole process on how to do laundry without a washing machine using a sink.
How To Wash Clothes In Bathtub
This is probably my least favorite way to wash clothes. That’s mainly because it hurts my back to bend over the tub and I just don’t like it. (After you turn 40, back pain gets serious, y’all! LOL!)
That being said, you can definitely wash A LOT more clothes at once if you learn how to wash clothes in bathtub vs how to wash clothes in sink.
The process of washing clothes in bathtub is the same as washing in the sink, except that you are going to need 2-4 packs of the travel detergent (depending on the amount of clothes you want to wash).
Another one of the hand washing clothes hacks we’ve discovered when washing clothes in bathtub is that you can take the shower sprayer off the nozzle (if it’s removable) to spray-rinse your clothes.
This makes how to do laundry without a washing machine a little bit easier. Just be careful not to get wild with the sprayer, or you’ll end up all wet! LOL!!
How To Wash Clothes Without Detergent When Traveling
Sometimes you might run out of travel detergent. Or perhaps you didn’t expect to be doing laundry while travelling, especially on short trips, and simply didn’t pack a travel laundry kit or bring some sort of travel laundry detergent with you. No worries!
You can wash your clothes anyways! There are a couple of ways of washing clothes without detergent that you can do, depending on what you have on hand.
- If you have hand soap or liquid dish soap, you can use that instead of travel laundry soap. Use a small amount of soap. Just a squirt or two is enough, depending on how many clothes you need to wash. Then follow the instructions above for how to do laundry without a washing machine (sink or bathtub, as needed).
- If you DON’T have either of these, you can use a small amount of body wash or a bar of soap. These are going to be a harsher on your clothes, so use sparingly. For bar soap, you can get it wet and suds it up in a sink of water before adding clothes. Then follow the rest of the instructions on how to wash clothes in sink as listed above.
- If you have NO SOAP available at all, you can wash your clothes with JUST water. This is sometimes better than using nothing at all, but keep in mind that it’s mostly going to be for stain care and won’t leave your laundry smelling super fresh.
I definitely suggest that you pack some travel laundry detergent for every trip, even if you don’t think you’ll be doing any laundry. It’s always handy to have on hand for emergencies.
The travel detergent sheets and the small liquid packs I suggest above are truly the BEST laundry detergent for travel because they’re so small you don’t have to worry about losing packing space. Just bring them. You’ll be glad you did.
As I always say, it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. We learned the (very) hard way on our 3-day trip to Brussels with kids that you might have to do laundry when you least expect it! (Yikes!!)
Other Hand Washing Clothes Hacks To Keep In Mind:
1- Only bring clothes that can be machine or hand washed and hung up to dry. Packing dry-clean-only clothes is a sure way to add stress to your family vacation.
2- Check your mobile app store for an app for laundry service in the area you’re traveling to. If your travel budget allows, it can make traveling easier to just outsource the laundry.
3- You can also check Google Maps for a local laundromat. Most cities (even in Europe!) have laundromats. (If you’re wondering how to do laundry in a laundromat, just give that a quick google!) Laundromats are super easy to figure out, and the multiple washers and dryers make laundry day go by SO FAST!
Other Fun Things To Add To Your DIY Travel Laundry Kit
There are some other fun items that a lot of other traveling parents swear by when washing clothes while traveling. I didn’t include those to my travel laundry kit list above because I’ve never used these items and haven’t had a need for any of them. (I’m a fan of packing light, remember?)
That being said, I’m all about making traveling with kids easier than ever, so I thought I’d list a couple of the most popular things below in case they’re useful to you. These are recommended by other avid travelling families, that they swear by for doing laundry while travelling.
1- Scrubba Wash Bag (Perfect for how to do laundry without a washing machine)
If you are an avid traveler or you do a lot of camping, rv-ing, or staying in hostels or small hotel rooms where large sinks may not be readily available, this is a PERFECT addition to your travel laundry kit.
The Scrubba Wash Bag is a travel clothes washer, which is basically a portable, collapsible washing machine. You can put a small amount of laundry in here, toss in your favorite brand of travel laundry detergent, and then mix the bag around a bit to give your clothes a great wash! Then rinse in clean water and hang to dry!
- PATENTED WASHBOARD TECHNOLOGY: Get a machine-quality wash in…
- ULTRALIGHT & PACKABLE: Weighing just 5 oz (~140 g), the…
- NO ELECTRICITY NEEDED: Simply add clothes, water and laundry…
- WASH CLOTHES ANYWHERE: Perfect for travel, hotels, cruises…
- TRUSTED BY 500,000+ TRAVELERS: Since 2012, over…
It’s ridiculously easy for doing laundry while travelling, even in tight spaces or when you’re frequently on the go. There are some cheaper ‘knock-off’ brands available, but the Scrubba bag folds up the smallest and best quality. It even fits into a carry-on without taking up a lot of space.
If you are looking for the best Scrubba wash bag alternative, I would definitely suggest this travel clothes washer bag by Laundreez. It gets the best reviews on Amazon and seems to be the most comparable to the Scrubba.
The Laundreez bag is almost half the price of the Scrubba version, and I actually love how it’s clear so you can see what’s happening to the clothes on the inside. A few of the Amazon reviewers also suggest tips, like using the fill nozzle to drain the water and refill with clean water. This makes it easier to rinse the soap out of your clothes without needing a lot of space. In terms of a Scrubba wash bag alternative, this one might actually be an improvement on the original.
2- Foldable Hangers For Travel (Great for more than just doing laundry while travelling!)
Okay these ones I actually ended up adding to my shopping cart, and I will update you later on how I like them. I see these being suggested over and over in the family travel facebook groups.
- Compact Foldable Hangers: Tri-fold design collapses neatly…
- Versatile Travel Essential: Adjustable modes fit dresses…
- Durable & Lightweight: High-density PP + reinforced aluminum…
- Clothes-Friendly Design: Ergonomic shape mimics shoulders to…
- Space-Saving Storage: Slim folded size fits any…
This pack of 10 foldable hangers is great not only for your travel laundry kit, because you can hang clothes up to dry after washing. But they’re also great just to hang clothes in places that maybe didn’t have enough hangers to offer.
If you have a lot of clothes or dresses that you prefer to hang while traveling (great for letting those wrinkles out!), these are a must have. They get good ratings on Amazon, and they’re cute too!
Final Thoughts About Putting Together A Travel Laundry Kit
Nobody likes doing laundry. And doing laundry while travelling isn’t exactly anyone’s idea of a fun time. I get that. But in our experiences of traveling with kids, doing laundry is kind of a necessity evil when packing light.
Just dedicate an hour or two one evening about 5 days into your trip to handle your laundry while traveling, and it will make your suitcases lighter. The stress of keeping track of so much stuff will be way less as well. It’s worth it. (Says me, mom of 5! LOL!!)
Test out the travel laundry soap I suggest above and find your family’s best laundry detergent for travel. Then toss it in your bag and go! As you start traveling more and more, you can add some of the other things to make vacation life a bit easier.
I hope this blog post is super helpful (and maybe taught you a few tips and hand washing clothes hacks)! Please comment below if you have any other suggestions on great diy travel laundry kit additions or any questions about washing clothes while traveling!
And don’t forget to check out our other awesome family travel tips posts here! We’re all about making travel with kids easier and more fun! Catch you in the next post!
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Terrific article! This is the type of info that should
be shared across the net. Thanks =)