We are all up for travel– imagining the outfit we could wear for the gram, the new experience gives us a euphoria feeling. But, is it a must to bring an extended outfit for the gram? Travel experts say packing light gives more benefits and fun to travelers.
Is it possible for you to pack light and wash clothes during travel? Some might think it is not a good idea, and it might rob their time to have fun. In reality, packing light and washing clothes during the travel gives several advantages– no additional baggage fees or dirty laundry to carry on the way home.
If you are wondering how, there are 3 methods to wash clothes during laundry, and these are some of the ways we suggest:
Table of Contents
1. Book Accommodation with Laundry Services
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Some hotels and rental accommodations offer laundry services. They usually place a laundry bag in the room for you to store your dirty laundry. Hotel laundry services generally offer wash and dry, fold, or iron your clothes, and some would provide dry cleaning services.
If you want to avail of the dry cleaning service, you only have to fill out a form and let the hotel staff know the service request you need. Write the directions if you have specific service requests. If you are concerned with the rates, you have to expect that it is the most expensive among the methods. Typically, their charge rates for each service are reflected on the form.
Usually, the hotel laundry services need a day to have your clothes washed and returned to you. However, some hotels and rental places with their in-house laundry services can offer express same-day services. But, other hotels outsource their laundry services, which take their return time longer.
Typically, hotel laundry services ask a charge per shirt, dress, or underwear. If you add these up, a small laundry load may cost more than 50 bucks, and it could be over your budget. The only advantage of choosing hotel laundry services is convenience and accessibility. If you are on a budget and do not want to play a few dollars for laundry, you can choose hand washing clothes.
2. Hand Wash in Hotel Sink
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The next method is suitable for travelers on a tight budget is by hand washing their clothes in their hotel sink or bathtub. If you plan to do this on your next travel, you need to bring the essential laundry. Aside from getting packet laundry detergents, do not forget to bring a drain stopper.
When you hand wash your clothes, you need to fill the sink or bathtub with water using the drain stopper. Thus, you need to have them clean to remove some residues left before you fill it up. Add laundry detergent and wash your dirty laundry. Once you are done, you can air dry them over the shower or bathtub.
Hand washing is excellent for small clothes, and it may be less effective for large and more soiled clothes. Also, air drying inside the hotel room takes longer to dry. If you plan to hand wash your clothes during travel, we recommend packing quick-dry fabrics. These types of fabrics dry faster.
Besides what to pack and laundry essentials to prepare, you have to consider that some hotels discourage guests who wash their laundry in sinks or bathtubs and hang it in the room. You have to check the hotel policy to avoid going against their regulations. Some of the reasons they discourage this act are that it may add to their water and energy consumption, the guest may make a wet mess all over the room, or worse, the humidity from air drying may damage the room’s interiors.
However, hand washing may allow you to save money, but it may be time-consuming for you. So, if you can spare extra bucks for local laundry services, then look for one around.
3. Look for Local Laundry Services
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If you do not want to pay for the hotel’s laundry service’s expensive rates, or you do not have the time and energy to hand wash your clothes in the hotel sink or bathtub. Then, looking for local laundry services is the best option for you.
Most travel destinations have available local laundry services. Some local laundromats offer self-service machines, drop-off laundry services, or laundry pickup and delivery. Since you are on travel, it is best to have drop-off laundry services. An on-site staff member provides help and does all the necessary things for you. If it is done, you either have to pick it up or delivered it to you.
The main advantage of hiring laundry services is they are expensive, and they allow you to do all your laundry in one go. It is a disadvantage as it takes time off of your vacation. You have to drop it off the laundry shop. However, it would not be a problem if the laundry shop offers laundry pickup and delivery services. Take for example, if your destination is within New York, there’s Liox for your laundry services. You can easily contact them and they’ll pick up and deliver your laundry. Easy peasy, right?
But, if your destination does not have any local laundry place, or the hotel or rental place does not offer laundry services, you can ask the hotel if they have someone to suggest that offers to do the laundry for a small service charge. Usually, locals know some of the locals who are willing to do laundry for an affordable service fee. It is common for travel destinations in Asia and Africa. But, would you take the risk? Thus, always take time to search if there’s an available laundry shop around your destination.
Final Thoughts
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We recommend travelers to pack light and wash clothes during travels. If you plan to do it yourself, do not forget to bring the essentials you need. But, if doing it on your own is time-consuming for you, you can ask for hotel laundry service or look for local laundry services around. If you plan to do laundry during your next trip, then that would be a good idea!
