As you make your international travel plans, you want to pack light. After all, no one wants to lug a large, checked bag with them on trains, or walking from the train to a hotel.
Packing light means ultimate flexibility, and makes travel more enjoyable. If you’re afraid you’ll run out of clothes or end up wearing clothes that are dirty or smelly, you need to learn what experienced travelers and savvy road warriors already know — a foolproof method for washing clothes in your hotel room.
If you’re traveling for more than a few days, you’ll want to do laundry in the sink or tub of your hotel room every few days.
Just follow these proven steps for washing clothes in your hotel room, and enjoy the freedom that comes with packing light:
1. Pre-Rinse
First, do a quick pre-rinse to get some of the dirt out before you wash. Using hot water will help remove stains and body oils that work their way into the fabric.
2. Wash
This is where the clothes really get clean. Remember, washing clothes is more a mechanical process than a chemical process. Your hands become the agitator, just like a washing machine.
For stains or dirty spots, rub one piece of fabric against itself to work out the stain. You can use body wash, soap, or shampoo. But you’ll get the best results with laundry detergent which you can either pack in a plastic bag or purchase in individual packets with sheets that are compact and won’t spill.
Can you wash your clothes with shampoo, hand soap, or shower gel? Yes, but those products are designed to produce lather and suds, and they often contain moisturizers and oils. You’ll get better results with laundry detergent.
3. Rinse
Once you’ve washed the clothes, drain the dirty, soapy water, and rinse the clothes to wash out any detergent or soap residue.
4. Ring out
This step is essential and determines how fast the clothes will dry. If you just hang up wet clothes to dry, it could take days.
You want to remove as much water as possible. Ring out each piece individually.
Then for heavier items, get a dry towel and roll them up in the towel and ring them again either by twisting the towel or by kneeling on the rolled up towel.
5. Hang to dry
Now that you’ve taken most of the water out of the clothes, hang them in a place where they will dry the fastest.
The three factors that determine drying speed are warm air, dry air, and air movement.
They’ll dry fastest outdoors with some warm sunlight and air movement, perhaps on a balcony. If indoors is your only option, maybe your room has a heated towel rack, a fan, or a radiator.
You can also use the hairdryer, or an oscillating fan to speed drying time. All that moisture in the clothes must go somewhere, so clothes will dry faster in a large room than in a small bathroom or closet.
By using these tricks to speed drying, your clothes — even thick, wool hiking socks — should be dry by morning.
Follow these five steps and you’ll have clean, dry clothes every day. And you’ll be able to pack light, too.
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