Learning how to wash your clothes in the sink is a lifesaver when travelling. As someone who has a tendency to walk, jog or excitedly run everywhere when I travel, I have an ongoing need to constantly wash my clothes whilst travelling. I also try not to overpack anymore (often travelling with carry-on only), so I found myself needing to master the art of washing my clothes whilst I travel in order to save time finding a laundromat, waiting, and coughing up my precious coins that would be better spent on sweets or a hot chocolate. So here it is, a complete guide to mastering the art of washing your clothes whilst you travel so you will never have to go to a laundromat or pay hefty dry cleaning fees again!
Step One: Grab your dirty clothes, a sink, and a bar of soap
Yup, it really is as simple as that! You don’t need to go out and buy fancy detergents to wash your clothes, all you’ll need is a bar of soap or any kind of soap will do… even hair conditioner or shampoo if that’s all you’ve got!
Don’t forget to separate your whites and darks to prevent colours running – just the same as you do at home!
Fill the sink with warm soapy water (not too hot as colours will run).
Step Two: Spin Cycle
Just as your washing machine would at home, the next step is to resemble this motion by swirling your clothes with your hands in a circular motion.
If some of your clothes are dirty in specific spots or dirtier than others, scrub them by rubbing the material together and adding more soap as required.
Step Three: Rinse
Drain the water in the sink and begin lightly rinsing your clothes to remove any additional soap.
Step Four: Dry!
There’s an art to drying clothes that comes in really handy when travelling, especially if you’re in a rush and looking to run out the door immediately afterwards or only have a short space of time to dry your clothes. It looks like this!
Place a towel on the floor and place each clothing item (one by one) on the towel. Roll the clothing item tightly and the towel will begin to dampen as it sucks out the moisture from your clothes.
Be sure to move to a different part of the towel for each item as before you know it the towel will be soaked!
If you’re really in a rush check around your accommodation to see if there’s a hairdryer – et voila!
See more travel hacks here!
Brooke Saward founded World of Wanderlust as a place to share inspiration from her travels and to inspire others to see our world. She now divides her time between adventures abroad and adventures in the kitchen, with a particular weakness for French pastries.
