Living away from home comforts and out of a backpack is hard. Days turn to weeks and its when our light-colored clothes become dark that most of us start pondering on what to do about laundry. Fear not as we at Travset, experienced in getting dirty and doing laundry in the unlikeliest of places have a few tips to help you. Read on and let us know if you know any better!
1. The sink basin
What’s needed
Dirty clothes
Large enough sink basin
Hot water
Washing detergent
A good pair of sturdy hands
How to
Plug the sink to prevent water seeping out and fill half the sink with hot water. You can then mix the water detergent to the water and proceed to soak the dirty clothes in this. Do however make sure that you do not try to soak too many clothes with too little water.
We recommend letting the dirty clothes soak for around an hour and two hours for those that need tougher love. Once this is complete you can start picking the clothes off of the sink and rubbing the surface of these clothes against each other in order to remove dirt.
Once the above is complete, wash the basin clear of any leftover detergent and fill it up with hot water again. Insert the clothes you hand scrubbed into it and whirl them around to wash traces of detergent off of them.
You can then wring them dry and let them dry.
2. The wash bag method
What’s needed
Dirty clothes
Waterproof bag (large enough to hold your dirty clothes)
Hot water
Washing detergent
A good pair of sturdy hands
How to
Fill the waterproof bag with hot water, and let the detergent dissolve in it fully. Let the clothes soak for around an hour (even more if the clothes are exceptionally dirty).
Remove the clothes off of the waterproof bag and rub the surface of these clothes against each other vigorously in order to wash the dirt off. Once this is done, clean the waterproof bag of any detergent and insert the clothes back into it. You can then fill the said bag with hot water and whirl the clothes in it to wash the detergent off.
Remove the clothes off the bag once the above is complete and wring them dry. You can then place these clothes in a location that facilitates faster drying.
3. Using laundromats
This is definitely a costlier option when compared to washing your clothes in the sink or a waterproof bag. It is, however, easier and will do a better job than you could possibly do on your own. Remember, your arms will get tired!
Do some research. Some hostels offer cleaning services while most countries have laundromats. Some are expensive while some are considerably cheap.
4. The bucket method
What’s needed
Dirty clothes
Bucket (clean it before using)
Hot water
Washing detergent
A good pair of sturdy hands
How to
The bucket method is similar to the waterproof bag method. Simply fill it with hot water containing detergent and let the clothes soak. We recommend an hour for clothes with a normal amount of dirt and two for more serious cases. Once this is done start cleaning the clothes by rubbing them vigorously with your hands.
It is then time to wash the bucket of any leftover detergent and fill it with more clean water in order to soak your clothes again. This will allow you to remove any detergent off the clothes so that you may wring them dry and put them to dry.
