Be Clean
Take a stand for personal hygiene! Wear clean clothes! To accomplish this on the road your choices are:
- Throw away all your dirty stuff and buy new.
- Pack enough to wear for the entire trip.
- Do the wash.
We have room for 7 or 8 days of apparel in our luggage. Then we launder.
Be Prepared
Build 'clothes washing' into your itinerary, knowing where you will be when the clean clothes run out and what your laundry options are.
National Park campgrounds often have large, clean laundromats in beautiful surroundings and are our first choice, when accessible. Next we like commercial laundromats simply because they have lots of machines and we like to run 3 simultaneous loads.
But sometimes a big laundromat is not the best logistical choice. In those cases there are hotel or B&B facilities available, sometimes at no extra cost. They usually have only 1 or 2 washers and require a longer time investment.
And pack the right kinds of clothes. Our road trip wardrobes consist of hiking clothes and traveling clothes, and we know which days to wear what.
Be Equipped
Four 30 Gallon Trash Bags.Each of us brings two trash bags for dirty clothes. The bags segregate the used from the fresh in our luggage, are handy to transport clothes to and from the machines, and are reusable when the cycle begins again.
Detergent.We pack a small bottle of liquid detergent. If you plan on using a commercial laundromat there will probably be a vending machine with little boxes of powdered Tide or All, etc. and that option is viable as long as the vending equipment is operational. We carry our own, which is also a good idea for non-commercial options such as private homes or hotels. Note: Bring powder or liquid (i.e. not pods) because, as we discovered, pods are virtually unusable in some of the newer, front-loading washers.
Fabric Softener (optional).We use Bounce drier sheets - a few in a ziploc take almost no space. Of course fabric softener is strictly optional, as some people like chafing and static.
Quarters.Bring a lot of 'em. We have yet to encounter washers and driers that take any other form of the filthy lucre and each load will need a handful. Yes, there may be a change machine; in rare cases there will be an on-site employee; but don't count on either. And those same quarters will work in the candy machine. Popping M&M's enhances the entire process.
Be Patient
- Doing the wash away from home is a progression of mini-challenges. Address them bravely and calmly.
- There are rules of public laundry etiquette. Follow them.
- Commercial machines vary a lot. Read all the instructions you can find, on the wall and on the appliance, and don't be shy about asking other customers how the damn things work.
- After reasonable remediation attempts, abandon any machine that eats your quarters then won't run. This is not the time to protect your $1.75 outlay.
- But, when there is no alternative, take action. We recently duct taped the bottom panel of the only available drier in order to keep it running.
- Ignore purple hair, bizzare attire and the mouse that just ran across the floor.