How do you do laundry on the trail? - this device looks good

[jage]

Washing is never a problem, it's drying. Without the spin cycle you have to really wring your clothes out in order to have them have any chance of air drying. I'd buy an old roller press before I'd buy anything to wash clothes.

[BrianW]

When bike touring, usually we will hand wash our shorts every night in the sink. We also have a microfiber towel, in which we put the wet clothes and then roll it up tightly and twist-wring to remove the excess water from the clothes. Then we wring out the towel separately and it dries pretty fast on its own.

We've done two month-long SMB trips driving across the USA. Generally we'll hit a motel every so often, and make sure it has laundry facilities before we book it. Or, you could just find a motel with laundry and surreptitiously use it without staying there.

[jage]

But then how do you dry the towel?

[Bbasso]

I'll hit the local coin-op every 2nd week, about the same time I need a food resupply.

[twogone]

Originally Posted by jage

But then how do you dry the towel?

If you haven't tried micro towels, you should... not as nice to use as a big ol' fluffy bath towel (imagine how a chamois might feel), but they dry amazingly fast...and take up less space by 70% and they can be hand-washed in between coin-ops, and about 10 other reasons why they are great

[alta825]

Originally Posted by twogone

If you haven't tried micro towels, you should... not as nice to use as a big ol' fluffy bath towel (imagine how a chamois might feel), but they dry amazingly fast...and take up less space by 70% and they can be hand-washed in between coin-ops, and about 10 other reasons why they are great

Agreed. We picked up the full size microfiber towels from Sea to Summit last summer and they are Money. Especially when your packing for 4, they take up zero space and dry riculously fast too

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[arctictraveller]

I stop at truck stops. I'll put my laundry in the machine, then for about $12 you can get a great shower with fresh towels and all the hot water you want. Then while the clothes are in the dryer, there are lots of options for food. An hour later, I'm full, clean, and my van smells much better (for a while at least) If it's late, I'll stay right there for the night.

[Dia]

Re: roller press

For small amounts of laundry, such as several pair of socks / undies, or a few shirts / bike shorts, here's how you dry them...

Wash, rinse and wring out the wet stuff. Take a standard size bath towel** and lay it on the ground / floor* / tarp / pavement. Put the wet items in a thin layer down the middle of the towel the long way. Fold the long edges of the towel to the middle, covering the wet things. Roll the towel up like a burrito (or fold in half - depends on how much is in it). Walk back and forth on the towel with clean feet.

You now have one soaking wet towel and several dampish things that will either dry fairly quickly or in some cases are fine to wear slightly damp.

ETA: how do you dry the towel - still easier to dry than laundry. Drape it over the cooler for travel (evaporative cooling) or throw it over a chair at the campsite.

ETA2: Hmm, that Scrubba thing is interesting, but I'd think a dry bag would work just as well for less money.

*floor - this is the hotel room / rest area version where you have access to a sink and a tile floor

** towel - if you don't have a towel, go back and re-read Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy