Doing laundry on the road is what lets you travel with a carry-on for three weeks. The constraint is almost never washing — it's drying. Get that right and everything else follows.

Pack for washing, not for volume#

Choose fabrics that wash easily and dry fast, and the whole problem shrinks.

Merino wool is the standout. It resists odor so effectively that a merino shirt can go a week of normal wear between washes, it insulates when damp, and it dries overnight. Expensive up front, but one merino shirt replaces three cotton ones.

Synthetics dry fastest of anything and wash easily. The tradeoff is that they hold odor — see our athletic wear guide for why, and what fixes it.

Cotton is comfortable and the worst travel fabric there is. It absorbs water and takes forever to dry — a cotton pair of jeans can stay damp for two days in humid weather. Bring a minimum.

Linen is excellent in heat and dries quickly. It will be wrinkled. Accept this.

A working rule: three of each item. One worn, one clean, one drying.

What to bring#

• Solid detergent — a bar or sheets. No liquid, so no TSA limit and no leak risk.
• A universal sink stopper. Hostel and hotel sinks frequently don't hold water. This is a flat rubber disc that weighs nothing and it is the difference between washing and not.
• A braided travel clothesline. No pins needed — fabric tucks between the twists.
• A microfiber towel — this is the actual secret to drying, see below.
• A dry bag or a stuff sack for wet items.

The sink method#

1. Fill the sink with cool water and dissolve a small amount of detergent before the clothes go in.
2. Add the garment and agitate for a minute or two. Focus on collars, cuffs, and underarms — knead rather than scrub, which abrades fabric.
3. Let it soak ten minutes. Soaking does most of the real work.
4. Drain, refill with clean water, agitate again. Repeat until the water runs clear. Leftover detergent attracts dirt and stiffens fabric.
5. Press, never wring. Wringing breaks fibers and sets creases that won't hang out.

The step that makes it dry overnight#

This is the one people miss. Lay the wet garment flat on a dry bath towel, roll the two together tightly like a sleeping bag, then kneel on the roll or twist the whole bundle.

The towel pulls out an enormous amount of water — far more than wringing — without stressing the fabric. A shirt that would take fourteen hours to dry will now be dry in five or six.

Then hang it where air moves: over the shower rail with the bathroom fan running, near a window, or in front of the air conditioning. Airflow matters more than heat. Hang garments on hangers rather than folded over a rail, so both faces are exposed.

Stretching time between washes#

Most clothes are aired, not dirty. Hang things overnight and they'll be wearable again. Merino especially responds to airing.

Spot-clean rather than washing whole garments. A damp cloth on a single stain saves a full wash-and-dry cycle. And wear an undershirt — it takes the body oil, and it's the fastest thing in your bag to wash and dry.

When to stop improvising#

Sink washing works for shirts, underwear, and socks. It does not work for jeans, sweaters, towels, or two weeks of accumulated backlog. At that point a laundromat is faster, cheaper than a hotel service by a wide margin, and finishes everything in about ninety minutes.

If you're passing through Des Moines, our stores are self-service with large-capacity machines, and several are open 24 hours — useful when you're working around a flight. If you'd rather drop it and collect it clean, our wash, dry & fold service turns around same-day at most locations.

Find hours and addresses on the locations page.