The best way to deal with laundry emergencies when you travel
- Read this before you leave home and your dirty clothes should be less of a problem while on holiday
It’s happened to almost everyone: you’re on a holiday, having a great time, when you realise you didn’t bring a spare pair of jeans, and there’s still a week of your trip left. Or maybe you’ve only got a couple of days left, you’re down to your last sweater that has to last until you get home, and you drop pizza on it.
If you can’t afford to send out your laundry at the hotel, and don’t know where to find a self-service launderette, the natural solution is to launder them in the bathroom washbasin.
Here’s how to deal with your hand-washing on the road, and make the best of a bad situation.
Consider the fabrics
Before we get to cleaning them, think about what you might have to clean. Sure, you might have a reason to dress up while you’re away, but avoid buying clothes for your trip just because they look smart. Leave anything linen or silk at home if you don’t want to look like a rumpled mess.
“Fabrics, broadly, for apparel come in two basic fabric constructions – knit fabrics or woven fabrics,” said Janet Brady, an associate professor of textiles at Thomas Jefferson University in the US state of Philadelphia.
The fibres in a knit are interlooped; woven fabrics are made of two sets of yarns that intersect at right angles, she said. Or, more simply, a T-shirt is a knit; a dress cloth shirt is a woven.
“Knits usually have stretch in both directions and have a little more give in both directions,” Brady said.
Which means they tend to regain their shape, which makes them a little more travel-friendly.
Don’t be a purist
