I am planning a long trip to Italy in May (14 nights) and I am curious how do you solve laundry problem. There is no way I am carrying 14 pair of socks and underwear...<BR><BR>We are not staying in fancy hotels with laundry service, rather in small ones. Do you just wash your stuff in a sink and dry it out on chairs or ceiling fan?<BR><BR>Thanks.<BR><BR>Brian

I never travel with more than 3 or 4 of anything, even if it's a 3-week trip. <BR><BR>Forget doing laundry in the sink: I just throw my stuff in the bottom of the shower, stomp on it a bit while I wash, then give it an extra rinse. After I dry myself, I wrap the laundry in the towel to get out some more moisture. If you take advantage of radiators or hang a string clothesline near an open window, everything will dry OK as long as you don't bring any heavy cottons. <BR><BR>After the first two or three times, this routine becomes automatic and seems like no extra trouble at all. The freedom from traveling with big suitcases is wonderful!

Like xxx3 I never travel with more than a few pairs of underwear and socks (or tights/stockings, which I really like). I've not done the shower thing, but may give it a try next time. I don't pack heavy cotton things in any case, but certainly wouldn't wash them while traveling. If you're staying in a humid area you may need to use a hairdryer to get things really dry, otherwise hanging in the bathroom is good enough.<BR><BR>I've only used a laundromat once, in Trouville. We'd been traveling for close to a month at that point and really needed to give everything a good scrub. These days I'd send it to a laundry and have it done, but we were pretty poor at the time.

When I travel, I bring some detergent in a ziplock bag, and a sponge to clean the sink. I wash my underwear in the sink and dry them on the hangers in the closet. However, I usually just find a laundramat and unload my backpack. Usually in these European cities, you can just bring your clothes in and they will stick it in the washing machines and dryers, fold them for you and you pick it up in an hour. Problems solved!

I usually bring a laundry detergent in a small bottle or buy a small bottle of dish washing liquid while I am in Europe to wash socks and underwear. But is the issue really socks and underwear? They fill up a lot of nooks and crannies in your luggage. I found that sending laundry out in Italy is actually not very expensive. Unfortunately I had a hard time getting anything dry cleaned, they didn't seem to know what that was.... How do they wash all those expensive Gucci and D&G clothes anyway?

Richard, we have the opposite experience in Italy specifically in Tuscany around Castellina. We have a hard time finding a laundromat-what we always find are dry cleaners!! hence we had no choice but to have my shirts dry-cleaned.

Hi Brian,<BR><BR>My wife and I have learned to travel for up to two months with one small roller board and a small backpack each.<BR><BR>The proprietor of our hotel, B&B etc. points us to a laundromat. Most often drop laundry off and pick up later. They do the wash, dry and folding. Have lost only one piece in years of traveling.<BR><BR>Have found this to be very inexpensive about $3 - $5 for one or two loads.<BR><BR>Travel lite, there are lots of inexpensive alternatives.

Brian, if it's time to buy new underwear, suggest you get the cotton/poly briefs and undershirts at JC Penney. It is their Towncraft brand. They are very soft and dry in half the time of 100% cotton. My husband loves his!

xx3.....great idea! Hadn't thought of that. My husband and I spent a small fortune at a do it yourself laundromat in Paris. However, it was worth it not to haul tons of clothing.<BR><BR>I'll keep your suggestion in mind for when I simply cannot get to a public laundry facility. Thanks for sharing!

<BR>Brian where are you staying when will need to do the laundry? I can tell you where the laundramats in the area are.

I use shampoo i/o laundry detergent, and use the shower trick as well (damn, I thought *I* invented it) IF I find I need to do laundry. On a short trip (10 days) I can bring enough underwear and socks to not have to wash; longer trips, I find a laundromat (I **hate** doing hand wash).<BR><BR>I have a bungee cord with metal clips and hooks on each end; I can stretch it across door hinges, shower heads, whatever. Mostly I use it for drying rain-soaked clothes (wait wait I got it - sprinkle soap powder in your shoes and when your socks get wet...).<BR><BR>Guys really are at a disadvantage - women can wear nylon underwear and nylon knee-his or pantyhose; guys are pretty much limited to cotton everything (or silk underwear...)<BR><BR>There is expensive men's underwear from France that is luxurious - fine cotton, almost like silk, but an A-shirt is $20; I'll have to check out bettyk's suggestion at JCP!

I don't really like coming back to a room full of soggy laundry hanging from every fixture. Nor do I particularly like to spend valuable vacation time doing hand laundry.<BR><BR>So, like many of the above, I travel light and use laundromats. An added benefit to laundromats is that you often get an opportunity to meet locals, get tips on nearby hot spots, and visit with other tourists.

<BR>A recent flea market find was a plastic contraption with a hanger hook on the end. When you hang it up, it fans open with 14 clothes pins on it. Great for socks and underwear. I just hang it off the shower curtain rod. Only $1, too!

Brian:<BR><BR>If you have old undies/socks, bring them and throw them away as you use them.

Am I the only one who thinks throwing your underwear in the tub as you're showering and "stomping" on it is a bit of a gross thing to do? How clean can it possibly be when you just step on your laundry as you're showering...Yuk.<BR><BR>Anyone ever hear of hotel laundry service? Or just pack really light, bring an expandable duffle in your suitcase, and buy clothes as you go. They don't have to be designer clothes, just things you see and like. Don't we all shop when we travel anyway?

yes, i love to shop for souveniers, but not underwear.<BR><BR>I just bring enough for the trip. Undies don't take up THAT much room.<BR><BR>Other items I try to wear twice if possible, and may have select pieces cleaned by the hotel laundry service if necessary.<BR>

Hey Gina,<BR><BR>not all of us stay at hotels with laundry service. We all can't afford to purchase a new wardrobe while on vacation either!<BR>

We stayed for 10 days in Spoleto in June of 2000. We found great laundry service near the train station in Rome and it had an internet cafe. However in Spoleto the locals thought we were from Mars asking for a laundromat. We spent more than an hour hunting one down and negotiating with the drycleaners. Ultimately we compromised and paid the equivilant of $40 a load for same day service. I am certain that the person just took our clothes home with them washed them and brought them back UNFOLDED! In the Lake Garda area we found a laundromat but it cost about $10 a load by the time I was done. The machines were very complicated, controlled by what appeared to be one computer. This trip I am either opting for a combination of bringing the old stuff and tossing it along with the shower/line method.

Come on kids! Brian asked about socks and underwear in a hotel without laundry service. HEY BRIAN - Been there many times; I do mine in the sink with shampoo and just throw them over the towel rack or whatever else is handy. I work in a three day cycle. M.

The last time I used hotel (Florence) laundry service it looked as if they just ironed the dirty clothes and packaged them up. This was especially evident on my husband's khaki's.<BR><BR>I must admit it wasn't that expensive to send the clothes out. Perhaps their laundry soap isn't as effective as ours?<BR><BR>