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Laundry in ITALY???

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Old Apr 8th, 2003, 02:28 PM
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Laundry in ITALY???

will be in italy for total of 13 days---i REALLY want to pack LIGHT!! will be taking the train inbetween cities, and i will be traveling with my husband-who will prpbably be taking 2 showers a day in mid june--<BR>I wanted to know about doing my own laundry--you know--sink style--is it possible?? if i bring some woolite, twine, some clothespins??what do you think?? is this ridiculous or a common procedure when traveling in europe??thanks!!LADYBUG~
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Old Apr 8th, 2003, 03:00 PM
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Last year I started noticing that some hotels post a sign saying no laundry washing in room. It must be from some guests dripping water all over by hanging wet clothes. I assume you could hang some in the showers, but they are tiny. It depends on what your hotels decide I guess.
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Old Apr 8th, 2003, 03:10 PM
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We too saw signs when we were last in Europe in 1999 many B &amp; Bs and small inns and hotels. <BR><BR>Many towns do have laundromats that are okay. We used one on the Riviera in Villefranche sur mer. Sometimes in Rick Steves books he will actually mention where there are some available in various cities.
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Old Apr 8th, 2003, 03:30 PM
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When we did a 3 week trip through Italy we figured we'd need to find a laudromat at least twice...instead after our first week, our hotel in Florence (Hotel Casci) offered to take a bag of laundry by 9AM and have it washed, dried and folded on your bed by 5PM. I think it cost about $8 but considering the ease...I probably would have paid $20. A week later, we asked about having laundry done at our hotel on the Amalfi coast....they did a load for us for about $12. Again, certainly worth it to us. We did rinse out a couple of things in our sink in Verona, <BR>but that was basically it. Honest, my first recourse now is to always ask at the front desk about laundry. It costs a lot less than in the US (where they charge by the piece!!!!)
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Old Apr 8th, 2003, 03:59 PM
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I have done a few items at a time in the sink with no problems in Italy.
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Old Apr 8th, 2003, 04:15 PM
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Hi Ladybug. Sure it's possible. We did this a number of times in Italy last year. Something that really helps is to use bath towels to wring as much moisture as possible out of your clothes before setting them out to dry. <BR><BR>Be aware, however, that some establishments have rules against doing laundry in your room. <BR><BR>Depending on where you're going, you might also find laundromats, either self-serve or non-self-serve.
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Old Apr 8th, 2003, 04:26 PM
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What we found really useful was that quite a few laundry places had internet access. So at 9pm we'd stick in a load, and pay for a couple of hours of internet access... get clean clothes AND stay in touch! Laundry is more expensive in Italy than it is for me at home, but the washers/dryers are bigger so you can combine and do one load. One of the things that I dislike about sink laundry is that if for some reason my socks, etc don't dry, I'm stuck carrying around wet socks for a day or so. Bring along ziplocks in case this happens to you, and a few dryer sheets too
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Old Apr 8th, 2003, 05:46 PM
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We washed clothes in our bathroom nearly every night in 7 different hotels last year in Italy. Here is what we do:<BR><BR>1. take only quick drying undies and socks. NO 100% cotton. <BR><BR>2. take a clothesline like Magellan's sells. (The Flexo-line holds up to 12 lb of wet clothes, thanks to its surgical-quality, natural latex rubber tubing which is woven in THREE braids (not the usual two). Just loop its ends around a doorknob, hook, shower head, or rod (it stretches to seven feet), then poke a corner of your wet garment in the tight braid to dry. No clothespins needed.)<BR><BR>Do NOT buy one that has suction cups on the ends--no way will it hold up wet clothing.<BR><BR>3. make sure the bathroom floor is clean and dry when we leave the room each day.<BR><BR>4. take a flat sink stopper. Frequently the sinks won't have a stopper at all.<BR><BR>5. take a tube of concentrated laundry soap.<BR><BR>Hope this helps. It worked for us.<BR>
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Old Apr 8th, 2003, 05:57 PM
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thanks so much eveyone--its nice to know i will be able to enjoy my italian journey with clean clothes and a lighter suitcase!LADYBUG~
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Old Apr 8th, 2003, 05:59 PM
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There are plenty of laundromats - we even found one in Sienna around the corner ( in an ancianet building) from the main Piazza! Had dinner while our clothes dried in one of the many cafes. Guide Books like Lonely Planet tell you the locations of q
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