Laundry on the Road
 

We will be traveling to Europe for the 1st time this fall (Italy)for 2 weeks and my husband is quite insistent we pack light. This may be quite doable provided I can send out my clothes after a few days to have laundered.We will be in Rome the 1st 5 days, I'd like to launder then prior to moving on to Venice.Does anyone have any suggestions regarding sending out laundry or will I have to do it in the sink??????Ugh!!Please don't laugh, as I do laundry at home I HATE the thought of doing it on the road.

I'm not sure about Italy, but England, France and Switzerland have laundromats you can use. I would guess that Rome would certainly have many of them. <BR> <BR>I travelled in Italy about 18 years ago and I sent my clothes out - it was expensive and it took them a couple of days to get the clothes back to me. I almost had to leave without them. <BR> <BR>My reccommendation is to pack light and use the laundromat. Underwear is light - pack these a little more liberally. You can always wear your blouse or t-shirt a few more times than you would at home. Unless you're hiking and sweating up a storm, you'll be surprised how long you can go before you really need to do a laundry.

DJ <BR> <BR>I share your reluctance to doing your laundry in the sink on your vacation. Sending it out is expensive, but I consider using a laundromat in a foreign country an opportunity to experience a slice of life in that locale. I've had some very interesting conversations with local people and other travellers in laundromats in Europe. <BR> <BR>There have been other threads on the forum about this, so you may get information by doing a search under "laundry."

Hi <BR>Some people are resourceful enough to look for laundromats, don't know if/where they are in Rome, but I don't want to spend even 5 minutes in a laundromat while on vacation, meeting locals or not, and not knowing any of the local drycleaners would concern me a little. <BR>We all have different priorities and budget issues, but with five days in one place I'd have my hotel arrange for laundry and drycleaning. I do it a lot, and I love the luxury of it, even if my hotel isn't particularly luxurious. It might cost you $30 or even a little more, but factored into the cost of the whole trip that's not much unless your budget is extremely tight. If you really need to make the cost, you could buy some wonderful bread, cheese and wine and have a picnic in your room instead of going out for a meal. Undies and socks can be done in the sink, although I've found that cotton socks don't dry all that fast <BR>so pack a couple of extra baggies just in case.

There are 2 things I am going to do on our trip. <BR>One is to take some clothes in fabrics that dry easily and quickly (cotton T shirts and jeans take forever to dry) and do some laundry in the sink as we go along. I have bought small packs of Woolite, travel clotheslines and a universal sink stopper. I'm taking a travel steamer with converter plus plug adapters for the clothing that I am taking that needs ironing. <BR> <BR>Secondly, although using the hotel laundry is expensive, I am just going to use it where I have to. I learned my lesson on a trip last year. Instead of paying the money, I went to the laundromat, spent the whole morning there while the rest of my family went sightseeing. It was unbearably hot. there was no air conditioning, and the laundromat was on ths sunny side of the street. I sat there for hours doing the laundry under unbearable condtions. and by the time I had found the place, run around looking for change for the machines, bought the detergent, fabric softener etc paid for the drier, not only had I not saved much money, I was hot, sweaty, miserable, frustrated and had wasted a whole precious morning fo sightseeing. <BR> <BR>When you consider that we spend the money it would have cost for the laundry on a meal without thinking twice about it, I decided I would never again waste my time. I sent the next load of laundry to the hotel laundry, it came back beautifully laundered, ironed, and folded. With the amount of money I am spending on my trip, this will just be one of the necessary expenses, like transportaion lodging and food and is a minor expense in comparison. <BR> <BR>An alternative, is to ask the hotel if they know of a drop off laundry who will do it for you and you can pick it up, but I am never again wasting time in a foreign laundromat. <BR> <BR>Well, that is my personal view. Just thought I'd share it.

When we travel overseas for a period of longer than a week, we hoard our old underwear and sleepwear...even some polo shirts, etc. Thay way we have "throw away" underwear, don't bring any home, and don't have to wash any either. Takes a bit of advance planning, but completely eliminates the problem.

to: xxx <BR> <BR>Prior to posting I first did a search on Laundry and came up with nearly nothing. So as a result, I've posted. I'm somewhat astonished at what seems to be the unavailability of having the hotel provide laundry service. Obviously I've not traveled overseas before and am only used to US travel in higher end hotels due to business related trips. Been to sheltered for too long!

As I frequently travel for extended periods of time I feel I have mastered the art of laundry on the go. There are several options: <BR> <BR>1) spend the morning in a laundramat <BR> (not on your life!) <BR> <BR>2) wash everything in the sink <BR> (not really feasible) <BR> <BR>3) send everything out through the hotel <BR> (an option but expensive) <BR> <BR>4) pay at the laundramat for them to <BR> laundry for you (my choice) <BR> <BR>I usually ask the hotel front desk where the nearest laundry is. Go to the laundry and ask them to do clothes for me. They charge by weight and it is equivalent in price to U.S. of 75 cents a pound. They sort it, wash it, dry it, and you pick it up later that evening or early the next morning! <BR> <BR>Do not laugh but sometimes I feel so overwelmed when I get home from vacation, I go to my hometown laundry and do the same thing to get it over with!

Last year we were away for 3 weeks. We packed clothes that were easily hand washed and that's how we managed most of the time. When I got to Santorini, I decided to send some of my clothes out to the hotel laundry. What a mistake! First of all, I hadn't specified that I also wanted the clothing pressed. When it came back, the 2 pairs of walking shorts and the skirt were terribly wrinkled and I couldn't wear them. I had to send them back for ironing. Plus I know one of my t-shirts was exchanged for another t-shirt. It was plain white, but the one I got back was huge and the label had been cut out. I know mine fit and the label had not been removed! For all that, it ended up costing quite a bit (not to mention that I no longer had the white t-shirt). <BR> <BR>There was a humorous article about doing laundry in the sink in the New York Times a few weeks ago. Did anyone see it?

Pay a local laundry - the people who work in the hotels often use one in the neighborhood for their own clothing and can recommend somebody in the area. Not too expensive, and (at least in France and Italy) they do a beautiful job - nicer than my dry cleaners in NYC and Chicago.

Rome was one of the more difficult places to find a laundry nearby. You might do a search on this web site. Margo Classe had a few suggestions. You can also do a search on google. I did find some there. It is possible to locate a few laundries before you go. I found that it was easier find a laudromat in a resort city, like Chamonix. I think the laundromat in Rome is called Onda Blu

My daughter and I just returned from 16 days in Germany, Italy, and Greece. We took a total of three carry-on backpacks. Basically, we each took clothes for four days, and some of those clothes were donated or thrown out at the end of our trip. <BR> At first we washed that day's clothes in the sink each night, having brought quick-drying clothes and a clothesline. Everything was dry in the morning. <BR> When we got to Venice, our hotel had a laundromat, Gabrielle's, recommended, which cost 25,000 lire ($12) for same day service. We figured we'd treat ourselves and dropped off a couple of days' worth of clothing one morning. <BR> What a mistake! The clothes we received back were nowhere near dry and had been simply thrown in a bag clumsily folded. Plus they lost a sock! Naturally, we couldn't complain properly without knowing how to speak Italian, and I brought it back to the hotel and showed the desk clerk, who said they would no longer recommend the place. She then allowed me to hang it all up on the hotel's clothesline in back. <BR> In Rome there were several lavanderias on the outskirts of room, just off bus and tram routes, but we went back to doing everything by hand after our Venice experience! In Naples I was able to do all the wash for free at the Navy base (being a Naval Reservist myself), and in Greece we went back to hand-washing. <BR> For the clothes we were wearing (very casual) this all worked fine. Once we were too tired to hand wash and actually each bought an outfit of clothes!

Just returned from Italy last week. Had planned to do some laundry at our rental in Tuscany, which advertised a laundry on premises, but found they didn't have a dryer, would have had to go 20 mi. into Florence to find one! Had taken lightweight clothes (no cotton) to layer, and after 1st week, washed some things in sink and finally got some use of the ever-present bidet - used it for rinsing!!!!!

We have used laundries in many European countries and have had the best results with dropping it off and having the people at the facility do it for us. <BR>Don't count on every laundromat having an attendant, however. On a few occasions we did resort to doing our own. It doesn't really take that long and I like to hang my things to dry whenever possible. If you drop it off at a drycleaners make sure you ask how they are going to clean your garments. <BR>You may incur a huge bill and have some things dyrcleaned rather than washed. <BR>We have had the very best luck in the small towns vs. the larger cities. <BR>Good Luck!

If you do decide to use a local laundromat and do it yourself, Rick Steves' Italy guide does give addresses for some. We spent about 2 hours one evening in Florence midway through our trip and had no problems.

I agree with the poster above that found doing laundry in the laundromat a chance to experience real life in another country. We have had some fun language and cultural experiences just trying to use the machines! And everyone needs a break to catch up on postcards or a travel journal. I think the ladies in the laundromat in Islington (suburb of London) are still gossiping about my husband and I doing our laundry.

Laudry is one of the biggest pains on a Europe trip. Laundromats are no fun, they suck up valuable touring hours. European dryers are smaller and cooler and take a long time. Sending it out is risky and very expensive(esp. in Germany, but they do nice work). I do some throw away , but most times I wash a shirt and underwear every night and hang it in the shower. If the local climate cooperates or you spend a few days in one spot, this works well.

I never give away "old" clothes anymore. In the bottom of my closet is a clothesbasket. The "last time" I wear something, it gets laundered and put in the basket. It is from these clothes that I begin my packing. After wearing on a trip I throw them away or mark "for the poor" and leave in a bag on the hotel dresser. I've done this for years and never have trouble finding a place for all my over-seas purchases.

Personally, I have been successful with washing certain things out in the sink daily (socks, undies). Nice dinner outfits can usually make the whole trip without a cleaning. So that leaves pants and shirts for daywear, which can be hand-washed or sent out via hotel on the the theory that the expense isn't great if we're only talking about a few items. <BR> <BR>We don't do the laundromat thing because each day on vacation costs hundreds of dollars. If we spend half a day doing laundry, we've "spent" far more in time than it is worth.

Don't assume that every town, even a good-sized one, will have a laundry. Found out the hard way last fall in Tuscany. We discovered too late that our villa's laundry room had a washer but no dryer. So as part of our sightseeing that day we stopped at Poggibonsi, a good-sized community, to find a "lavanderia" to use a clothes dryer. Every time I asked someone for a place with a machine to dry our clothes we were directed to a dry cleaner! Even explaining our predicament in Italian didn't help. Finally, after asking several people, who each sent us to a different dry cleaner, we learned from someone that a laundromat as we know it did not exist in Poggibonsi. Lesson learned - don't assume there's a clothes dryer just because there's a washing machine!

To avoid losing tour time we planned laundry at night . In London laundromat was across from a friendly pub.Very fun experience. j

ROME <BR>LAUNDROMATS (Lavanderia) <BR>Daily: 8am-10pm. 13,000L for 14 lbs. of wash, dry and soap. Self-service. <BR> <BR>North of the train station <BR>Acqua & Sapone: Via Montebello 66. Tel: 06-4883209. <BR>Onda Blu: Via Milazzo 20b. Tel: 06-4441665. <BR>Oblo: Via Vicenza 50. Tel: 06-4463194. <BR>Bolle Blu: Via Palestro 59/61. Tel: 06-4465864. <BR>Bolle Blu: Via Milazzo 20b. Tel: 06-4465864. <BR>Laundry: Castelfidardo 31. <BR> <BR>South of the train station <BR>Onda Blu: Via Principe Amedeo 70b. Tel: 06-47446647. <BR>Onda Blu: Via Lamarmora 10. <BR> <BR>Vatican City <BR>Onda Blu: Via Vespasiano 50. Tel: 06-39724255.

Thank you Margo

Last summer we spent 23 days in France, Italy and Germany with 2 couples and 4 kids. We did laundry outside of Lyon, France, Florence, Rome and Fussen, Germany. What an experience! <BR> <BR>Outside of Lyon, we asked the hotel and they sent us next door to another hotel whose guests (French, Norweigan and German) had access to kitchen/laundry facilities. They ended up sharing their dinner/wine with us and practiced their English. <BR> <BR>In Florence, we sent the husbands out to do laundry and they enjoyed drinking their expresso and people watching. (It did take FOREVER for the clothes to dry and we were convinced that they were lost!) <BR> <BR>In Rome, we found a laundry around the corner from our hotel with an attendent that had folded our laundry and had it ready to go for us. <BR> <BR>In Germany, we stumbled into a campground near our hotel and asked if we could use their laundry facilities- no problem. <BR> <BR>All in all, doing laundry on the road was a cultural experience! It does take up valuable time. We did it in the evening and took turns "checking" on the loads. It was the only way we could have traveled with 8 people for 23 days without hauling a semi-load of luggage. One simple wheeled carry-on per person. <BR> <BR>Consider it an adventure! We did look at Rick Steves suggestions. He did not steer us wrong on any of our sightseeing! <BR> <BR>Happy Traveling! <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Topping for Melanie

Apartments are the way to go especially in larger cities for longer stays. Nearly all have laundry facilities just like home. I encourage you to check that out, just type in Rome apartments & many links will pop up. We do typically wash out undies & socks when we first arrive somewhere & let them air dry. No problem...

Since my tried & true method hasn't been mentioned yet, here it is... Do like they do in Europe and don't wash your clothes all the darn time!!<BR><BR>Two weeks clothing will pack nicely into a 22" carry-on rolling suitcase. Take knits and things that do not need pressed. Hang up what you've worn that day to air out each evening.<BR><BR>Either handwash or drop at a laundry service (one time mid-trip) your undies, socks, t-shirts.<BR><BR>Works like a charm!!!

If you choose to have your hotel do your laundry, please bear in mind that many of them do not have dryers. Thus, if it's raining outside, your laundry may not be dry for over a day. (We found this out the hard way!)

I can't believe that nobody else has mentioned my favorite do-it-yourself technique -- put your dirty clothes in the bottom of the tub when you take a shower. Stomp on them while you wash, much more efficient than sloshing things around in the sink. When you're thru showering, give the clothes an extra rinse. They drain in the tub as you dry, then roll them in your used towel to get out a little more moisture. Everything except heavy cottons will be dry next day.

Sorry, can't agree with going to the local laundry, sent in a load and came back with clothes looked tie dyed and a whole different color. Luckily the tan pants came back steel colored, but that was okay. We hand wash almost everything now. If we get to a self serve laundry we do a whole load. I love the picture of my husband smiling outside the laundry, and telling about his features once he looked at our washed clothes. Laundry is one of the fun and challenges of travel.

Our Hotel in Florence, Hotel Casci, provided the best laundry service of any hotel I've ever stayed in. You left a laundry bag at the desk by 9AM. At a cost of about $12, our clothing was washed, dried and folded and left neatly on our bed by 5PM. We had only brought things that didn't need much ironing, (and didn't bother with an iron) and found we only had to wash/rinse a few things out in the sink about 3 times over our 3-week trip. Hanging something that seemed creased or wrinkled in the bathroom during our showers helped some things look better. But in the long run, who were we trying to impress? We always aired things out as often as possible, and fortunately it was warm enough to have open windows in the rooms where we stayed, so that while we weren't as "band-box" fresh as we might be as home, nothing got too smelly over the course of the trip. The only other time we used the hotel laundry service was on the Amalfi Coast.