StCirq

We live in France. We have a drier and we use it sometimes, along with the washer, during les heures creuses when electricity costs are discounted. But a good deal of the time we hang things up outside in the sunshine (which we have a lot of) or when there's a breeze.

But do ask the owner.

HappyTrvlr

We have rented many homes and apartments in Europe and rarely had a dryer. A few times they had a combination washer/dryer which left the clothing very wrinkled. Do a small load every day so you have hanging space. Also, some European washing machines take more time than those in US. The key is having a washing machine.

suze

...backing way up on this question...

<main motivation in going for an apt rather than hotel is to have a place to wash our clothes this has been frustrating>

How long is the trip? And what time of year?

I ask because as others have mentioned I rarely wash my clothes when traveling on a trip of 3 weeks or less.

Melnq8

I miss having an outdoor clothes line. We had one when we lived in Australia and I loved it. I'm trying to figure out how to put one in, but having some issues regarding where exactly to put it.

scrb11

Mostly stay in hotels but I have found some vacation apts. with driers, usually in a combo unit.

Otherwise, there would be those places which wash and fold for you by weight or if necessary, I'd spend a couple of hours at a laundromat.

Hotel rooms might have a retractable clothes line in the bathroom and that's about it.

I've never had to pay for laundry by piece, as hotels charge. But I have an upcoming trip to Mallorca and will be staying the second half of my trip in a Port de Pollensa hotel where it looks like options will be limited.

I line-dried clothes back in college and didn't like how cotton clothes came out rigid.

nanabee

ttt

Sassafrass

In some cities, apartment dwellers do hang laundry outside. They may have multiple retractable lines on a balcony, but many places have lines that connect from building to building and move on a pulley. I have gorgeous photos of laundry hanging across streets between buildings in Venice, Naples and other towns in Italy.

HappyTrvlr

We stayed in a very upscale apt. in Sorrento that had a new washing machine and laundry lines off of the rear balcony. It worked well.

PegS

Washer/dryer is also one of the top reasons we get apartments when possible. However, I learned the hard way in Iceland that just because the description specifies dryer that doesn't mean it has one. I think in some places where a dryer may not be as standard they interpret "dryer" as "the supplies you need to line dry your clothes." We definitely found this phenomenon when I was researching apts in Spain as well, and just decided we'd have to live with it in order to get an apt we liked in the location we wanted. I'm hoping the wash-and-fold we've identified in Madrid is still open when we get there, because I'd really rather not spend part of my vacation in a laundromat.

Odin

In Scandinavia, dryers might not be what you are used to. It could be a drying cupboard. They might have laundry facilities in the basement where you book time to use it. There isn't always an individual washing machine and dryer in a private apartment.

emily71

My parents hotel terrace looked out onto the balconies of apartment buildings in Barcelona. Every balcony had a wash line strung across and laundry hanging up. Not uncommon in Europe.

bilboburgler

Dryers, are not that usual in Europe (I know I used to build them), even in Yorkshire we only use our old one once or twice a year.

Depending on the facility you will either find a line in an attic or outside (often on a balcony) and you should find a bag or bucket of plastic clips.

You shake the damp clothes out of the washer, taking care to shake out any creases. Then you fold the items over the line and put at least two clips on the clothes. You normally fold over the waste of the item so that any deformation due to water in the clothes is even, you clip the socks on by toes so as not to generate a dent in the visible part of the sock.

You'll find that in high summer stuff dries very fast often over breakfast, and stuff irons easier when it is still not bone dry, so leaving stuff out all day will result in board like clothing that you then need to damped again.

Really it is greener to use the sun to dry the clothes rather than burn fossil fuels to make steam to make electrons flow to driver a drier.

quiltingmamma

Ensure you get clear instructions on the washing machine and expect it to take longer than in North America. I am still old school enough to find the 'stick figures' on the machine to be confusing...then when it takes an hour to wash, I think I have done something wrong... but then I am also old enough to remember no dryers and still a wringer washing machine.
I am also researching Seville apartments and prioritizing a washer. I have actually found some people stating the allowed time to use the washer and similar for the dish washer. Perhaps they are like Canada with peak and off peak electricity hours with prices accordingly. They also post they expect you to fill the washer before use, so the 'a little each day' might not be appreciated....or you may find yourself with an additional bill for excessive electrical use.
I pack carry on only for 3 weeks and do anticipate having to do some heavier washing. 'Smalls' will be washed by hand and dried over night to tide me over until larger wash day.
At times it is more time effective to just seek out a 'wash and fold' laundromat. No need to try to watch the clock to launder your shirts. If you don't want to dry your clothes naturally, then use the Wash and Fold.

bilboburgler

sorry "waste" should be "waist"

lauramsgarden

wow - didn't realize this would be a hot topic (or should I say a soggy one?) - anyway - apt found - claims to have a tumble dryer - we shall see, but at least we made a choice - there were so many options it was making me crazy. We decided on one in the Macarena district - a bit far afield, but it has a pool and a terrace! thanks all for the advice. This is what I love about travel - so many different ways to manage how we move through the world.

Mactheknife60

All apartments and houses in Spain are equipped with something called a tendal.
They are usually a pulley and cord system with or without a transparent canopy which you can raise or lower to "tender la ropa' and "recoger la ropa tendida". The problem resides in the size if the tendal. If it's a 3.0m one with four sets of double cords, you can hang plenty of stuff out, including bed linen. If it's a short one (1.5-2m) inside the utility area of a kitchen, then common sense would tell you to buy a small dryer too. People here tend to prefer air drying to machine drying, myself included. If you shoot an email to the owner with the question "hay tendales?" I'm sure they'll clarify things for you. Good luck!

Mactheknife60

Practically all apartments and houses in Spain are equipped with something called a tendal. They are usually a pulley and cord system, with or without a transparent canopy which you can raise or lower to "tender la ropa' (hang out) and "recoger la ropa tendida" (bring in). The problem resides in the size of the tendal. If it's a 3.0m one with four sets of double cords, you can hang plenty of stuff out, including bed linen, duvet covers etc. If it's a short one (1.5-2m) inside the utility area of a kitchen, then common sense would tell you to buy a small dryer too. People here tend to prefer air drying to machine drying, myself included. If you shoot an email to the owner with the question "hay tendal?" I'm sure they'll clarify things for you. Good luck!

quokka

I am staring at this thread with amazement, just like I did at previous similar questions. Is it really an alien idea to people beyond the pond to hang their washing on a clothesline and let it dry in fresh air, sun and wind? To me this is the most normal thing in the world, including checking the weather forecast beforehand and adjusting washing times to current weather conditions.

thursdaysd

To be fair, some of the US use of driers has to do with climate. I live in North Carolina, and we have a long summer with very high humidity. I very much doubt I could dry my washing outdoors for five or six months of the year. At its worst it's like walking out into a Turkish bath. However, I am not sure how my neighborhood's restrictive covenants regard hanging washing outside, at least in the front....

I grew up in England, and everything was "dried" outdoors or on the covered porch, but much of it was then finished on racks indoors.

indyhiker

We stayed in three apartments recently in Spain (Sevilla, Granada and Madrid). The ones in Sevilla and Madrid were residential; the one in Granada was akin to a hotel. I found no means for line drying in Sevilla, and no one else appeared to be line drying their clothes (at least outside) during our five-night stay. We did not do laundry there though so it wasn't an issue.

The washer in Granada was a combo washer/dryer, but we could not figure out the dryer part of it (we got it to turn on, but couldn't figure out how to increase the temp setting so that it would actually be hot enough to dry the clothes). We just draped the clothes over the plastic dining chairs. They all dried quickly enough.

The unit in Madrid was also a combo unit. We didn't use it but did note that the apartment offered a drying rack.

When we were in Italy in 2015 and 2016, each of our apartments offered a drying rack. We also made use of a laundromat to dry (but not wash) our clothes while in Umbria.

To the OP, I wouldn't count on the dryer being super effective for a large load. These units are small and just don't offer much room for the clothes to tumble IME. If you're trying to wash large, family-size loads, you might be better off at a laundromat or at a wash and fold.