We (family of 2 adults, 2 kids 5 & 7)will be in Europe for 3 weeks this summer and will be packing light. So, I'm curious about how those of you who do laundry when travelling do it. Laundromats, hotel service, in your bathroom?? Also, what kind of detergent do you travel with for sink laundry? Any tips, so I can kind of plan ahead would be great. Thanks.

For sink laundry, I just use the shower gel the hotels provide. Works fine in most instances (by the way, one of the top custom made lingerie boutiques in Paris says lingerie should be washed with shampoo). In laundromats I just buy the detergent and fabric softener sold in the vending machines. However, I find that one packet of detergent is enough for two loads unless the clothes are REALLY dirty.
Most European laundromats don't sell dryer sheets on site, so if you like using them, pack a few into your suitcase.

We (2 adults, 3 kids 13, 11, 8) have always stayed in places that had washers/dryers on site (apartment in Rome, cottage in N Ireland, and hostel in London), so we just used those and bought detergent at grocery stores nearby.

When traveling in Normandy and Brittany I anticipated the need to do a laundry and looked for laundromats in the French Yellow Pages on the Internet before leaving. Considering our needs, we found only one available laundromat, which was not self-serve anyway. If you are going to travel in smaller towns, you may want to make sure that a laundromat will be available on your itinerary. In large towns and cities, that would not be a problem.

if you aren't in flats/apartmenet w/ our own washer/dryer - then wash out light, quick drying things in the sink and dry them on the heated towel rail or over the bath.

For other things and major washing - use a laundromat. Many if not most Laundormats offer a wash/dry/fold service for very little more than you doing it yourself. So you can drop your things and come back in a couple of hours to pick it up.

As a very last resort - the hotel laundry - they are usually very expensive.

my fiance and i each bought two pairs of northface quick dry pants. they zip off into shorts and you can wash em' in the sink and they can air dry in about 15-20 minutes. very, very comfy too.

We did a combination of sink washing (with the hotel shampoo) and sending laundry out through the hotel. Our original plan was to take it ourselves to a wash and dry service, but we didn't find any close to where we were staying and decided to bite the bullet and just pay the extra for the convinience at the hotel.

Next time around, I will be better prepared in locating wash and dry services because the hotel laundry service ended up costing close to $50.

Sink, with shampoo or whatever is available but I always brink a large bar of soap because I find the hotels and B&bs product too small.

$50 for hotel laundry is actually a bargain of sorts, because it's quite common to see prices like 3 Euros for underpants, 5 Euros for a T-shirt, etc.

I just find a laundromat when needed. Depending on your itinerary, you might choose to do your laundry when switching cities or late at night, in order to maximize sightseeing time. For example, if you pack up your suitcases and go to the laundromat, you can next head straight to the train station for your next destination.

zobtraffic's advice is good, we have gradually refined our travelling clothes to only those which dry quickly (and wearing them all at once if it's cold!) and those thin trekking trousers are perfect. I am also seriously considering banning white clothes from our next trip because of having to do separate coloured/white loads when we do have access to a washer. Don't take anything that isn't colourfast. We use Ecover delicate wash, very kind to your hands if you're doing lots of handwashing in sinks. We also pack a piece of cord and a few pegs so we can improvise washing line.

Include powder soap or detergent in your luggage (ziplock bags). Wash socks and underwear as usual in sink. Wrap wet wash items in dry hotel towels. Later drape laundry as possible to air.

I take a small container of Woolite for washing out items in the sink. After rinsing them, I roll them in a towel and stomp on them. You'll be surprised how well that works. I have actually washed a pair of jeans out in the bathtub and used the towel technique, then hung them in the bathtub. The next morning they were completely dry.

A small bottle of dishwashing detergent can also be useful.

I've used the towel drying method described above and that is very helpful.

StainStik is also helpful and it doesn't spill in packed bags.

Once we actually used dental floss as an impromptu clothes line..the stuff is amazingly strong.

BTW on the Rick Steves website there is an entire section devoted to "laundry tricks"

Take some clothes pins with hooks (the plastic kind). You can hang them over doors, doorknobs, and windows, so the clothes can dry (hopefully, after they've dripped for a while in the tub). I often take vinyl drip-dry hangers, too. You can always leave those behind on your last stop.

I usually take a ziplock bag of detergent. When I am staying put for a couple of days, I wash socks and undies in the sink and hang them wherever. (My sister took a wonderful picture of our hotel room in Rome with my sox hanging over radiator, lamps...anywhere I could drape them.)

I have a couple of inflatable hangers if I want to wash tops. They really hasten the drying. We usually hit a laundromat once in a two or three week trip, but that's quite time-consuming because European machines seem to be quite slow--or maybe that's just my imagination because in Europe I always hang around while clothes wash. At home, I do housework or something that makes time pass.

Buy and take with you one of those one-size-fits-all basin stoppers. Often there is no way to plug the basin in hotels.

A couple of those blowup clothes hangers take up little room, and help shirts to dry in record time. Some folks suggest taking balloons to inflate inside wet laundry. Haven't tried it, but sounds logical.

my son-in-law and I were having a fun talk about this very thing a couple of weeks back... both of us had the Italian Laundromat experience where we weren't qualified to deal with the hi-tech new units in most of the tourist destinations. I had just done laundry in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans before our Europe trip & what a contrast! The staff at the Euro laundromats were always kind & helpful - right down to explaining the discount I'd get if I bought a laundry card at the internet cafe next door in Venice... I was going there anyway - such a deal. Also - and excellent & FRESH coffee roasting & espresso shop across the street... heaven!

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/...net-access.htm

When we have a rental car, I take the wet items in the car with us. On a sunny day, leaving them near a window (inside the car) will dry them nicely.

1. Find nearest full service laundomat
2. Drop off laundry in AM
3. Spend day <b><i>not</i></b> doing laundry
4. Pick up laundry in PM
5. Repeat as necessary

Money well spent IMO