5 ways to do laundry in a camper

Washing in a campervan or caravan while camping is a topic that raises many questions, especially among first-time tourists. You can avoid trouble during a short trip. Just take more clothes and wash them when you get home. However, during a long trip (especially when living permanently in a camper), we will be faced with a sad necessity: clothes need to be washed. Luckily, there are ways to do this!

In this article, we will present you with five ideas for washing clothes while traveling by road. There is no ideal method; each has minor disadvantages or requires additional costs. 

1. Laundry at the campsite

Definitely the most popular and easiest method. Laundry facilities are available in almost every year-round campsite; this is standard in Western Europe. Not all campsites in Poland have them yet, but we can choose one that will suit our needs. As a general rule, there is an additional cost for using laundry, although you may find campsites that include the service in the campsite price.

2. Self-service laundry

The idea came to our country from the USA, where self-service laundries are common. In Poland, such objects are a fairly niche phenomenon, but their number is increasing every year. The cost of the service is not overpriced, and the undoubted advantage is the ability to use a dryer, which will allow us to pick up things not only clean, but also ready to wear.

Self-service laundries are a practical solution for tourists going on a long trip. In the West, they are often used by people living in campers or trailers. Photo by Max Avance, Pexels.

3. Tourist washing machine.

The travel washing machine market offers many models to choose from, but they all have one common denominator: their drums are relatively small. The standard capacity of smaller models is 3 kg for washing and 1 kg for spinning. Some travel washing machines require plugging into an electrical outlet, but you can also find ones that run on batteries.

It is worth noting that the spin speed in cheaper models is 300 rpm, which is significantly lower than in home washing machines, and therefore the laundry will take longer to dry. 

4. Hand wash

The traditional solution, known for centuries, has been developed in numerous variations. It's easiest to wash clothes in a bowl or bucket, some campers use a shower head, others use a plastic bag that is shaken once tied, similar to Scrubba bags. 

There is also a method invented by the famous traveler Tony Halik. Items to be cleaned should be placed in a closed container with water and liquid or powder, and then put into use. The larger the bumps we overcome, the faster we can wash by shaking the car. Once you have stored your items, simply rinse them.

Washing your hands is by far the most time-consuming process, and some tourists don't want to ruin their trip with the arduous task. This solution is chosen by people who camp for long periods in the notorious wilderness and want to limit contact with the benefits of civilization.

5. Scrub bags

Dubbed "the world's smallest washing machine", the bags weigh around 140g. They are waterproof and are an easier alternative to hand washing. Place dirty clothes inside, add water (it can't be warmer than 50 degrees Celsius to avoid damaging the bag) and detergent. Once closed and ventilated, wash your clothes by pressing, swinging and moving the bag, which has special ridges inside that rub against the material. After changing the water, rinse things in the same way. 

Drying clothes

The basic rule is to not hang wet clothes inside the camper, much less lock the camper with wet clothes inside for long hours. Moisture and lack of air flow are a very bad combination that can lead to mold and rust. In extreme cases, this can destroy equipment or electronics and require costly repairs. In addition, a damp interior smells bad. 

Leaving wet clothes in a closed camper can cause mold and rust due to the moisture inside. Therefore, all things must be dried outside. Photo by Cottonbro Studio, Pexels. 

It is best to hang laundry on portable folding drying racks or lines in the sun. Of the minuses: clothes can be dried in the washing machine itself. Wet, wrung out clothes should be placed in a drum with a large dry towel and wrung out again, allowing the towel to absorb some of the moisture. This method is only suitable for washing machines with large drums.