Laundry November 19, 2020, 01:03:56 pm Like most of you I suspect, when on the road we go to a laundromat to do our laundry. But not on our current trip, since we're trying to minimize our interaction with others. We carry enough clothes to last between two and three weeks but at some point laundry must be done, so we've done it in camp on this trip. We find two devices make that quite easy.First, the Scrubba laundry bag:The Scrubba Wash BagSecond, the Sea to Summit clothesline:Lite Line Clothesline – Sea to SummitBoth are for small to moderate "loads" but can handle a surprisingly large amount of laundry. Basically, dump your dirty clothes in the bag, add a bit of liquid detergent, fill the bag with water, close it (it's water tight), use the built-in valve to bleed all air from the bag, agitate by hand for a minute or two, dump out the water, fill with rinse water, agitate and dump, repeat for a second rinse, remove and wring out the clothes and hang them on the line. Our line fits well under our awning.This of course works best when you have a convenient water source (you'll use several gallons so probably don't want to deplete the RV tank) and in a dry climate, but will work anywhere.I realize that you could create a similar system from cheaper components, but for chores like this I find something designed specifically for the purpose worth some extra expense. When rolled up for storage these items take up very little space so we always carry them with us. Even if doing most laundry at a laundromat they can be handy to clean up a few pieces of clothing without the hassle of going away from camp. 12 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #2 – November 21, 2020, 09:40:54 am Thanks for the info & recommendation Terry! I’m about to embark on an extended LD voyage so this will come in handy between laundromats — just ordered from amazon. I also use liquid laundry soap, so when you say “add a bit” how much are talking about? Teaspoon? Seems like it wouldn’t need much! Hope you guys are doing well 😊Daryl
Re: Laundry Reply #3 – November 21, 2020, 10:08:36 am Wait, you’re camping . . . why do you need clean clothes? 🤔. Just kidding, Terry! 1 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #4 – November 21, 2020, 12:04:39 pm I did laundry the other day.Went to a nice laundromat in Catalina, Arizona.When I went at about 9 AM, nobody was there and I had the place to myself.
Re: Laundry Reply #5 – November 21, 2020, 12:48:34 pm We (primarily my wife) have meet some ah, interesting people in laundromats while traveling.The world is full a wackos who hang out in laundromats.A Scuba laundry bag could be very useful.Larry 1 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #6 – November 21, 2020, 01:10:32 pm The on-road "washer" that I've used in the past:Amazon.com: Presto Buckets, 2.9-Gallon, Lime: Camping Water Storage: Kitchen...Amazon has a big selection of variously-sized collapsible/foldable buckets in plastic, canvas, and silicone; a collapsible silicone model is on the list for future travels. (Holding out hope that there will be future travels for me!) Amazon.com : collapsible buckets As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Laundry Reply #7 – November 21, 2020, 01:50:11 pm I have a buddy with a giant 42' Winnebago class A.It has a washer and dryer along with a dishwasher too. A powder room with another toilet and sink.He goes through a lot of water compared to me, his tank is 85 gallons, so not all the much more than the 60 I have.
Re: Laundry Reply #8 – November 21, 2020, 03:24:57 pm How does he use his clothes washer-dryerand dishwasher. They use electricity also, so I thought maybe used their washer dryer when they had hookups (eg stay overnight somewhere every week or two and do laundry). That way lots of water available.Is it a washer dryer all-in-one unit or two different units?Jane
Re: Laundry Reply #9 – November 21, 2020, 04:06:58 pm "How does he use his clothes washer-dryerand dishwasher. They use electricity also, so I thought maybe used their washer dryer when they had hookups (eg stay overnight somewhere every week or two and do laundry). That way lots of water available.Is it a washer dryer all-in-one unit or two different units?"First - washer/dryer can be all one unit, or a "stacked" unit. I've had the first in a 40-foot DP (105-gallon fresh water tank), and the second in a 40-foot fifth wheel. Each has its obvious charms. Given a choice I would choose the stacked units.Even when staying in a campground with copious, unlimited water and disposal, I almost always preferred to go to the campground's laundry to get everything done at one time. The load capacity of the in-house units are annoyingly minuscule.Staying in a campground once a week/ten days provides many advantages when you think about it. We chose to buy into the Thousand Trails system because we could go (at no charge) into any of them as a day visitor and do whatever we needed to do, even if we hadn't planned an overnight visit. Staying up to three nights at a time did not impact any limitations of length of stay overall, and this served us well when we were careening around in that ungainly monster-sized rig!With our shorter Lazy Daze units (both before and after the behemoth), it was easier to find a suitable berth almost anywhere, and that certainly included the lovely Thousand Trails preserves.Their laundry rooms were always exemplary, so no worries about when/where/how much water to use and dispose of. I'm trying to think of any time that there were unsavory or any kind of out-of-the-ordinary people in a campground laundry room, and coming up empty. Usually there was no one at all there; just whirling and twirling machinery, or perhaps - MAYBE - one person over in a corner reading a book or doing hand work of some kind.For myself, I liked to stay in the room the whole time because it was a time that I could read uninterrupted by any outside source, so it's not like I was there for only a few minutes and didn't see anyone during that short period of time.Yes, people might come and go, but they either put in or took out laundry and disappeared. Once in a while someone would stay to fold, but mostly they just left off or gathered up their clothes and vanished, with perhaps a pleasant greeting nod of the head in my direction.I guess I was just lucky for all those years. Virtual hugs, Judie <-- Sierra Vista, Arizona Adventures of Dorrie Anne | Photographing the West Today: Windshield View of TMC Hospital Parking Lot ******************************************** 1 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #10 – November 21, 2020, 04:53:10 pm Quote from: Jane and Scott - November 21, 2020, 03:24:57 pmHow does he use his clothes washer-dryerand dishwasher. They use electricity also, so I thought maybe used their washer dryer when they had hookups (eg stay overnight somewhere every week or two and do laundry). That way lots of water available.Is it a washer dryer all-in-one unit or two different units?JaneIt's an all electric rig. It has a 10k diesel generator to run the 120V appliances, including a residential fridge.He boondocks and has 1600 watts of solar to help keep the batteries up. He has a 150 gallon water bladder to bring water to the RV.The washer and dryer are separate.
Re: Laundry Reply #11 – November 21, 2020, 06:00:27 pm Quote from: Jota - November 21, 2020, 04:53:10 pmIt's an all electric rig. It has a 10k diesel generator to run the 120V appliances, including a residential fridge.He boondocks and has 1600 watts of solar to help keep the batteries up. He has a 150 gallon water bladder to bring water to the RV. The washer and dryer are separate.Big, all-electric DPs usually stay in parks with hookups, where the quantities of water, dump needs and electricity isn't a serious concern. The ones that do regularly boondock usually have a roof-full of solar panels and don't use the washer-dryer or dishwater, when dry camping.Larry
Re: Laundry Reply #12 – November 22, 2020, 10:13:13 am Doing laundry is a concern for us this year as we head south for the winter. We boondock almost exclusively, so using any kind of wash bag isn't practical for us since it uses too much water, so we're stuck with going to laundromats.So far on this trip south, we've done laundry once at the laundromat in Henderson, NV that we always use and that uses laundry cards for their machines. It's great because we don't have to handle quarters that who knows who before us has handled. I loaded the washing machine and then sat in the car until time to move the laundry to the dryers, then went back to sit in the car. We didn't spend a lot of time inside folding items after they came out of the dryer except for a few items that needed to be folded right away. Once we get to our final destination, the only laundromats available are those that use quarters, so my plan is to wear disposable gloves when I have to handle the quarters (masks are always worn when inside) and then go sit in the car when the laundry is washing or drying. Hopefully, we'll be able to minimize our time inside a building.
Re: Laundry Reply #13 – November 22, 2020, 10:49:59 am You might also try money laundering - get a couple rolls of quarters, disinfect them with a bleach solution and keep them in a small container. 4 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #14 – November 22, 2020, 11:08:23 am "...keep them in a small container."---If one has any old film canisters, they work great for storing quarters; each holds $6.00. Small, compact, and convenient! 1 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #15 – November 22, 2020, 11:28:09 am "...old film canisters..."I certainly have plenty of those taking up space in my dresser drawers. Another good item is the tubular containers which formerly held M&Ms or Necco Wafers, but good luck in finding any of them today! 1 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #16 – November 22, 2020, 03:15:34 pm Some of the plastic pill bottles from Kaiser fit quarters nicely as well. And they aren't nearly as scarce as 35 mm film canisters. joel 2 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #18 – November 22, 2020, 05:45:35 pm Just my experience, but the snap caps on the old film canisters are a lot easier for old hands to get off than the "child-proof" caps on pill bottles! YM - and grip! - MV! 1 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #19 – November 22, 2020, 06:09:52 pm I have always used the smallest size freezer plastic bag to carry extra change, with a segmented batch of quarters in its own bag, if/when that was deemed practical.Somewhere also lurks a leather change purse from days gone by when they were a staple item in every lady's handbag. They hold up well to confining change to a single location.Neither container requires the contents to be entered in any particular orientation - just open the clasp and toss 'em in. Virtual hugs, Judie <-- Sierra Vista, Arizona Adventures of Dorrie Anne | Photographing the West Today: Das Ist So Gut – Stroopwafel ************************************
Re: Laundry Reply #20 – November 22, 2020, 06:48:52 pm My supply of quarters is in one of these. 2 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #21 – November 22, 2020, 08:25:43 pm I’ve had both good and bad experiences in laundromats. We use to carry four days worth of clothing and double that of socks and underwear and stop at laundromats as needed. Most of the time that was fine. The turning point came when my husband broke out in a horrible rash from clothing and towels washed in a particular machine at one of the laundromats. He was miserable for weeks. We later found out it was some type of toxin that caused the rash and even though we rewashed everything, we could never get the toxin out of many of the items and had to discard them. Also, did you know a lot of people use laundromats to wash cloth diapers? Ecoli anyone? Since then I have a small portable washer/spinner that runs on 12v, is less than 20” tall and uses very little water and costs less than $90. Compared to the $5 per load at laundromats, it paid for itself very quickly and it spins the items almost dry. There are many options of inexpensive, small portable washers available on Amazon. Now, when I do stop at a laundromat when traveling, I run a quick empty cycle with hot water and bleach first before I wash the big things like bedding and towels that I don’t usually wash in my little portable. You never know what was washed in a laundromat machine before you use it. Be aware. 2 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #22 – November 24, 2020, 11:10:52 pm Quote from: tborchers - November 22, 2020, 08:25:43 pm... I have a small portable washer/spinner that runs on 12v, is less than 20” tall and uses very little water and costs less than $90. I had seen some of those on Amazon, they get good reviews and don't take up a lot of space. They looked interesting.The one you have works well for you? Do you have a link to the one you use?Thanks,Jane
Re: Laundry Reply #23 – November 25, 2020, 01:34:09 pm Jane, This machine works well for me.COSTWAY Mini Washing Machine with Spin Dryer, Electric Compact Laundry Machines Portable Durable Design Washer Energy Saving, Rotary Controller(Blue) 1 Likes
Re: Laundry Reply #24 – December 02, 2020, 06:12:01 pm Want something to contain those Quarter (.25¢) coins for the Laundromat? At 1¼" they should be perfect, a Quarter coin measuring one inch. Amazon.com: 5col Rugged Geocache Waterproof Storage Tubes - Clear/Plastic,... 2 Likes As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
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