View Full Version : Laundry in towns
This might be kind of a dumb question but how does one go about washing all of their clothes in town? Obviously you don't want to be sitting in the laundrymat butt naked! Just wear the rain jacket and rain pants while washing? Or simply dont wash everything? For instance just wear what you would generally sleep in or wear at night?
Thanks! Sorry for the silly question again...
max patch
12-10-2010, 21:20
......
[QUOTE=Tea;1078144] Just wear the rain jacket and rain pants while washing? [/QUOTE
Yes.
Blissful
12-10-2010, 21:27
No question is silly.
Rain gear works nicely. Several hostels offer clothes to wear too.
bigcranky
12-10-2010, 21:52
Sign in a laundromat in Hot Springs:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/2/6/6/0307hike0848_thumb.jpg (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=15996&c=member&imageuser=266)
Sign in a laundromat in Hot Springs:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/2/6/6/0307hike0848_thumb.jpg (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=15996&c=member&imageuser=266)
(using my best Bill Murray Caddyshack voice)
Correct me if I'm wrong Sammy, but if we wear our clothing while being laundered, we're gonna get all wet and sudsy.:D
garlic08
12-10-2010, 22:25
Another option if you don't have rain gear is to wrap yourself in your rain fly or tarp.
My method has worked for decades. I get into town, take a shower while washing my quick drying shorts and t-shirt in the shower with me. Shampoo is very effective for clothes too. When finished, I dry off, wring out my clothes. Finally, I wrap the towel around the clothes and wring them tightly several times. By this time the shorts a shirt are just damp. I put them on, then go about my other chores of shopping, the rest of my laundry, hanging out, eating, etc. Within an hour or two, depending on the weather, I'm clean, my clothes are clean, and I'm happy. No one is offended, and I don't have to wear my rain gear. This method works in all but the coldest of weather.
Yep, I'd wash my nylon jogging pants in the shower or sink...they'd dry in less than half an hour, and were dry enough to wear after wringing them out. You won't even really need a washing machine and dryer if you choose your clothing carefully.
LoneRidgeRunner
12-11-2010, 07:35
This might be kind of a dumb question but how does one go about washing all of their clothes in town? Obviously you don't want to be sitting in the laundrymat butt naked! Just wear the rain jacket and rain pants while washing? Or simply dont wash everything? For instance just wear what you would generally sleep in or wear at night?
Thanks! Sorry for the silly question again...
Actually not a dumb question..yes. obviously we can't sit in a laundry naked as the day we were born...lol...I hadn't thought about wearing the rain gear though....I was just figuring on always having one dirty set of clothes....Also, someone talked about just washing your clothing in the shower of hotel rooms and hanging to dry..you can sit around naked in a private hotel room....Just be sure to wrap in a towel if you have room service delivering food while your clothes are still wet though...:D
kayak karl
12-11-2010, 09:08
Another option if you don't have rain gear is to wrap yourself in your rain fly or tarp.
LOL i have a cuben tarp. a little too translucent.
my rain gear is a packa and cuben CHAPS :eek:
Yeah, having some nylon short are good. Standing around a laundry in rain gear against your cold clammy skin is a mind altering event.
Odd Man Out
12-11-2010, 15:39
ULA advertises their Rain Wrap for just such a purpose.
"The Rain Wrap is a simple solution for lightweight, ventilated weather protection... Also handy as a ‘modesty wrap’ when doing laundry in a re-supply town. Fellas…remember to cross your legs."
reprinted without permission from http://www.ula-equipment.com/rainwrap.asp
Not sure why it is just the "fellas" who need to worry about crossing their legs :-?
Not sure why it is just the "fellas" who need to worry about crossing their legs :-?
Probably because most women have learned from a young age how to sit while wearing a skirt. I have seen more than I wanted to on several occasions from men wearing kilts, but never had this problem with the ladies.
My method has worked for decades. I get into town, take a shower while washing my quick drying shorts and t-shirt in the shower with me. Shampoo is very effective for clothes too. When finished, I dry off, wring out my clothes. Finally, I wrap the towel around the clothes and wring them tightly several times. By this time the shorts a shirt are just damp. I put them on, then go about my other chores of shopping, the rest of my laundry, hanging out, eating, etc. Within an hour or two, depending on the weather, I'm clean, my clothes are clean, and I'm happy. No one is offended, and I don't have to wear my rain gear. This method works in all but the coldest of weather.This method makes perfect sense. How anybody could wear their raingear in a 90 degree laundromat in the summer is beyond me:eek:.
Blissful
12-11-2010, 23:03
This method makes perfect sense. How anybody could wear their raingear in a 90 degree laundromat in the summer is beyond me:eek:.
Most laundromats I know have air conditioning.
gipcgirl
12-12-2010, 06:48
This method makes perfect sense. How anybody could wear their raingear in a 90 degree laundromat in the summer is beyond me:eek:.
Silk sleeping bag liner makes a great sarong to wear at the laundry.
stumpknocker
12-12-2010, 07:25
My method has worked for decades. I get into town, take a shower while washing my quick drying shorts and t-shirt in the shower with me. Shampoo is very effective for clothes too. When finished, I dry off, wring out my clothes. Finally, I wrap the towel around the clothes and wring them tightly several times. By this time the shorts a shirt are just damp. I put them on, then go about my other chores of shopping, the rest of my laundry, hanging out, eating, etc. Within an hour or two, depending on the weather, I'm clean, my clothes are clean, and I'm happy. No one is offended, and I don't have to wear my rain gear. This method works in all but the coldest of weather.
I DON"T do laundromats either!!
After my clothes have "showered" with me they smell as good as I do. :)
It's not even that bad to dry them out wearing them on cold days. They dry quickly.
Blue Jay
12-12-2010, 10:28
After my clothes have "showered" with me they smell as good as I do. :)
There are now about a hundred people holding their tongues with both hands.
stumpknocker
12-12-2010, 10:57
There are now about a hundred people holding their tongues with both hands.
Yah...I thought I would get some responses on that one. :p
Oh well Blue Jay...good to know you're still alive and well.
Thanks for the responses guys! Im gonna consider doing the rain pants/rain jacket idea in the winter and once it warms up (and i send the rain pants home). Do the washing clothes in the shower idea. Thanks again!
Jack Tarlin
12-21-2010, 18:41
My storm shell probably got as much use in town (like at laundrymats) than it did on the Trail.
Lyle's post about doing a real quick clothing wash in a hostel/motel bathroom is also a good idea.
(Try NOT to do this in gas stations, convenience stores, supermarket bathrooms, and especially in restaurant bathrooms; it really turns the management against hikers and re-inforces negative viewpoints that hikers are homeless, bums, etc. and while taking 2 minutes to rinse out a pair of shorts might seeem like a perfectly normal thing to you or me, anyone SEEING this done might re-act diffently).
wvgrinder
12-23-2010, 19:38
Sign in a laundromat in Hot Springs:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/2/6/6/0307hike0848_thumb.jpg (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=15996&c=member&imageuser=266)
We are a classy bunch. ;)
Sign in a laundromat in Hot Springs:
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/2/6/6/0307hike0848_thumb.jpg (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=15996&c=member&imageuser=266)
This made me lol :D
If you use the rain gear approach, just be sure it isn't see through! ;)