I will never forget the time I sent in my favorite pair of jeans to a hotel laundry facility and got back a shrunken mess that I could barely put one leg back into. You can imagine the heartache I felt losing them. To add insult to injury, it cost me a small fortune to clean them.
In fact, one of the most costly expenses in any hotel is the in-house laundry and dry cleaning service. Laundering simple things such as undergarments or socks can cost as much as $6–$10 per item. Also, some international establishments do not allow an iron and ironing board to be sent to your room (I was told this was due to a fire law), so you need to pay for all of your clothes to be pressed. If you are on a long vacation, you can be faced with a huge bill in a short amount of time to keep your clothes clean and neat.
Ever since that incident with my favorite jeans, which was about 13 years ago, I have never sent in laundry at hotels during my business trips ever since. Here are a few tips to consider when preparing for your next trip that may help you keep your things clean without overspending.
1. Poly/Spandex fabric rule: One thing that I have done over time is invested in shirts, dresses, and undergarments that are made of polyester and spandex fabrics. They dry in no time in your hotel bathroom and also resist wrinkles. What more could you ask for? There are also many other brands on the market, which are high performance quick-dry fabrics, so keep your eye out for them while shopping.
2. Wring out heavy wet clothes in towels: To speed up the drying process on heavier fabrics like cotton, I lay freshly washed clothes on top of a towel and then proceed to wrap it up like a burrito. This squeezes out excess water more thoroughly than just wringing it out by hand. Make sure to ask housekeeping for extra towels when you plan to do this, and set one aside for your next shower first!
3. Pack a few clothespins: Hanging clothes up, rather than laying them flat, helps garments to dry faster. Take along a handful of clothespins to clip your things on the clothesline, or up along a shower curtain top if your bathroom does not have one. This also allows you to hang more items at one time.
4. Freshen your clothes without washing: I typically never wash my pants and jackets during a trip. Instead, I use a fabric re-freshening spray [think FEBREEZE] after wearing them. Shake the item out after spraying, and place back on the hanger. This is usually all it takes to remove light odors. Another option is to take along a few sheets of fabric dryer sheets in a plastic bag, and rub over garments to freshen things up.
5. Use a local laundry facility: On a few trips I’ve taken, our company helped my colleagues and me find local laundry facilities that were about 60 percent cheaper than the hotel rates. The service was great and reliable. If you are on a longer journey and don’t want to bother washing your things by hand, consider asking the concierge of your hotel for recommendations.
Here is wishing you all the cleanest and happiest of travels!
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