Laundry Hacks All RV Trippers Should Know Before Hitting The Road

Even if you're on a perpetual holiday in your RV and living your best life, some things never change. The burden of laundry is one of them. So, if a hack can make it a bit easier or a little more fun, we're all for it. If you don't have a washer and dryer in your rig, there are several ways to make laundry day less annoying.

The first step is to skip the laundry room at the RV park unless you absolutely have to use it. With limited machines and dryers that may or may not be hot enough to dry your thickest fabrics, you could make multiple trips all day. Instead, head to a commercial laundromat. Not only will you be able to do multiple loads at once and buy back the rest of your day, but the dryers will also likely be piping hot. To avoid the weekend crowds, try to visit on a weekday during typical working hours.

RV lifer Tricia Leach from Keep Your Daydream has a few handy laundry tricks via a popular YouTube video. Before heading to the laundromat, sort everything in your rig and make your bed with a second set of sheets so you don't have to worry about it when you return. Next, sort your laundry by fabrics — not colors — so you can stagger your folding times and maximize efficiency. 

For example, put workout clothes, Turkish towels, and watersport fabrics together, as they will dry the fastest. Put dark towels, jeans, and cotton socks together, as they will dry the slowest. That way, your heavier fabrics will get nice and crispy while folding the first batch. Another pro tip from Leach: Get a fabric laundry bag that you can throw right into the machine, banishing any musty smell from wet towels. Pretty genius if you ask us.

When everything is dry, rather than stuff all your clean laundry into one bag to sift through later, sort the clothes as you go. Bring one reusable grocery store bag for every person in the family. As you pull out each load, fold clothes and put them in their respective bags. Then, when you get back, you can hand a bag to each family member, and they can put their clothes away. Work smarter, not harder, friends. Laundry while traveling is hard enough.

For peace of mind, keep all your laundry essentials in one bag to take to the laundromat, including quarters in a coin purse, dryer sheets, laundry detergent, and a book for entertainment. Rather than lugging around a big bottle of soap, repurpose old water bottles to create smaller servings of detergent, keeping your main bottle in the rig. Laundry strips from Tru Earth are another great space-saver, as they are the same size as dryer sheets. Don't forget to collect your dryer lint to easily start a campfire.

If you can't source a commercial laundromat, you can use a COSTWAY Portable Washing Machine at your RV site. Another popular option is the Scrubba Portable Wash Bag, built like a collapsible washboard. You just stuff your laundry inside, add water, and fold the bag several times. Rinse with water and hang your clothes up to dry. You can use heavy-duty VIS'V Suction Cup Hooks with locks on the side of your RV to hang towels and coats. You can also install an AERO Collapsible Drying Rack inside your shower. Just be sure to run the fan so everything stays fresh. While it doesn't beat an RV with a fancy washer/dryer combo, it might just be the next best thing.