Travel is a fun activity. It allows you to explore and enjoy amazing and sometimes even quirky travel destinations, relieve stress and broaden your horizons.
When you’re on a tour or a road trip, one of the tedious chores you need to do is laundry. If you’re going on a holiday or a vacation for more than a week out of town or overseas, you’ll likely need to clean your clothes (unless you buy new clothes on your trip).
Washing your clothes by yourself or with the help of a hotel laundry service provider, however, gives you the advantage of:
- Rewearing your favorite travel clothes
- Packing less (great if you’re trying to save on baggage check-in fees that can eat up your travel fund)
- Going back home with less dirty laundry
If you’re doing any laundry during your trip, you’ll need to pack a big laundry bag in your travel backpack or luggage.
Why Do I Need a Travel Laundry Bag?
Nothing is more annoying than mixing your dirty laundry with your clean clothes when you’re traveling. What you need is a laundry bag designed primarily for travelers.
Travel laundry bags often include features that make the sack sturdy, durable, convenient, and lightweight. This type of laundry bag may also come with nice-to-have features like water resistance and odor control.
With a quality laundry bag, you can keep your clean clothes smelling fresh and prevent mixing dirty (and sometimes smelly) items with clean ones. Doing laundry in the hotel will also be easier, as everything you need to wash and clean is in one bag.
How to Use a Laundry Bag Effectively
After unpacking your stuff in your hotel room, Airbnb, apartment, or other accommodation, look for a good place to hang or store your laundry bag. A good location is a specific corner of the room. Then, fill the bag with dirty or stinky laundry throughout the week. You can then take the bag filled with dirty laundry for cleaning.
If you will be moving frequently, such as visiting multiple cities or destinations in one week, fold or stack your dirty clothes neatly into your travel laundry bag. Simply shoving items in that bag isn’t a good idea, as this will make packing your suitcase or luggage much harder.
How to Make a Laundry Bag at Home
Buying a quality travel laundry bag for your upcoming trip or vacation. If you insist on a DIY approach, you can make a personalized laundry bag using stuff around your home.
When you finish this project, use this sack as your delicates laundry bag at home.
You’ll need the following materials for this project:
- A pair of scissors
- Pillowcase
- Needle and thread
- 5 cm ribbon
- 5 cm of coordinating ribbon
Here are the steps to creating a laundry bag:
- Take a large pillowcase. Then, using scissors, cut a 2.5 cm-wide ribbon twice its width plus 2 cm.
- Fold over a centimeter at each end of the ribbon, then press.
- Beginning at one side edge of your pillowcase, position the ribbon 4 cm down from the open top edge. Don’t forget to tack the ribbon round.
- Use the needle and thread to stitch the ribbon along both edges of your pillowcase to create a channel.
- Snip a length of 1.5 cm wide ribbon. Then, use a safety pin attached to one end of the pillowcase to thread the ribbon through the channel at the side opening.
- Overlap the ends of the ribbon by one centimeter. Then, stitch the ends together.
- Feed the ends back through the channel. This way, the join will no longer be visible.
- Draw the ribbon to close your custom laundry bag.
Note, though, that the laundry bag you’ll be making won’t surpass the ones on the market. If you want a laundry sack that will last you for years, you’re better off buying from reputable stores.
What Can I Use If I Don’t Have a Laundry Bag?
You’ll want to buy a travel laundry bag if you’re already out of town or overseas. You don’t have an excuse not to purchase one, as you shouldn’t mix dirty and clean clothes in your luggage.
If you find yourself in a place with no laundry bags available for sale, you could make do with plastic bags that you can find at your hotel or apartment. If you have more than one piece of luggage, dedicate one for dirty clothes and the other for clean clothes. Please don’t get them mixed up.
Another alternative is to use a beach towel if you’ve packed one. Simply lay out your towel at the bottom of your luggage. Then, layer your dirty clothes and fold the towel over the top. However, this will only physically separate the dirty and clean items. It cannot prevent the odors from mixing.
Before you drive to your destination or the airport, ensure you’ve brought a laundry bag. Remember to opt for a large bag if you’re away for over two weeks.
Best Laundry Bags For Traveling
1) Fiodrmy Laundry Bag
The Fiodrmy Travel Laundry Bag is a versatile option for various items such as bedding, clothes, towels, sleeping bags, blankets, quilts, and pillows. It’s an ideal choice for traveling, camping, as well as for dormitory life, apartment, or laundry room use. The bag is available in XL size and is made of nylon material. It’s cost-effective as you can get two laundry bags in a package and machine washable for easy cleaning.
Things We Like
This laundry bag has a durable double-stitched seam construction and is made of durable nylon material to prevent tears from spreading. The drawstring has plastic tips that keep it from unraveling after washing. Its large capacity allows it to hold multiple loads of laundry, making it a great choice for travel, easy storage in college dorms, or family use.
A laundry liner bag is designed to keep your laundry basket clean and fresh, so you won’t have to see or smell your dirty laundry. This bag is an excellent choice for sleepaway summer camps, where kids can use it to hold a week’s worth of dirty clothes and easily take them back home. It can be easily folded flat for future use, and it’s not limited to laundry – you can use it for storing dirty laundry, bedding, towels, toys, blankets, and pillows.
Things We Don’t Like
While it was smaller than expected, it’s still a decent size. However, it doesn’t have a strap for comfortable shoulder carrying. It must also be thick and strong enough to move sheets and towels.
2) UniLiGis Laundry Bag
The UniLiGis Washable Travel Laundry Bag with Drawstring can help you organize dirty clothing at home or in a dormitory. It’s also great for storing bedding, such as quilts and blankets, and can be used for travel. The bag is made of highly durable polyester taffeta material that is tear-resistant, lightweight, and breathable. It’s easy to clean since it’s machine washable.
Things We Like
The UniLiGis Laundry Bag is made of soft but durable polyester taffeta material and can hold three to four loads of laundry. It’s machine washable and makes laundry day easier. You can also use it as a storage bag for dirty items, seasonal clothes, bedding, other clothes, camping, kid’s toys, and more.
Things We Don’t Like
The bags are unsuitable for travel because they are too big, made from low-quality, thin fabric, and have a shoelace instead of a proper drawstring or closure. Additionally, they cannot be machine washed.
3) Bagail Laundry Bag
The Bagail Mesh Bags offer a practical solution for washing delicate items. Their porous and durable polyester mesh material allows water and soap suds to pass through while protecting your washing machine with a side zipper cover. The mesh zippered bags also come in multiple size combinations to meet different needs and include a practical wash notice label for reference during washing.
Things We Like
These wash bags are made with high-quality sandwich fabric with good water permeability, fine filtration, and cleansing performance. They are durable and can be used for a long time thanks to their wear-resistant fabric. The larger mesh holes allow quick washing and drying and provide storage ventilation. The bags have a soft interior mesh that protects delicate underwear, while the wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant outer mesh material prevents clothes from getting tangled or deformed.
Things We Don’t Like
The bags were thicker, but some delicate garments don’t air dry well when washed in bags. Moreover, the zipper stopped locking after a month of use. The bags only function well for a few washes before their seams fall apart.
4) Handy Laundry Bag
The Handy Laundry Nylon Laundry Bags are among the best laundry bags for college students or apartment dwellers who must transport laundry to a washing machine or laundromat without losing any items. This bag is made of breathable nylon and can hold up to three loads of laundry (around 60 pounds). Its nylon material protects clothing and makes it easy to carry.
Things We Like
The laundry bag is made of strong and durable material with double stitching, which can easily withstand washing and drying. It has a secure drawstring slider to make closing the bag easy without tying it. The bag is large enough to fit laundry hampers or baskets, and it can be used to separate dirty clothes while traveling or as a replacement for carrying the whole hamper. Additionally, it is suitable for storing comforters, blankets, and stuffed animals. Also, you can use it in the car to transport your kids’ sports gear.
Things We Don’t Like
The bags have several issues – the drawstring is weak, and the stitching is not sturdy enough. When you fill the bags with laundry, the seams tend to come apart quickly. Additionally, the absence of a strap makes it challenging to carry the bags around smoothly.
5) YETHAN Laundry Bag
The YETHAN Extra Large Laundry Bag with drawstring can make sorting and transporting laundry easier. It can hold heavy loads of laundry and has a drawcord with a cord lock to keep clothes in place when taking them to the washing machine. The manufacturer offers a refund guarantee.
Things We Like
The item is spacious yet compact when folded. Despite its lightweight material, it can hold 2-3 loads of laundry without tearing, thanks to its sturdy construction and reinforced seams. This is an excellent choice for a portable laundry set.
Things We Don’t Like
Each bag is made of a different material. Despite being lightweight, the material stresses the seams after carrying one load and appears as if it may burst.
6) Meowoo Laundry Bag
The Meowoo Mesh Laundry Bag is among the best laundry bags to help you store household items such as bedding, t-shirts, towels, sleeping bags, blankets, quilts, pillows, and more. It is convenient for camping, traveling, dorm life, apartments, and laundry rooms. These products have simple and detailed designs that cater to different home needs, all at reasonable prices.
Things We Like
The laundry bags are spacious enough to cover the sides of the hamper, making them suitable for items such as baskets, hampers, pillows, sleeping bags, blankets, duvets, comforters, sweaters, towels, and panties. They are made of a durable, tear-resistant breathable, ultra-soft material with a fine mesh, allowing laundry detergent and water to pass through easily without snagging. The bags have reinforced stitches that ensure they won’t break even with prolonged use.
Things We Don’t Like
The bags lack sturdiness and do not have a carrying strap. They feel like they are of cheap quality. Additionally, the top seam that holds the drawstring in place tears easily.
7) Pinzon Laundry Bag
The Pinzon Durable Honeycomb Mesh Laundry Bags have a premium zipper that prevents them from opening during the washing and drying cycle, resulting in a quiet and snag-free laundry experience. They come in three colors to simplify grouping and sorting your laundry, eliminating worries about losing your socks, gloves, or lingerie. Additionally, the bags feature a hanging loop that helps you organize them or allows them to hang dry. This is an essential tool for storing and drying your laundry after washing.
Things We Like
The Pinzon laundry wash bag is made of a durable, lightweight honeycomb mesh material. This mesh is designed to resist stains, stretching, and tearing since it is 100 percent polyester. Your delicate items will be well-protected whenever you use this strong wash bag.
These bags have a rust-resistant zipper with smart protection that locks automatically and prevents the bag from opening during washing and drying. Apart from being great for washing delicate clothes, they are also suitable for storing small items like toys, makeup, laundry accessories, clothespins, and stuffed animals.
Things We Don’t Like
The bags have poor durability and start to fray after a few months. They also have trouble staying zipped in the washer and tend to unzip themselves in the dryer. These bags are low quality and cheaply made.
8) BeeGreen Laundry Bag
The BeeGreen Laundry Bag Backpack with Adjustable Shoulder Straps is convenient to carry, offers hands-free transport, and has a spacious capacity. The adjustable straps and rounded bottom allow the bag to stand upright. This travel laundry bag is ideal for transporting laundry in dorms or apartments. You can also use it as a storage bag for blankets, children’s toys, or other items.
Things We Like
The laundry bag backpack is black, extra large, and made of 100 percent rip-stop nylon, which makes it both lightweight and durable. Its adjustable shoulder straps have padding, allowing your hands to be free and ensuring safety when going up and down stairs.
This laundry backpack hamper is a great option for summer camp. You can stuff many dirty clothes in it and easily take them back home. You can easily fold it for future use. The heavy-duty laundry bag can also carry college essentials like duffle bags, towels, pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, or sports equipment.
Things We Don’t Like
The bag’s interior has a wax coating, and the fabric is very thin, making the entire bag feel weak. If the bag is filled to its full capacity with weight, it may easily tear.
9) Sylfairy Laundry Bag
The Sylfairy Two-Pack Travel Laundry Bag is a trendy and convenient option for storing and moving laundry. It is a top pick for storing dirty or clean clothes and is especially practical for students. The bag features a drawstring closure and easy-carry handles that make it simple to hang or carry. It is made of nylon, which makes it durable, water-resistant, fade-resistant, and immune to tearing, ripping, and shrinking.
Things We Like
The laundry bag is made of tear-resistant material with a double-stitched seam design featuring thick nylon that prevents tears from spreading. It’s large enough to hold a load of laundry, making it perfect for travel and storage in college dorms. The drawstring closure can prevent items from spilling, and the bag comes with one wide shoulder strap and one front mesh pocket that can hold laundry detergent or fabric softener.
Carrying a heavy load of laundry to and from the laundry room or laundromat is made comfortable and easy with the Extra Large Laundry Bag’s wide and sturdy shoulder strap. Additionally, it is an excellent choice for sleepaway summer camp as children can easily carry a week’s worth of dirty clothes and fold them flat for future use.
Things We Don’t Like
The material of these cannot withstand washing and drying, which makes them of poor quality. Additionally, they are overpriced.
10) DOKEHOM Laundry Bag
The DOKEHOM Large Laundry Basket is durable and lightweight for carrying laundry. The basket is made of thick fabric with sturdy aluminum handles with foam padding for a comfortable carrying grip. The seams and rivets on the basket keep the handles securely in place. It offers plenty of space to hold clothes, linens, and towels. You can easily transport your laundry from the hamper to any room in your home.
Things We Like
This item features an aluminum handle with a soft grip, making it sturdy and comfortable. The fabric is double-layered Oxford and has a moisture-proof PE coating inside. It is versatile and can be used in various settings, such as closets, tables, and offices, to store items like toys, books, CDs, clothes, and underwear.
Things We Don’t Like
The laundry basket is too flimsy and only stays upright when full. Otherwise, it falls over easily.
Bottom Line
There is no one-size-fits-all solution when finding the best laundry bags for traveling. The type of bag you choose should depend on your needs and preferences. If you are looking for a lightweight option that is easy to carry and offers plenty of space, consider getting the DOKEHOM Large Laundry Basket or Pinzon Durable Honeycomb Mesh Laundry Bag with drawstring. For more delicate items such as lingerie or baby clothes, try using the YETHAN Extra Large Laundry Bag with drawstring or Meowoo Mesh Laundry Bag. Whichever option you choose, make sure that it meets all your requirements before purchasing so that you can enjoy stressful free trips!