How do I do my laundry during the Camino?

Posted by Your Way To Santiago on July 3rd, 2018

Thousands of doubts can come up when you decide to walk the Camino for the first-time. Some of them will be related to how to do your laundry during the journey.

Tour Camino de Santiago pilgrim asked me if the shelters normally have washing machines for the pilgrims to wash their clothes. The truth is most of them don’t have washing machines, or have only one, making it impossible to use considering you will have to wait a long queue.

What most shelters usually have are laundry facilities where you can wash your clothes by hand. This might sound somewhat outdated and annoying, but it is as effective as the washing machine, and it is also faster.

Here are some useful tips for dealing with your laundry on the Camino:

– Soap: You can carry on some powder soap in a container or a zip bag for your laundry, half a bar of soap for your personal hygiene, or if you do not want to add more weight to your backpack, a multipurpose soap that will be suitable for both your clothes and yourself.

– Clothes hanging lines: Shelters normally have places for hanging your wet clothes, but unfortunately, when the shelters are full these spaces are insufficient for all the pilgrims. The solution to this is simple, pack a rope, 6 to 9 feet long. You can make a hanging line by tying the rope to a tree or simply adding an extra line to the shelter’s clothes hanging lines.

– Clothes pins: You won’t find clothe pins at the shelters, so if you do not want the wind to take your clothes, take a few with you. You can substitute the clothes pins with a few safety pins, they are equally useful and take less space.

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