Washing Clothes While Traveling in SE Asia [DIY & Service]

Daily Life
By Gems Of Travel
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In Southeast Asia, you will have the option to either wash your own clothes (laundromat is one example) or a laundry service, in which someone else washes them for you.

Usually, you will not have both options, only one of them.  The exception is if you are renting, and the rental has a laundry machine available for the tenants’ use.

Each SE Asian country typically focuses on only one of those options. For example, in Vietnam and Cambodia we can only find laundry services, no laundromats. However, throughout Thailand and Malaysia we only find laundromats (aside from some guesthouses that do laundry services).

Cultural – Washer & Hang Dry (No Drier)

In SE Asia, clothes are hang dried. This is most common, and it works very well since:

(1) the weather is always warm;

(2) the washing machine spin cycle removes most of the water from the clothes.

Many rentals have an area with racking to hang dry clothes.

Hang drying laundry at a rental in Southeast Asia. A metal clothes rack is provided to hand cloths on. This rack can be used to dry clothes outside, or to store/hang clothes inside the rental.

There are not many drying machines in SE Asia. Do not expect your rental to have a drier, either. It might, but it likely will not.

However, self-serve laundromats will have driers. Laundry services usually will not have driers, but some do have them along with an clothes ironing service.

A clothes drying machine at a laundromat in Southeast Asia. The drier in the image is a front-loader machine, and is rated for a sixteen kilograms of clothing. There is a sign above the drier with prices: sixteen kilogram drier is fourth Thai Baht (about one dollar and twenty-five US cents), twenty-two kilogram drier is sixty Thai Baht (about two US dollars), and a twenty-seven kilogram drier is eighty Thai Baht (about two dollars and fifty US cents).
A laundromat with washing and drying machines in Southeast Asia. There are two desks that each have four chairs. People take off their shoes when entering. The laundromat is open-air on two sides. The other two sides have wall where the machines are mounted. There is a roof covering the building and entrance.

Note

Why hang drying clothes is more popular than a drying machine.

(1) The warm weather
(2) The space that a drier takes up in a home.
(3) The extra cost of a drier

It is cheaper to not have a drier or paying for the electricity to power it.  The weather is always warm, so hang drying is always an option.  And, housing in Southeast Asia is smaller, so a drier would take up too much space?

CONs of hang drying clothes:

  • Time : Takes time for them to dry.
  • Wrinkles : More wrinkles compared to using a clothes drier.
  • Smell & Rain : Clothes get moldy or musky smelling if they do not dry well.  During the raining monsoon season, clothes might get soaking wet from the rain since they are hung outside.  Hanging clothes on the rooftop might have a roofing cover, but rain and wind blow sideways onto your clothes.
  • Hangers : You need hangers or you can just throw clothes over the rack.

DIY Laundry (Wash Your Own Clothes)

Laundromats

Cost:  $1.25 to wash + $1.25 to dry (you can hang dry at home for free, of course). Soap is sold on-site – a packet of detergent for a small single load of laundry is about $0.25 – $0.50 USD.

Thailand is the best place for laundromats as they seem to be in abundance.  Malaysia has good ones, too.

Come to a laundromat to wash + dry your own clothes.  Laundromats in SE Asia have new equipment, a fair price, the place is clean, and they can actually be a chill place to hangout.  Massage chairs have been spotted at these laundromats – awesome!

A laundromat building in Southeast Asia. It is located with a parking lot, and has two cars and two motorbikes parked under an awning roof covering. The laundromat is open-air on two sides. The other two sides have wall where the machines are mounted. There is a roof covering the building and entrance.
A laundromat with washing and drying machines in Southeast Asia. There are two desks that each have four chairs. People take off their shoes when entering. The laundromat is open-air on two sides. The other two sides have wall where the machines are mounted. There is a roof covering the building and entrance.
A vending machine at a laundromat in Southeast Asia selling packets of laundry detergent to wash a single small load of clothing.
A packet of laundry detergent to wash a single small load of clothing.
The top (not entire image of) a clothes washing machine at a laundromat in Southeast Asia. There is a sign above the washer with prices: twelve and a half kilogram drier is thirty Thai Baht for cold washing (about one US dollar), sixteen kilogram drier is fifty Thai Baht (about one dollar and seventy-five US cents), and a twenty-two kilogram drier is seventy Thai Baht (about two dollars). For warm washing, add ten Thai Baht (about thirty US cents). Or, for hot washing, add twenty Thai Baht (about sixty US cents).
A clothes drying machine at a laundromat in Southeast Asia. The drier in the image is a front-loader machine, and is rated for a sixteen kilograms of clothing. There is a sign above the drier with prices: sixteen kilogram drier is fourth Thai Baht (about one dollar and twenty-five US cents), twenty-two kilogram drier is sixty Thai Baht (about two US dollars), and a twenty-seven kilogram drier is eighty Thai Baht (about two dollars and fifty US cents).
A laundromat with washing and drying machines in Southeast Asia. There are a few desks with chairs. Also, there is a well-padded massage chair for use. People take off their shoes when entering. The laundromat is open-air on two sides. The other two sides have wall where the machines are mounted. There is a roof covering the building and entrance.
A money-operate massage chair at a laundromat in Southeast Asia. It looks very comfortable.

Fun Fact

“Laundromat cafes” are starting to pop-up on the map.  Yes, this is a fusion of the laundromat + a café that serves coffee and deserts with comfortable furniture and Wi-Fi!

Washing Machines

It is common for a clothes washing machine to be included at a hotel, rental, or an Airbnb.  You will need to confirm this before renting, though.

On-site laundry at a rental in Southeast Asia. There are no driers, only washing machines.
On-site laundry at a rental in Southeast Asia. Washing machines and driers are both available.

Most of the time they are located a common area either for free or coin-operated.

Some rentals will have personal/private washing machines within the rental, but are considered “higher-end” on the local marketplace cost scale.

Expect to hang dry your clothes, and not to expect a clothes drier machine.  However, this varies based on the rental or hotel.

The Sink

Whether at home or hotel, washing your clothes in the bathroom sink is an option.

Washing clothes in the sink does not work that well.  Try using this dry bag made for washing clothes called ‘The Scrubba’!

Dry bag. This bag is fully waterproof. It maintains waterproofing when submersing into water at a maximum depth usually around 1 meter (or 3 feet).
Dry bag that can be used for washing clothes, albeit five or six articles of clothing. This bag is fully waterproof. It has an inner washboard made of rubber for washing clothes, and a (not shown) valve to release air. It maintains waterproofing when submersing into water at a maximum depth usually around 1 meter (or 3 feet).
Dry bag that can be used for washing clothes, albeit five or six articles of clothing. Imprinted on the exterior of the bag is a diagram depicting instructions on how to use it. Step one: fill the bag with water, detergent, and clothing; step two: roll the bag opening and clip it (it has clips built into the bag); step three: deflate [using the air valve on the bag]; step four: rub [the bag and swoosh it around to wash the clothes]; step 5: rinse [be draining the water and adding in water with no detergent, repeating steps two, three, and four]; step five: dry [by hang drying your clothes].

Laundry Service

A laundry service is where you pay for someone else to wash your clothes for you.

A sign for a laundry service on a sidewalk in Southeast Asia. This service will wash and dry your clothes, bed sheets, and more. Typically drying is hang dried, but some services have drying machines.

Short-term travelers enjoy this, because it is easy, “cheap”, and frees up precious travel time. They enjoy it until they have issues, but we’ll get into that, shortly.

Overall, it costs more and takes longer than doing laundry yourself at a laundromat.

The Service Includes:

–

Washing the clothes

–

Drying them (hang dry or machine dry)

–

Ironing or not

–

Folding clothes

–

Packaging them into a plastic bag

How It Works:

–

Drop your clothes off at a laundry service

–

Pay. 
The pricing is per kilogram.  Or, the pricing is a set price for the first few kilograms with a price rate per extra kg after that.

–

They will wash your clothes, dry them, maybe iron them, and fold them.

Note

Be clear about drying and ironing – if the service dries clothes with drier or hang dries them, and if the iron the clothes or not.

If you prefer something to be hang dried you need to make sure they make a note of it.

⚠️ The driers blast at high heat (even at the low setting). Some clothes will shrink or get ruined. So, be very clear with them about not drying or ironing.

–

Pickup your clothes at the time they inform you to.

–

Inspect your clothes at pickup (suggested, but not required).

Warning

The services can be careless with customers’ clothes at times.

If you have sensitive clothes that you do not want dried or ironed, then you need to specifically tell them and ensure they understand you do not want that. Unfortunately, clothes have got ruined such as dry-fit material that should not be ironed.

Possible Issues:

–

Missing clothes

–

Damaged clothes

–

Clothes not as clean as they should be.  Do they use less soap to save money?

–

Ironing dry-fit material, which ruins them

–

Drier on high heat, potentially ruining or shrinking clothes

Warning

Unfortunately, there are many negative experiences with laundry services. 

You will notice frustrated travelers warning others and noting their comments within the reviews.  It happens way more than it should.  And, the response from the service seems to be that they just do not care.

PROs

  • You do not have to do the washing yourself.
  • Ironing your clothes is sometimes an option, if you prefer that.
  • More expensive than laundromats, but many tourists are happy with the price and convenience.
  • Express service – they will wash and return your clothes faster for an extra fee.

CONs

  • Washing your own clothes can be faster.
  • Scams you by overcharging you.
  • see “Possible Issues, above

Laundry Options By Country

Malaysia 🇲🇾, Thailand 🇹🇭

– DIY Laundry – Laundromat

Laundromats are common and everywhere, clean, and good quality.  Washer and drier machines are both available, and pricing is categorized based on weight (based on the size of the machines).  They are not a bad place to chill at, either.  It’s becoming more common to see cafes attached or nearby these laundromats.  Some laundromat cafes have emerged with cafes directly integrated with laundromats.

– DIY Laundry – At Rental

It is possible for clothes washing machine to be included at a rental or an Airbnb.

– Laundry Service

This is not typically an option, but you may find one in tourist vacation destinations.

Cambodia 🇰🇭, Indonesia 🇮🇩, Laos 🇱🇦, Vietnam 🇻🇳

– Laundry Service

A laundry service is most common in these countries. You drop off your laundry and come back a day later to pick them up. Express service pricing is also available to speed things up if you do not wish to wait a full day.

– DIY Laundry – Laundromat

Cambodia and Laos have a few laundromats, but there are not many. Vietnam does not have any. The ones available are clean, and good quality. Washer and drier machines are both available, and pricing is categorized based on weight (based on the size of the machines). They are not a bad place to chill at, either.

– DIY Laundry – At Rental

It is possible for clothes washing machine to be included at a rental or an Airbnb.

Shoes – Washing Dirty Shoes

If you need your shoes cleaned you will have to search that out.

Stand-alone services exist for washing shoes.  Your best bet is to use a laundry service as they will have a shoe washing service.

ℹ️ Typically, you cannot wash your shoes in the same machine that washes clothes. It seems to be taboo to do this, and places will forbid it. If they see you doing it they will get mad.

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