Laundry

Universal sink plug/stopper

Sink plugs are hard to come by in some countries as they are both useful and portable, therefore they don’t stay around too long in one place.

It is always best to carry your own, they don’t take up much room and are very useful when doing laundry in hotel and hostel sinks. The best are the large, flat type that fit any sink. You can also use a sock or fashion a stopper out of a variety of materials (duct tape, for example) if you don’t have one.

Detergent

Woolite is a traveller’s favourite as it is a good cold-water detergent. You don’t need much in a sink to wash a lot of clothes.

You can carry small amounts of powdered detergent in a plastic film container (if you can find one these days). Small, plastic pill containers (with screw-top lids) make a good substitute.

Clothesline

The quality of travel clotheslines varies considerably, so make sure you buy one that is long enough, strong enough, has good attachments at both ends (not suction cups), and holds wet clothes without pegs or clothespins.

A good brand is Flexoline. This is made from surgical rubber tubing, the wet clothes are inserted between the strands.