After traveling the world for years, we quickly discovered the best travel laundry bags. Whether you are going on a weekend getaway or a month-long trip of a lifetime to Europe, you have to pack a laundry bag or two or four depending on the size of your family.
I am happy to provide you with our top recommendations based on experience and frequent usage. Like most things, many have their pros and their cons so let me guide you to what to consider adding them to your packing list.
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
The Best Travel Laundry Bags
Travel Packing Cubes, VAGREEZ Lightweight Luggage Organizers Bags
Packing Cubes are my absolute favorite way to pack because of the organization behind it. I am able to separate my tops, bottoms, intimates and accessories this way.
What I love about the VAGREEZ bags is that they’re very lightweight, only 15 ounces for the entire set. These bags will save and give you approximately 30% more space in your luggage! They have a mesh top so you can clearly see which clothes are inside except for the intimates bag of course.
Now this particular set comes with a laundry bag but unless your clothes get wet or significantly dirty smelling, you can place dirty clothes once empty for the travel back home. I have personally done this many times and as long as they aren’t heavily soiled, it won’t cause your luggage to stink.
Tip/Recommendation: Buy a set for each member of the family in different colors! Oftentimes we only need one large luggage and others we each take a carry on. Now each having a unique color not only helps us quickly identify whose clothes are in each but also when the bags are scattered around the hotel room!
If you have young kids I really recommend these bags for their clothes. They are designed to protect them from snagging onto other non delicate clothes. But the best part is that you can just throw the mesh bags straight into the washer when you get home!
Of course, like I mentioned earlier if you have clothes that are heavily soiled or wet they are better suited in a closed non mesh bag. I highly recommend you lay clothes to dry prior to packing them back up even if they’re not washed to prevent bad odors in your luggage.
Are you looking for the same concept except for your clothes and not your young kids? Well these are your answer. What I love about them is their style of course but also that they have an embroidered pattern so that you know which types of clothes go in each bag.
It’s noteworthy to mention that these also make TSA easier to navigate if you need to open your luggage. Have you ever had to open it up to be embarrassed due to clothes falling out or frustrated because your perfectly folded clothes become a mess as they search for what they are looking for? These bags not only make it easier to carry your laundry back but keep your luggage tidy!
If you do need to travel back with a little bit of wet or damp clothes these are your answer. On vacation we don’t often dry our swimsuits for example completely the way we should. You just drape it over the hotel bath tube and hope it’s dry by the morning?
Does that sound familiar? These bags are made with high grade material lined with PUL that it’s going to keep moisture and smells from seeping through your luggage. I also like that it has a strap with button snaps so you can easily hang it on a doorknob or towel rack.
Eagle Creek Pack-It Cube Set Packing Organizer, Black, Set of 3
This particular brand has a really good reputation. While it’s designed for organizing your luggage, it will absolutely work to store your laundry for the trip back home.
These cubes have travel compression to maximize space! A big reason it made it on this awesome list. It also has two-way zippers that work with the compression. It’s worth noting that they have a “no matter what” warranty where they will replace your item due to product failure.
I really love their packing recommendation of rolling clothes when inserting in the cubes. This will minimize the wrinkles and save more space. You can of course do so with most of your dirty laundry as well.
Now let me help you with some frequent questions we get.
How do you separate dirty clothes?
This will all depend on the length of your travel and whether you have multiple destinations or not. If you are taking a week or less trip to only 1 destination then I recommend you unpack upon arrival and put away your laundry as you go each day to the empty luggage.
Now if you take a longer, multi destination trip then it’s best to unpack just 1 smaller luggage first and add your dirty laundry there so that you keep the clean clothes separate from each other in the rest of the luggage’s.
How to make your own travel laundry bag?
Do you have one of those sports bags with double draw strings around your house? I can think of 4 in mine. Those will make suitable laundry bags because of the thin material and size.
You could also take the laundry bag out of your laundry hamper if it’s removable. Many today are to make it convenient to take to the washer.
What can I use instead of a laundry bag?
If you are in a pinch because you forgot to take a laundry bag or yours got lost or damaged, any regular plastic shopping bag will do! Before I became a professional traveler, I did this a lot!
I used the store bags from purchases to store my dirty clothes and place in the luggage. This works just a well for shoes that you don’t want the soles to touch.
Can you wash laundry in a bag?
You could in some. It depends on the bag. For example the mesh laundry bag can be thrown directly in the washer therefore I don’t see a problem if you tried to wash your clothes in the hotel’s bath tub this way. However it’s not really ideal.
I would recommend instead that you hand wash your items in a sink or tub and lay them or hang them to dry depending on the material. There are also traveling laundry soaps and laundry lines to consider.
Traveling laundry soap
I highly recommend you pack these traveling laundry soap packs in your luggage. They come in a pack of 12 and are perfect for washing clothes in a sink or tub. Plus you can’t go wrong with the trusted household brand you probably use at home now anyway.
Other ways of dealing with dirty laundry while on vacation or a trip
For extended stays in one destination, I would probably recommend you use the hotel’s dry cleaning option. It’s only affordable for a few items and perhaps once or twice, anymore than that could get pricey.
You could also locate a local laundromat. This would probably be my last option because I wouldn’t want to interrupt my travel time to do laundry but if you’re staying for a long period of time it’s the most affordable and would get the job done.
Lastly you could also get an apartment or accommodation that includes a washer and dryer. This would be ideal for longer term stays.
I hope these are useful to you! If you need travel inspiration and more tips head over to my travel section. You can also check out my Instagram where you can see many of my trips in story highlights. Lastly make sure to subscribe to receive these tips in your mailbox and let me know if you swear by one of these recommendations.
Love,
Angelica