How to Wash Towels Without a Washing Machine

Caught without a washer and drowning in dirty towels? Don’t fret! Our guide below has you covered.

There are multiple ways you can clean towels if you don’t own or have a working washing machine at home.

This includes hand washing your towels, using a portable washer, and taking your towels to a launderette. Find out more below.

 

Option 1: Wash Your Towels by Hand

The most common alternative to using a washing machine to clean towels is to launder them by hand.

There are a few different takes on this hand-washing method.

Tip: When hand-cleaning laundry, remove rings and bracelets because they could snag the towels. It’s often better if you wear gloves, too!

The bucket method

Using a bucket or tub to clean your towels is usually the most straightforward way to clean towels by hand! (You can also apply the steps below and wash your towels in a sink).

The only major drawback is that buckets (and sinks) can be small, so you can only wash one towel at a time in most cases.

It’s not a dealbreaker, but it does mean that you might have to invest more time in this activity if you have multiple towels to wash.

Tools you’ll need:

• Optional: Washboard – quite handy if you’ve got heavily soiled towels
• Detergent
• Water
• Bucket (or sink)

Steps to follow:

1. Optional: Pre-treat stains with detergent or an off-the-shelf stain remover before washing the towel.
2. Fill your bucket (sink) with warm water. Wnsure the water isn’t boiling! You are, after all, sticking your hands into the water and don’t want to burn yourself.
3. Add half a dose of detergent. Make sure it’s suitable for hand-washing.
4. Pop a towel in the water. Ensure it’s submerged.
5. Gently agitate the towel in the water using your hands. You can also rub the towel on a plastic rectangle washboard to remove the grime from the material. You won’t believe how much extra dirt the board will remove!
6. Allow the towels to soak for 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Rub extra dirty sections between your fingers/on the washboard until they become clean.
8. Empty the dirty water away.
9. Rinse the towel with clean, warm water. Make sure all the soap is gone.
10. Gently squeeze the excess moisture from the towel and hang it to dry.
11. Repeat the steps above for your other towels.

Note: You don’t need to use fabric softener or iron your towels. Just dry the towels, then fold/roll and store them.

 

The bathtub method

You can use the steps above under “The bucket method” to clean your towels, except this time, you do the washing work in a bathtub. This is a much larger area, and you can wash more towels at once.

Some people choose to lay their towels flat on the base of the shower tray/bathtub and walk back and forth over the towels to agitate and clean them.

In my personal experience, this is quite slippery work. So, unless you feel really confident and you have someone to watch out for you, stick to the method above and clean the towels by hand using a washboard or just your hands. It’s safer.

 

Option 2: Use a Portable Washing Machine

If you’re going to be without a washing machine for a long time, it might be worth investing in a portable washer.

Portable washing machines are convenient, compact and cheap. They’re also handy to have around at home when you need to clean your clothes and don’t have time to go to a launderette or use a laundry cleaning service.

These machines are typically mains-powdered, clean clothes and towels very well, vary in size, and come with a washing and spinning facility that you can utilise.

The spinning section is handy because it’ll extract a lot of moisture from your towels, so they will (hopefully!) dry faster for you. As a bonus, their cycles aren’t overly long.

If you live in rented accommodation, it is worth checking with your landlord if it is okay for you to have an appliance like this in your abode. Some landlords worry about portable washers leaking, so they don’t allow tenants to have them.

 

Option 3: Dry Clean Your Towels

If your towels are relatively clean and aren’t stained too much, you could clean them using a DIY dry cleaning kit. This isn’t a long-term cleaning method, but it can be handy if you find yourself in a pickle without towels.

Read and stick to(!) the instructions on the dry cleaning kit to use it effectively. If need be, do a spot test with the solution before you use it to clean all your towels, just to make sure it won’t damage or discolour them in any way.

 

Option 4: Use a Laundry Cleaning Service

A laundry cleaning service essentially takes the chore of washing your dirty laundry off your hands and does it for you. This type of service is a great time-saving option and is very popular with people who have busy schedules.

Here’s a brief guide on how a laundry service works:

You pack up and either take your dirty washing to the company, or they collect it from your home.

The laundry then gets cleaned, packed up by the cleaning team, and is either collected by you or delivered to your door.

The team do all the hard work for you, and you don’t have to worry about laundering your stuff.

Of course, the washing service comes at a price, and the fee will vary depending on your location, what you need cleaned and how much laundry you have. But you can discuss all of this with your chosen cleaning service beforehand.

Obviously, you’ll have to make sure that the provider you choose actually launders towels before you agree to this service. And you’ll have to make sure that the service fits with your schedule. The turnaround time may not be as fast as you’d like it to be, for example.

In addition, you should ask about additional charges that may be placed on your bill. For example:

• Is there a fee for using detergent, or do you need to provide it?
• Is there a charge for delivering the items home?
• Will you get charged if you ask for your laundry to be delivered at a certain time?

Based on your answer to the above, you can either go ahead with the service or consider a different option.

 

Option 5: Take Your Towels to a Launderette

If your washing machine’s broken and you’re in a pinch, you can always do a quick online search to find a local launderette and take your towels there.

Launderettes pop up everywhere. Just take your towels to the shop, find an empty machine, pay and add detergent to the appliance, and then start the wash. When the wash is over, you can dry the towels in the shop and go home with your clean towels in tow.

If you don’t know how a launderette works, it would be better to use the facility when it is being manned – usually during the daytime. By going at this time, the person operating the shop can assist you.

 

Option 6: Ask a Family Member or Friend for Help

If you haven’t got a washing machine or yours is faulty, you can always be cheeky and ask a friend or family member to help you out!

What’s the worst that could happen? They could say “No”!

If they agree, remember to take your detergent with you, pick a time that suits them, and compensate them for their help. Take a box of chocolates or flowers with you to say thanks (this has worked for me in the past).

 

Option 7: Buy a Washing Machine

As a last resort and if your circumstances permit (budget, space, and tenancy rules, for example), why not buy a washing machine to solve your problem?

You can buy basic washing machines for under £300, and they’ll be able to clean your towels and your other laundry. It’s also more convenient and can save you time in the long run.