Travel Tips
How to Keep Your Softer Travel Bags Clean
I was surprised, especially by the method. The Oil, grease and wheel marks disappeared completely.
Summary
When traveling, our bags are clean when we leave home and about the same when they return. This time was different. I would never have dreamed of cleaning the soft-cornered bags the way my wife did.
What changed
Most people go on vacation, bring their luggage home, unpack, and put the luggage in the closet until the next trip. My wife used to work in a hospital surgery, so we usually wipe ours down with Clorox wipes before putting them away.
This time was different. We usually do not check bags, but the gate attendant decided to measure, and one bag failed by 1/8 inch. It has traveled as a carry-on for 40+ trips but had to be checked for this one.
On the return trip, we also had the blue duffle bag. With it, we don’t check luggage on the outbound flight. We pack it in one of the carry-ons when we expect to buy something that will go into a suitcase, thus replacing some clothing. It carries the dirty clothes on the trip home and gets checked.
Arrived home in filthy condition
The checked bags were quite dirty when returned. Both had black wheel marks on them. The other bags were also dirtier than usual due to the atmospheric dust in Lima, Peru. You wouldn’t expect it since it is on the seacoast, but it rarely rains in Lima. Therefore, all bags had to be washed, inside and out.
The larger bags with rigid corners had to be wiped down more than normal, inside and out. The soft-cornered, mostly smaller bags plus the larger blue duffel, were handled differently.
Soft-cornered bags went into the washing machine!
I was leery, but my wife said that they would have no problems. She set it on the Gentle cycle using cold water and regular liquid laundry soap. When the spin cycle finished, she took them out and hung them on the wall hooks to drip-dry (see header picture). She did not put them in the dryer. Some may have melted.
Everything came out perfectly, except for the blue duffel bag. Two wheel-marks still remained. A toothbrush, liquid soap, and a wet paper towel to rinse it off took care of them.
Summary
I have seen my wife throw some unusual things into the washing machine, but I have learned never to question her because it supports my favorite saying:
Good programs work. Bad ones don’t.
Hers always work.
Note: Our washer does not have a center wringer like those from 50 years ago.
