Keeping Clean While Traveling

You don’t need fancy cleaning solutions to stay clean while traveling. Just bring these along on your vacation or day trip: a small bottle of club soda, a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, a little hydrogen peroxide, a bit of cornstarch, and some baking soda.

If you find yourself in a bind, cleaning and organizational expert Donna Smallin Kuper, author of The One-Minute Cleaner, likes a to-go cleaning pen that you can toss in your purse or beach bag. Green-cleaning expert Leslie Reichert, author of The Joy of Green Cleaning, also suggests making up some DIY wipes before you leave by soaking a few microwaveable paper towels in white distilled vinegar, rubbing alcohol and some tea tree oil, and then placing the towels into a small dispenser or ziplock bag. “This mixture is great to use for wiping up spills and stains before you can get the item into the laundry,” says Reichert.

Spills happen, even in suitcases, so staying “vacation clean” starts with organization. Anything that may wind up all over your valuables, and your valuables themselves, should be placed in a bag. “Try airtight zipper bags,” says Smallin Kuper, who loves the air-compression for saving space and keeping items clean. “I love them for packing my clothes and then I reuse them for taking dirty laundry home, or to keep wet bathing suits from getting other items wet until you can hang them to dry. Use them in your beach bag to keep cell phones, tissues or books dry, too.”

If you’re not into the special space bags, you can use basic plastic zipper bags to keep items like chargers safe in suitcases. Smallin Kuper even suggests packing entire outfits for younger children and labeling with names, which keeps the clothes safe and organized so getting out of the hotel room each day is a snap.

If nothing else, make sure to have rubbing alcohol on hand. Reichert says this will tackle most messes. “The alcohol is perfect for getting out grease stains from dressings or chips,” says Reichert. “Just spray some alcohol over the entire area and let it sit. The alcohol will break down the grease. I also use alcohol for pen marks.” You may have heard the wisdom to use hair spray on a pen stain. Reichert says alcohol is actually the “secret ingredient” that breaks down the ink.

Club soda, or seltzer water, is another must-have for traveling. Toss it in your suitcase, or just keep it on you for the inevitable drink spills. “It’s great to use in the car for coffee or soda spills,” says Reichert. “I am always spilling coffee on my white shirts, so I have a sprayer and a bottle of seltzer water always ready in my car!” It's the combination of the bubbles and the carbonic acid that helps to lift and remove those dark-brown stains.

For colored clothes, you have to be more careful when trying to lift stains so you don’t damage the hue. Hydrogen peroxide works well in this situation. “It’s perfect for removing stains from colors—especially grass and blood,” says Reichert. You use hydrogen peroxide to clean cuts and scrapes, right? Same sort of idea.

If you have a big, oily or greasy spill to tackle—your son’s pizza plate hits him square in the lap or your tanning oil spills all over your luggage—reach for cornstarch as the first line of defense. “Cornstarch is great for absorbing things, so if you spill a large amount of grease on your clothes, you could start by sprinkling corn starch on it and it will absorb the excess grease and oil,” says Reichert.

Along with cornstarch, baking soda is the “two” in your one-two punch to tackle big messes. “It’s a great lifter, so if you are having trouble removing a stain, you can always try a little baking soda on the spot,” says Reichert. And if your bag of cosmetics winds up all over your clothes or towels, go for the cornstarch-and-baking-soda method. “These two are great to use on makeup spills,” Reichert says.