The Scrubba Wash Bag

Product Description

Weighing less than 5 oz., the Scrubba Wash Bag is the lightest and most compact "washing machine" in the world, enabling you to wash clothes wherever and whenever you want for free. The Scrubba is a packing essential for travelers and campers who want to pack lighter and cleaner, save money, and enjoy travel without the hassle of finding a laundromat. Scrubba is a modern take on the old fashioned washboard. Simply drop clothes in the Scrubba and add water and detergent. Seal the dry-bag style closure and open the side valve to release excess air. Grip circles on the exterior prevent the Scrubba from slipping while you rub the bag and activate the hundreds of internal Scrubba nodules that perform the work. Scrubba efficiently cleans your clothes in minutes and provides a machine quality wash. When finished, the Scrubba folds down to a compact size small enough to take anywhere. Great for business trips, outdoor adventures, backpacking trips, boats, emergency preparedness, or even for those without laundry machines at home. Volume of the bag is 3 gallons, but optimal washing volume is 1 gallon when filled with clothes. Doubles as a dry-bag. Made of durable, microbial- and hydrolysis-resistant polyether TPU with a transparent window to see washing and filling levels. A portion of the proceeds from Scrubba sales go towards providing clean drinking water in areas of the world with those in need.

Features

• Machine quality wash whenever and wherever you want
• A modern take on the old fashioned washboard: hundreds of internal Scrubba nodules efficiently clean clothes in minutes
• Durable microbial- and hydrolysis-resistant polyether TPU; doubles as a dry-bag
• Lightest and smallest washing machine in the world at only 5 oz.
• Great for holidays, backpacking, business trips, camping, outdoor adventures, boats, emergency power outages, and small apartments

Top Reviews

Overall a good purchase.
by Amazon Customer (4 out of 5 stars)
November 15, 2016

I really spent a lot of time contemplating this purchase. I am a minimalist traveler (three weeks in Asia in a book bag). I figured that being able to wash clothes would lighten my load by not needing to pack as many basics, and would more ban offset the added weight of this bag (which is negligible). There are pros and cons to this bag.

Pros:
- it is certainly easy to use. For the customers who have complained about the valve being to small to push a lot of air out of efficiently- I simply pushed out as much air as possible before I rolled it up. Then I used the valve to push out the last bit of air.
- it serves very well as a laundry bag. I would put my dirties in the bag until I was ready to wash.
- it is a compact way to have clean clothes without having to hunt down a laundry mat or spend time getting a less efficent result in a sink.
- it takes up such little space, even for a minimalist like me.
- it does a fair amount of laundry in a load. I would say I was able to get a weeks worth of underwear and socks, as well as a few shirts or other similar items in one load.

Cons:
- price was certainly a factor. While traveling in Asia I could get 10kilos of laundry done for a couple dollars, and did not have to wash or dry myself. In other countries where laundry is more expensive, or simply not available one would have to weigh the cost for themselves.
- I felt that to get a true clean you would either need to do a kid twice, once to rinse the dirt and another to really clean. You could also pre-rinse in a sink.
- time, I know it says that it you "agitate" for about three minutes. The reality is that you fill, squeeze out air, agitate, dump out used water, refill, reagitate, then spend a lot of time wringing out clothes for awhile to make them dry enough to air dry. For two loads it took me about 30 minutes of sitting on my shower floor going through the steps- so let's call it 15 minutes a load.

I would certainly recommend this to other travelers, especially backpackers/campers.
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Cleans better than bathroom sink method, but w/ physical effort of course
by Kristian A. Cruz (4 out of 5 stars)
March 6, 2015

Overall, I am glad I bought it. So if you have not and you travel a lot, go for it. It will save you from smelling bad when meeting strangers overseas or from paying a lot for the hotel to wash your shirts and socks to prevent the smelly situation from happening in the first place.

Let me be specific with my review:
1) The order process:
- it was shipped fast.
- shipped in good condition.
- and, I am loving Amazon locker. For those of you who live in apartments without a doorman to sign for your packages, Amazon Locker is a savior. Basically I picked it up from a list of pickup locations in New York City. I believe they have other locations in other states.
2) Understanding how it works:
- pretty easy considering all they had were cute illustrations and matching short captions.
- it's probably because I'm a little slow but the part where I got stuck with was how to deflate the bag while sealed, to release excess air inside, before you rub the bag, to wash the clothes inside.
- apparently, you have to squeeze the small plastic valve to release the air.
- the carton did not write the squeeze part. There were arrows though which I didn't understand (again, maybe I'm slow). Thankfully, the instructions on the wash bag itself did.
- once I figured that part out, the rest was easy.
3) how physical it is:
- let's be fair here, the reason you are buying this product was because you opted to save money by not paying a hotel to wash your clothes or to save yourself the trouble of commuting to a faraway laundromat.
- so, do understand that there is manual labor involved. Be fair, you are not buying a washing machine that will wash your clothes and drain the water with one easy push of a button.
- I found myself kneeling beside a bath tub to:

a) squeeze the valve with one hand while pushing the bag down to release the excess air,

b) 'rub' the bag with both hands pressing down, to 'wash' the clothes inside,

c) then standing up to turn the bag upside down to remove the dirty water

d) stand up to put bag under faucet to put clean water to rinse

e) then put bag upside down and press it down to push the water into the bath tub drain

f) then repeat D & E three more times to rinse the soap from the clothes fully

g) finally, twist the clothes to drain the water out and hang them to dry

I know that this sounds like a lot but if you've traveled and washed your clothes in the bathroom sink, you'll end up more relaxed BUT with clothes that are not as clean vs if you've washed it with this Scrubba bag.

And besides, every time I've washed socks or shirts or underwear in a hotel bathroom sink, I end up spilling water all over the place.

So yes, it is a work out to use this bag but it's not that bad. It really depends how long your preferred 'wash' process is. The hardest part is the 'rubbing' to wash the clothes inside, against the grooves/rough surface inside the bag, to loosen up dirt. It can be easy if you do it for 30 secs. It was tiring to do it for 2-3 mins but that was my preference, to make sure the dirt in the clothes get really loosened up. I chose to extend the rub time so it was choice to make it tiring for myself. You don't have to.

Again, it does save you money from hotel fees or the hassle to find a laundromat.
4) how effective at cleaning:
- I didn't notice it with the darker clothes (because of course they're dark in color in the first place) but the white clothes were noticeably cleaner vs if I did the old way of manually rubbing white shirts together in the bathroom sink.
- I was shocked that this bag was able to visibly clean the dark neck and underarm stains that are obvious in white shirts.
- so yes, it actually worked better than the old bathroom sink method.
5) suggestions:

a) one reviewer was right. Don't use too much laundry detergent. It will make it harder to rinse out. You'll end up rinsing it more than 5 times and it will still end up soapy when you squeeze the water out from the clothes before you hang them to dry.

b) because it's such a physical process, at least for me, don't wait for all the clothes to pile up. I guess start washing 3-5 pairs of socks, for example, as soon as they're ready to wash. The first time I used this bag, I washed a lot of clothes. I was exhausted after.

In conclusion:

Buy it if you travel frequently and if you travel on a budget.

PS.

I live in New York and the harsh winter made it hard for me to walk 10 blocks to a laundromat. This bag now allows me to wash my clothes inside my apartment. So happy I don't have to freeze outside just to wash underwear.
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Steep price, but so far, living up to its claims...
by Andrew Hsu (4 out of 5 stars)
May 30, 2017

"I just paid *$50* for a dry bag?" Yup, that's the sound of buyer's remorse that kicked in almost immediately after I checked out. What I don't understand is how I even clicked on the item to put it into he cart in the first place. I guess that pretty green picture and the description sounded oh, too alluring...

So I took the plunge. I quieted the voices inside my head shouting "BUYER'S REMORSE" by hoping that at least the bag was going to be high enough quality to at least work as a decent (albeit expensive) laundry bag, if the washing thing was merely hype. Meanwhile, another part of me was thinking, "...it's about a dollar a load at a laundromat...this bag had better justify at least 50 loads, and then some..."

Before I go into more details, let me tell you that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to doing laundry while traveling...I bring a bit of high-performance detergent (Sports Suds is what I like to use when I travel Sport Suds Detergent, 500g Zipper Pouch, 40+ Loads
) because I really can't stand letting used work-out clothes fester while traveling. Anyway, I usually wash my clothes in the hotel sink (and pray that the stopper isn't broken). And yes, I know about the "roll the clothes in the hotel towel" technique to dry them out faster.

So I received the Scrubba just in time for a trip this past weekend. Indeed, the bag physically lives up to the claim that it's small and light. Furthermore, I am happy to report that it looks relatively well-constructed. The air-release valve that is shown in the picture has been improved upon with a dial-based valve, so I imagine that the version that I have is more durable than the original. Seams look well-constructed and the overall design premise looks well thought-out.

Taking the device for it's first test-run, I was pretty happy that the bag didn't leak and that filling and closing the bag didn't create a mess. You have to be a bit careful that you don't bleed too much water out when you squeeze the air out of the valve, or else you'll end up with water on the outside of the bag. Overall, setting up the bag for washing was every bit as unmessy as the claims.

Agitating was also a very clean experience. Heck, I was doing the agitating on my hotel bed. No water leaked onto the bed. Agitating was like playing around with a tiny waterbed, and after a while, it did get a bit tiring. Not sure how well that rubber inlay contributed to the scrubbing of my clothes inside, but I suspect that if there was too much friction, my clothes (especially the synthetic sports stuff) would get shredded. Overall, I must say that the agitation process was extremely mess-free compared to my usual sloshing of clothes in the sink (soapy water everywhere on the counter...), and my hands got to stay dry.

Now, onto the rinse part. As you can imagine, draining water out of the bag and then filling it up, bleeding out the air, and then repeating, is going to get a bit messy. Indeed, while I tried my best to keep the water contained, I don't think it's possible to be able to fill and bleed the bag multiple times without getting the outside a bit wet. At the very least, the outside of the bag is going to get wet since the sink/tub you use to fill up the bag will get wet when you dump out the previous bag of water. Oh well, so be prepared to have a towel around to wipe down the bag after each rinse. Fortunately, you get lots of towels in a hotel room.

Finally, are the clothes clean using Scrubba? Well, heck yes. If you're used to doing clothes in a sink, this bag will keep your hands dry and keep the water contained, so you can certainly be more aggressive in agitating the clothes. If you're worried about soapy clothes, just rinse multiple times (and be sure to squeeze as much water out between rinses). Finally, be sure to roll your clothes in a hotel towel to squeeze out excess water before drying. So compared to sink-washing, I'm concluding that my clothes are cleaner with Scrubba.

So what's my overall user experience? Well, the initial sticker shock is jolting. Sure, I believe the designers should be compensated for designing a good product, but the $50 price must be a huge mark-up over the actual cost of the materials. Just you watch out for the cheap, knock-off products (possibly even made in the same factories) that will come flooding the market if they don't continue to innovate... But anyway, the product seems well constructed (I've only had it 2 weeks), and it lives up to its claims of lightweight, waterproof, and a convenient, mess-free clothes-washing device. So those attributes definitely soften the $50 price tag. I'm giving this product four stars based on what I believe will be many more (> 50?) mess-free washes in future travels.
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What a great idea!
by Tiber (5 out of 5 stars)
July 26, 2017

Our crew was backpacking for three weeks and we needed something to do laundry. I got the one with the improved air valve, so any complaints about the old valves failing, this one fixes that. We did laundry every other day and used these bags as dirty laundry bags until it was time to use them. The boys in the crew love it and so did the leadership, it cuts the amount of clothing you have to take down considerably. Use Dr. Bronners unscented baby soap or Camp Suds for best results.
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Love this concept; easy to use, light, and environmental friendly
by Brett (4 out of 5 stars)
August 21, 2018

I hesitated to buy this product for the longest time because at the end of the day it's just a bag that is $50. I can just hand scrub the laundry, right?

Well I was wrong.

Pros:
- required very little water and soap to wash when compared to hand scrubbing in the sink
- the material is tent-like and it's very durable
- love the peekaboo window to see the inside while in action
- even when it's cold outside (say you are camping) your hands wouldn't get cold and wet like they would if you were hand scrubbing.
-compact and light
- the bumps acts as laundry board

Cons;
- it leaks until you can get the hang of it

Overall I love this product!

Great for camping, business trips, or vacation to wash small things here and there. It would fit a couple of items at once.
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Easy to use, but small capacity and time consuming
by Amanda Karl (4 out of 5 stars)
February 4, 2018

This laundry bag is very easy to use and works great for traveling, We took it with us for our honeymoon in order to fit all of our clothes into our carry-on bags. The bag is very durable, easy to manipulate to wash the clothes and dries very quickly. Total time to wash a load of clothes is about 10-15 minutes, from filling the bag with clothes, then water, agitating, rinsing, wringing, etc. However, it is very important to not over-pack the bag; We did this the first time and do not feel our clothes came out as clean as clean as they could have. I would recommend only washing one outfit of clothes at a time, and if you need to wash a heavier or bulkier item like a sweatshirt, to wash it separately or with only smaller items like socks. I wouldn't recommend that you pack only a few clothes and plan to wash them over and over on a trip; it takes a long time to wash only a few items, and the clothes take significantly longer to dry as none of the water is spun out and hand-wringing can only do so much. I definitely would recommend this for short trips to just wash a few things here and there like a favorite outfit or if something gets a stain and needs washed immediately.
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Don't Use As A Dry Bag - May Damage And Create Leaks
by IthacaNancy (3 out of 5 stars)
April 26, 2017

This is a nice idea, and when I first used it I was quite happy with it. I read either in the description or the comments that it also was useful as a dry bag - to keep items dry. I used it as a dry bag to carry items when I was walking through the Baths at Virgin Gorda. But the next time I tired to use it as a wash bag, it leaked out of the base. Perhaps I had allowed it to sit on the floor of the boat or the bus which transported me to the Baths? I certainly wasn't aware of allowing it to rub around and get damaged. I may be able to reseal it with waterproofing, and I can use it in the sink or in an other bag, but that limits it's use . . . I wish it had the same heavier coating over the end of the bag as it has on the underside of the bag. For the cost, I think it could be a better item.
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A "Must Have" for Travel Washing!
by Big Cal (5 out of 5 stars)
April 18, 2016

This is a "Must Have" for folks that like to save money by washing their own clothes when traveling!

Don't let the price put you off... yes... this is essentially just a dry-bag with a window and some little nubbies on the inside to help wash your clothes, but it is an excellent way to save tons of money on hotel laundry charges. We just took it on a 2 week cruise and it paid for itself within just a couple of days. We brought along a couple of boxes of those little Woolite and Tide "travel size" packets and would just stuff our clothes in it, put in a little hot water and roll it around a little, we'd then add some rinse water, roll it around a little more and then wring out and hang up our clothes, it only took a few minutes and saved us big $!

Some of the specifics about this bag are:

It has a window, which allows you to see if your clothes are getting "sudsy" and to see if they have rinsed out enough.

It is made from a rubberized nylon so it isn't as stiff as a regular dry-bag would be for packing and "massaging" it with clothes in it..

It has little nubbies on the inside which I like to think helps to "scrub" the clothes a little better than if it was just a smooth surface.

It is great for storing either your dirty clothes or anything that you don't want to leak if it breaks open in your suitcase... in other words, it keeps you from having to bag up all of your shampoos and such in ziploc bags.
(And... speaking of bagging up your liquids... since it has a little window in it, TSA was okay with us having our liquids in it for security.)

If you have ever tried to wash your clothes in a sink at a hotel (or gas station or rest-stop) then you know it can be a pretty wet and messy process. This little bag makes a HUGE difference and I recommend it highly for RV-ers, road-trippers, international travelers... you name it. If you take the time to get one of those elastic clothes lines (I recommend the Rick Steves version) to hang up your clothes to dry, you are going to love the money you save and the convenience of this thing.

And as a last note.... yes... if you already have a "dry-bag" for canoeing, kayaking or camping then you might want to try it out... but... like I mentioned earlier, this thing is enough different from them to warrant just going ahead and buying it... you'll be glad you did.
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Paid for itself in One Use!!
by Leslie (5 out of 5 stars)
March 25, 2019

Writing from a cruise ship with a family of 4 and worked Better than I imagined!!! Kids age 2 and 4 messy eaters and use me as a napkin. Took care of days old chocolate ice cream on cotton and a fancy white kids dress with no pretreatment. We got the clothes wet, put them in the bag and used the Tide Sport sink packet (one per load) of which we did I think 4 loads. Husband stood in shower as I used. Scrubba with feet and he wringed out clothes and threw over shower door to me where I rolled the clothes in towels and hinf around the room. Much cheaper than the on board option!! Took care of about 4 days of clothes (minus some formal Wear) which was a giant armload if I were to equate to my home machine. Very impressed.
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Less would be more
by Ken in Denver (3 out of 5 stars)
November 15, 2017

This works exactly as advertised. So why only three stars?

Doing laundry while traveling is something mostly done by ultralight packers. Think of people who travel the world from one bag and you'll have a good idea of who needs this bag. But since this thing is so large and heavy-duty, it takes up way more space than a standard dry bag would and as a result, is perhaps a bit less desirable if space is a concern. For less money and with less space consumed in your luggage, you could take a standard dry bag with much lighter material and less space. All you would really miss out on is the instructions printed on the side, the clear window, and a few nodules that help you agitate the clothes.

While it's not huge, it's bigger than I'd hoped. While it probably will fit in your bag, it's bigger than it needs to be and less would be way more.

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